Almost 11 million people were hit with letter post delays over Christmas, Citizens Advice has found.
As well as Christmas cards not arriving on time, some 3.4 million UK adults faced a serious consequence as a result, including missing vital health appointments, bills, legal documents, letters from the bank, fines and benefit decisions.
The worst-hit region for letter delays in the past month was the South East, with 27% of people not receiving post on time.
Under the Universal Service Obligation (USO), Royal Mail is required by law to deliver letters six days a week, but is exempt from delivery targets around the Christmas period.
However, apart from this, Royal Mail has failed to meet its annual first- and second-class delivery targets for the rest of the year since 2019.
The last time Royal Mail hit a first-class delivery target was in the second quarter of 2019, and a second-class delivery target was last hit in the fourth quarter of that year.
Regulator Ofcom is set to announce proposed changes to the USO in the next couple of weeks, which could reduce second-class letter deliveries to alternate weekdays only and could pave the way for Royal Mail to charge much more.
Citizens Advice, the statutory watchdog for postal consumers, is calling on Ofcom to reform the USO in a way that protects consumers from steep price increases and continued delays.
Consumers are now paying more than double the price for a first-class stamp than five years ago, at a time when “poor standards have become part and parcel of using Royal Mail’s services”, Citizens Advice said.
Among those who send and receive post with Royal Mail, nearly a third (29%) said they sent fewer Christmas cards in 2024 because stamps were too expensive, a survey for the charity found.
Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: “For far too long, letter delays and poor service have become business as usual at Royal Mail.
“Letter delays aren’t just about missed Christmas cards. Millions of people receiving their post late, or not at all, can experience real and worrying consequences – especially when they miss vital medical appointments or bills.
“With the future of our postal service at stake, reforms to the USO come at a critical time. Improving reliability and affordability will be essential.
“But cutting deliveries won’t automatically lead to the more reliable service people need – nor should they be expected to pay more for a reduced service.
“Ofcom has to ensure any revised USO puts consumer needs at its heart – not just Royal Mail’s bottom line.”
An Ofcom spokesman said: “Consumers are at the heart of our review. We’ve been speaking directly to postal users to understand how the universal service could evolve to reflect what they need from it.
“If we do nothing, the service risks becoming unsustainable, and people could end up paying higher prices than necessary.
“Whatever the outcome, we are absolutely clear that Royal Mail must invest in its network, become more efficient and improve its service levels.”
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “99% of all items posted by the last recommended posting dates were delivered in time for Christmas. This is despite three severe storms that impacted some deliveries, creating challenges that could only be overcome through the hard work of our colleagues.
“While we accept more work is needed, our efforts are yielding results with deliveries improving year on year.”
– Yonder surveyed 2,079 UK adults between January 3 and 5.
