Over HALF of all households were hit by Royal Mail delays over Christmas – with important letters arriving late
- Charity Citizens Advice says 31 million people had late post in December
- Even worse, many homes missed important legal and healthcare letters
More than half of UK adults were hit by Royal Mail delays over Christmas, according to charity Citizens Advice.
Many Royal Mail workers went on strike for 18 days over the festive period.
Letter volumes fell by 7 per cent in the final three months of 2022, while parcel volumes dropped by 23.6 per cent, according to Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services today.
Royal Mail strikes over the festive period pushed back deliveries of many letters and parcels
The charity said 31 million people had late post over Christmas. Around 6.2 million people missed important mail like health appointment letters.
Eleven per cent of people missed an important document such as an insurance letter or legal document in December. A further 8 per cent said they missed a health appointment.
Between mid-December 2021 and mid-January 2022, the charity found that 28 per cent of households experienced letter delays. A further 31 per cent were also left waiting for post in January 2021.
The Royal Mail is exempt from its normal delivery targets over the busy Christmas period.
Citizens Advice is now calling for communications regulator Ofcom to consider dropping this Christmas exemption.
The charity is also pushing for the Royal Mail to stop raising the price of stamps until service improves.
Citizens Advice chief executive Clare Moriarty said: ‘Letter delays have real and worrying consequences, especially when people miss medical appointments or get bills late.
‘Royal Mail’s virtual monopoly on letters means that Ofcom needs to take action to protect consumers from further harm. It must investigate Royal Mail’s culture of poor performance and stop letting the company off the hook over the festive season.’
Royal Mail has been approached for comment.
