Matthew Upton, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, responds to Royal Mail being reported to Ofcom for letter delivery delays

“Royal Mail has been letting consumers down for far too long.

“Letter delays have real and worrying consequences, especially when people miss medical appointments or get bills late. We’ve uncovered millions of people missing such important mail over the past three years. 

“Ofcom must now hold Royal Mail to account and not let the company get away with this level of failure. Enough is enough, it's time for the regulator to act.”

Background

• Citizens Advice, the statutory consumer advocate for post, revealed significant letter delays for the third year running during the 2022 festive period.
• The charity estimates 60% of UK adults were hit by letter delays, with 6.2 million people missing important mail during Christmas last year.
• Between mid-December 2021 and mid-January 2022, the charity found that 28% of people experienced letter delays. 
• In January 2021 the charity found that 31% of people experienced letter delays.
• Royal Mail’s most recent Quality of Service report shows the company only delivered 54% of 1st class post on time in Q3, against a target of 93%
• Royal Mail has announced a 1st class stamp will cost £1.10 from April 3rd. That's a 64% increase in just five years. 

Notes to editors

1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
3. Citizens Advice helped 2.55 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2021-22. And we had 40.6 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 18,500 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 service outlets across England and Wales.
5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.