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More than HALF of all households were affected by Royal Mail delays over Christmas, with important letters arriving late
- Charity Citizens Advice says 31 million people had a late post in December
- Even worse, many homes were missing important legal and medical letters
More than half of adults in the UK were affected by Royal Mail delays over Christmas, according to the charity Citizens Advice.
Many Royal Mail employees went on strike for 18 days over the holiday season.
Letter volumes fell 7 percent in the last three months of 2022, while parcel volumes fell 23.6 percent, Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services said today.
Royal Mail strikes over the holiday season have delayed the delivery of many letters and parcels
The charity said 31 million people had late mail over Christmas. Around 6.2 million people missed important mail, such as letters for health appointments.
Eleven percent of people missed an important document, such as an insurance letter or legal document, in December. Another 8 percent said they missed a health appointment.
Between mid-December 2021 and mid-January 2022, the charity found that 28 percent of households experienced letter delays. Another 31 percent were waiting for the mail in January 2021.
The Royal Mail is exempt from normal delivery targets during the busy Christmas period.
Citizens Advice is now calling on communications regulator Ofcom to consider scrapping this Christmas exemption.
The charity is also urging the Royal Mail to stop raising the price of stamps until the service improves.
Citizens Advice chief 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 Ofcom must take action to protect consumers from further harm. It should explore the culture of underperforming at Royal Mail and not throw the company off track over the holiday season.”
Royal Mail has been approached for comment.