Ofcom has launched a fresh investigation into Royal Mail after the company missed its annual delivery targets for the fifth consecutive year. New figures show that 24.3% of first-class mail failed to arrive on time in the year to the end of March, up from 23.5% the previous year. The regulator requires 93% of first-class mail to be delivered within one working day, excluding Christmas.
Royal Mail also fell short on second-class deliveries, with 90.2% arriving within three working days, well below Ofcom's target of 98.5%. The company has been fined £37m since 2023 for routinely missing targets. In October, Ofcom issued a £21m penalty, the third-largest it has ever imposed.
Ofcom said it will examine whether Royal Mail prioritised parcel deliveries over letters, a practice whistleblowers and unions have alleged but the company denies. “In deciding whether Royal Mail breached its regulatory obligations, we will consider all relevant factors,” Ofcom stated. “This will include the question of parcel prioritisation, as well as identifying whether there were any exceptional events beyond the company’s control.”
Royal Mail has not met its first-class target since 2017 or its second-class target since 2020. The company was acquired last year by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský in a £3.6bn deal. In April, Royal Mail raised the price of a first-class stamp by 10p to £1.80, more than doubling since 2020, while second-class stamps rose by 4p to 91p.
Last July, Ofcom allowed Royal Mail to reduce its universal service obligation, ending Saturday second-class deliveries and switching to alternate weekdays. The company now delivers 6.7 billion letters a year, down from 20 billion a decade ago, while the number of addresses has risen by 4 million.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said it would “engage fully with Ofcom” and that improving service quality was “a top priority”. The company is investing £500m over five years to modernise the postal service, backed by reforms introduced by Ofcom in July 2025.
