Royal Mail has issued a service update revealing that thousands of households and businesses are facing mail delivery disruptions. The postal company has named a large number of postcode areas currently affected by delays, including 13 locations in Wales.
Affected Welsh postcode areas
As of Tuesday, July 14, disruptions are happening across 216 locations, including Barry (CF63), Brecon (LD3), and Carmarthen (SA17, SA31, SA32, SA33). Other Welsh areas affected include Ebbw Vale (NP23), Mid Rhondda Ganol (CF39-CF40), and Flint (CH6, CH8). Throughout the past 24 hours, Royal Mail's air and road network has run according to plan.
Royal Mail's response
Royal Mail said: "We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors. In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive. We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding."
Criticism and penalties
Royal Mail has attracted criticism regarding its late deliveries in recent years. The organisation was penalised £21 million by Ofcom in October for failing to meet its delivery standards. Royal Mail achieved only 77% of First Class post and 92.5% of Second Class post on-time delivery in 2024 to 2025.
This year, Royal Mail has committed to improving its performance, with Ofcom establishing a target of 90% of First Class Next Day deliveries to be posted on time within a year.
Investment and reform
Jamie Stephenson, Royal Mail's chief operating officer, stated: "We're putting significant investment into improving reliability and reaching these new delivery targets, but delivering lasting change across a network of this scale takes time. Universal Service reform is a key part of that, helping us adapt the network to reflect how people send and receive mail today while protecting the one-price-goes-anywhere service for the future. We have a plan to deploy the new delivery model to all delivery offices across the country by the Christmas peak period and have set clear targets for each quarter as changes are introduced across the network. Early performance this year shows we are tracking in line with the plan and moving in the right direction."
Full list of affected postcode areas
The following postcode areas are currently experiencing delays: Abingdon DO (OX13, OX14), Altens DO (AB10-AB12, AB35), Ashington DO (NE22, NE62-NE64), Ashton Under Lyne DO (OL5, OL6, OL7), Barry DO (CF63), Basingstoke DO (RG21-RG26, RG28), Burwell SPDO (CB25), Bedford DO (MK40-MK45), Bicester DO (OX25, OX26, OX27), Bradford North DO (BD1, BD2, BD3, BD8, BD9, BD10), Bracknell DO (RG12, RG42, RG45), Brecon DO (LD3), Brierley Hill DO (DY5), Calderway DO (WF12-WF14), Calne DO (SN11), Cambridge DO (CB1-CB5, CB21-CB25), Carmarthen DO (SA17, SA31, SA32, SA33), Carterton DO (OX18), Chichester DO (PO18, PO19, PO20), Clifton NG DO (NG11), Coalville DO (LE6, LE67), Corwen DO (LL21), Deal DO (CT14), Dudley DO (DY1-DY3), Dursley DO (GL11, GL12, GL13), Ebbw Vale DO (NP23), Fareham DO (PO14-PO17), Faversham DO (ME13), Flint DO (CH6, CH8), Frome DO (BA11), Gloucester North DO (GL3-GL4), Great Glen SPDO (LE8), Hull Central DO (HU1-HU3, HU5, HU9, HU12, HU19), Hyde DO (SK13, SK14, SK16), Ilfracombe DO (EX34), Inverclyde DO (PA14-PA19), Isle of Iona SPDO (PA76), Kidderminster DO (DY10-DY12, DY14), Kingswinford DO (DY6), Kingswood DO (BS15, BS30), Knutsford DO (WA16), Lee DO (SE12), Leiston DO (IP15-IP16), Lichfield DO (WS7, WS13, WS14), Llangollen SUDO (LL20), Loughborough DO (LE11-LE12), Malton DO (YO17), Mid Rhondda Ganol DO (CF39-CF40), Nantwich DO (CW5), New Ferry DO (CH32, CH62, CH63), Newry DO (BT34, BT35), Nottingham City DO (NG1, NG3), Nuneaton DO (CV10, CV11, CV13), Okehampton DO (EX19, EX20, EX21), Orton Southgate DO (PE2, PE7-PE9), Oxford DO (OX1-OX2), Oxford East DO (OX3, OX4, OX33, OX44, OX49), Portslade DO (BN41, BN42), Preston West DO (PR4), Rugby DO (CV21, CV22, CV23), Sandy DO (SG19), Saxon Way DO (HU4, HU10, HU13-HU15), Shaftesbury DO (SP7), Sleaford DO (NG34), South Woodford DO (E18), Southam DO (CV47), St Helens DO (WA9-WA11), Stalybridge SUDU (SK15), Stockport Central DO (SK1, SK2, SK3, SK4, SK5, SK7), Stourbridge DO (DY7-DY9), Stourport On Severn DO (DY13), Swindon DO (SN1, SN2, SN3, SN6, SN25, SN26, SN38, SN99), Thirsk DO (YO7, YO51, YO61-YO62), Tipton DO (DY4), Tiverton DO (EX16, EX18), Upton DO (CH30, CH49), Wantage DO (OX12), Warrington DO (WA1-WA2, WA4-WA5, WA55), Weston Super Mare DO (BS23-BS24, BS40), Witham DO (CM8), Wolverhampton NE DO (WV11, WV12), Wolverhampton NW DO (WV6-WV9), Woodbridge DO (IP12, IP13), Yate DO (BS37).
