Royal Mail has issued a service update warning that thousands of homes and businesses will not receive mail on time. As of Tuesday, July 14, 2026, there are delays across 216 postcode areas, including Wolverhampton, Swindon, Oxford, Carmarthen, Hull, and Bradford. Over the past 24 hours, Royal Mail's air and road network has operated to schedule.
Royal Mail Statement on Delays
Royal Mail stated: "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." The company added: "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."
Past Performance and Fines
Royal Mail has faced criticism over late deliveries in recent years. It was fined £21 million by Ofcom in October 2025 for missing its delivery targets. In the 2024-2025 period, Royal Mail delivered just 77% of First Class post and 92.5% of Second Class post on time. This year, Royal Mail has pledged to improve, with Ofcom setting a goal of 90% of First Class Next Day deliveries to be posted on time within a year.
Investment and Reform Plans
Jamie Stephenson, Royal Mail’s chief operating officer, said: “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." He added: "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 and OX14), Altens DO (AB10-AB12, AB35), Ashington DO (NE22, NE62-NE64), Ashton Under Lyne DO (OL5, OL6 and 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 and 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 and 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 and BT35), Nottingham City DO (NG1 and 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 and BN42), Preston West DO (PR4), Rugby DO (CV21, CV22 and 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 and 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 and IP13), Yate DO (BS37).
