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Slightly less than a third of all first-class mail is delivered on time in the Western Isles, new Consumers Scotland figures show.
Currently, the communications watchdog, OFCOM, requires the Royal Mail to deliver 93 per cent of first-class mail to every Scottish mainland postcode within one working day.
The success rate for the Western Isles and Orkney is 31 per cent. Only Shetland fares worse, with only 29 per cent of 1st class mail meeting the deadline, meaning the islands have some of the slowest deliveries in Scotland.
As a result, Consumer Scotland is now calling for the three Scottish island groups to have the same one-day delivery requirement for first-class mail as their mainland counterparts.
The Royal Mail said the company was continuing to explore new ways of delivering the mail.
Ofcom is currently reviewing proposals to reform the universal postal service, including delivery standards expected of Royal Mail.
In the meantime, Consumer Scotland has tabled a series of recommendations to improve delivery services to the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland.
Consumer Scotland Head of Post, Grace Remmington said: “The lack of quality of service targets for Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles means there are no safeguards for consumers in these areas on the minimum levels of service that they can expect. This limits options for Ofcom to enforce improved performance from Royal Mail.
“We recognise that for a range of operational reasons, including ferry timetabling, that it is not reasonable or feasible for Royal Mail to be required to meet the same targets for these areas as the national UK target.
“However, there is an important issue of consumer fairness and equality where Ofcom provides a target for consumers in the rest of the UK but does not provide any target at all for consumers in the three exempt areas.”
She continued that the lack of performance targets places island postal consumers in a “considerably weaker and more vulnerable position” than other parts of the UK.
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