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Royal Mail has postponed a significant change to its delivery service until 2026. The postal group has chosen not to eliminate second class letter deliveries on Saturdays across the UK until early next year.
Royal Mail’s owners, International Distribution Services (IDS), have been conducting a pilot scheme in 35 delivery offices to revamp letter delivery services. This includes the decision to discontinue second-class deliveries on Saturdays and modify the service to every other weekday.
The company was informed by regulator Ofcom that it could begin making changes to its services from the end of July. However, during its half-year results, executives stated that the new regulations would not be implemented further across the UK until early 2026.
Martin Seidenberg, IDS chief executive, described the reforms as a “massive task,” and said it would “take the time to get this right” and not rush into expanding the reforms across its nationwide network, according to the Press Association.
IDS stated that it was still too early to determine when the changes would be fully implemented, or which of its 1,200 delivery offices would be next in line for the overhaul. Royal Mail’s decision to delay the rollout until next year comes as the delivery service was fined £21 million for failing to meet its first and second class mail delivery targets in the 2024-25 financial year, according to regulator Ofcom, reports Birmingham Live.
Ofcom has found that Royal Mail failed to meet its delivery targets for both first and second-class post during an investigation. The postal service only managed to deliver 77 per cent of first-class mail and 92.5 per cent of second-class mail on time in the 2024/25 financial year.
These delivery percentages fell significantly short of its 93 per cent and 98.5 per cent targets. The communications watchdog has now warned Royal Mail that it must urgently devise a credible improvement plan or face continued fines.
Ian Strawhorne, director of enforcement at Ofcom, stated: “Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp. These persistent failures are unacceptable, and customers expect and deserve better.” He urged Royal Mail to restore confidence in its service “as a matter of urgency.
