Royal Mail failed to deliver letters on time to 16 MILLION people over Christmas, watchdog finds

Royal Mail failed to deliver letters to 16million people on time over Christmas, a watchdog has found.

The ‘dreadful festive slump’ was a 50 per cent increase from December 2024, when 10.7million people saw letters arrive late, Citizens Advice said.

The staggering number of late deliveries over Christmas 2025, which applies to letters and cards but not parcels, affected 29 per cent of UK adults.

Citizens Advice, which is the statutory watchdog for post, revealed some 5.7million customers missed vital letters about health appointments, fines, benefit decisions and legal documents, leaving people ‘distressed’.

These figures are the worst over any festive season in the past five years, aside from 2022 when Royal Mail went on strike.

Citizens Advice said that not enough was being done to prioritise customers who had ‘no choice but to put up with delivery delays and service cuts, despite increasing stamp prices’.

Among those who send or receive post with Royal Mail, 36 per cent said they sent fewer Christmas cards in 2025 because stamps were too expensive – the cost of a 1st class stamp is now £1.70, more than double its 2020 price.

The price hike has been made despite Royal Mail failing to meet its 1st class annual delivery target since 2017 or a 2nd class target since 2020.

Among those who send or receive post with Royal Mail, 36 per cent said they sent fewer Christmas cards in 2025 because stamps were too expensive 

In July last year, regulator Ofcom announced cuts to Royal Mail’s 2nd class delivery days to every other day rather than six days a week. 

This, alongside lower delivery targets as part of the review of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), will be rolled out nationwide this year.

Another 34 per cent of people reported they did not get a visit from the postie for between one and three weeks at a time, then received a huge bunch of five or more letters through their door in one go.

Almost a quarter of those awaiting important letters (22 per cent) said they were distressed and anxious about benefits, bills, losing money and missing other financial information.

And there is ‘no light at the end of the tunnel for consumers struggling with Royal Mail’s persistent delivery failures,’ Anne Pardoe, head of policy at Citizens Advice, said. 

Ms Pardoe said: ‘When people have no other postal provider to choose from, the sheer volume of delays is simply unacceptable.

‘The company’s dreadful festive slump is about much more than late Christmas cards. People are left distressed after missing health appointments, fines and benefit decisions.

‘This is a worrying trend, and with cuts to delivery days looming, Ofcom must start cracking down even harder on missed targets before things go from bad to worse. Any future stamp price increases should be conditional on Royal Mail meeting these targets.’

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: ‘Independent data shows that more than 99% of items posted by the last recommended dates arrived in time for Christmas.

There’s ‘no light at the end of the tunnel’  Anne Pardoe, head of policy at Citizens Advice, said as Royal Mail are set to slash 2nd class delivery days and targets nationally this year

‘This was during our busiest time of year, when volumes more than double, and we’re grateful to our teams across the country who worked incredibly hard to deliver for our customers.’

An Ofcom spokesman said: ‘In recent years, we’ve fined Royal Mail £37 million for its poor letter delivery performance, and we’ll continue to hold the company to account.

‘Last year, we modernised the obligations imposed on Royal Mail, to reflect what people need, put the service on a more sustainable footing, and enable the company to invest more in improving its delivery performance.

‘Royal Mail must now play its part by implementing this effectively and improving its reliability.’

Yonder surveyed 2,095 UK adults between January 5-6.