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Almost 15million people were left waiting for post over the Christmas period with many missing important documents, health appointments, parking fines and bills.
Royal Mail has blamed staff absences caused by Covid, but campaigners are demanding action, including fines.
More than half of those affected (54 per cent) went at least a week without letters, while others suffered up to two months of disruption, according to the survey of 4,165 customers by Citizens Advice.
Its chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: ‘Royal Mail cannot let poor service become the new normal.’
Ofcom said it can take action if the company fails to meet its annual targets.
Royal Mail has apologised, saying its staff are ‘continuing to work incredibly hard’.
Almost 15m people were left waiting for post over Christmas period. More than half of those affected (54 per cent) went at least a week without letters, according to a survey (file photo)
People across London, the South East and the North West were most likely to experience a delay, according to the survey.
Citizens Advice’s monitoring showed disruption peaked in mid-January. On January 12 and 13, Royal Mail warned that 77 areas across the UK were hit by disruption, affecting up to 2.4 million people in England and Wales each day.
Some of the worst-affected areas, including Chelmsford in Essex, Willesden in north-west London, and Upminster in east London, faced eight weeks of severe disruption.
The charity said the situation appears to have ‘finally’ improved, but noted it is the second year running that it has flagged severe Christmas disruption, with 16.5 million people affected last year.
Citizens Advice is calling on communications watchdog Ofcom to investigate Royal Mail’s performance and consider enforcement action and fines.
Dame Clare said: ‘A staggering 2.5 million of us missed important documents, health appointments, or were unable to pay a fine or bills due to post delays over Christmas.
‘We understand the strain the pandemic has placed on Royal Mail. But after two years of disruption, Royal Mail cannot let poor service become the new normal. These delays can have serious consequences for those left waiting for their letters.
‘Ofcom must now investigate Royal Mail’s performance and consider enforcement action and fines to ensure lessons are learnt.’
Royal Mail has apologised and blamed staff absences caused by Covid, but campaigners are demanding action, including fines (file photo)
Ofcom said: ‘We know how important a reliable postal service is to customers, and we can take action if Royal Mail fails to meet our annual targets.
‘We closely monitor its delivery performance throughout the year, and have made it clear to the company that it must improve as the impacts of the pandemic subside.
‘We will assess Royal Mail’s compliance after it has reported on its overall performance for the whole financial year.’
Royal Mail said: ‘While the vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time, the impact of the rise of Omicron had a particular impact during Christmas and January, with approximately 15,000 staff members off work due to sickness and self-isolation at one stage.
‘As Citizens Advice has acknowledged, the situation has significantly improved. The number of offices we have reported as being most impacted by service issues has reduced from 77 to just one today.
‘We apologise for any delays that our customers may have experienced in the local areas affected.
‘We are working hard to equalise performance and improve service in those areas, including spending over £340 million on overtime, additional temporary staff and sick pay, as well as targeted support.
‘Our postmen and women are continuing to work incredibly hard, as they have done throughout the pandemic, and we are thankful for all of their efforts and determination.’
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