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For 500 years, our posties have walked up and down our streets, day in, day out, to deliver for our customers.
But the way we all use the post has changed dramatically. In 2004-5, we posted 20 billion letters. By 2022-3, that number had dropped to seven billion. The average address now receives just four letters a week.
As a result, Royal Mail is facing huge financial pressure. Last year, we lost £419 million. Without urgent reform, there is real risk that the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service, the legal requirement for Royal Mail to deliver to the UK’s 32 million addresses six days a week, will not survive.
We have published our proposal for how the universal service should change in a way that protects the things we know you value.
As part of this, all non-First Class letter deliveries – Second Class and bulk business mail often used for letters such as bills and statements – would move to every other weekday. And we would like to add tracking to universal service parcels.
We’re doing everything we can to transform so that we can serve you better. And now we need Ofcom, the regulator, to do its bit and implement the change.
Nick Landon, chief customer officer, Royal Mail
