Royal Mail delays with fears deliveries won’t arrive before Christmas

FESTIVE RUSH: Service issues could leave parcels and letters delayed this festive season (Image: Getty)

Royal Mail has issued a fresh service update regarding 117 postcodes experiencing significant service disruption at local delivery offices. The national postal operator confirmed that residents in these areas cannot be assured of receiving parcels or letters six days a week.

According to the operator, the scale of the disruption means that deliveries cannot be guaranteed in affected areas, raising concerns for customers waiting for important mail and Christmas parcels. The latest update shows 117 postcodes across the country are currently flagged as experiencing significant delays.

The problems come despite Royal Mail recruiting around 20,000 additional workers to help handle the seasonal surge in mail volumes over the festive period.

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In a statement, Royal Mail said: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.

“In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive. We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”

The disruption follows Royal Mail’s admission last month that it has been missing its delivery targets. Between June 20 and September 28, just 73.4% of first-class post was delivered the next working day, while 90.4% of second-class mail arrived within three working days.

Figures from its latest quality of service report show performance has declined since the company published its annual results. During the 2024-25 financial year, Royal Mail delivered 77% of first-class mail and 92.5% of second-class mail on time, falling short of its regulatory targets of 93% and 98.5%.

As a result, the company was fined £21m by communications regulator Ofcom for failing to meet its obligations. Royal Mail says it is taking steps to improve reliability, including recruiting more frontline staff, simplifying operations and supporting delivery offices struggling with staff shortages.

It is also preparing to introduce changes to its delivery model, which would see second-class letters no longer delivered on Saturdays and instead move to every other weekday. Pilots of the new system are already underway, with a wider rollout expected from early next year, reported Ben Hurst from the Express.

Royal Mail’s chief operating officer, Jamie Stephenson, said: “Reliable deliveries really matter to our customers, and they matter to us too. We’re taking targeted action to improve performance – recruiting more frontline staff, simplifying operations and investing in a new delivery model, with early pilots already showing measurable results.”

He added that teams were ‘working hard to make sure every item arrives on time and with care’. Royal Mail has advised customers in affected areas to allow extra time for deliveries while work continues to restore services.

Full list of postcodes affected by delays

• Aboyne SUDO: AB34
• Altens DO: AB10, AB11, AB12, AB35
• Ashington DO: NE22, NE62, NE63, NE64
• Barry DO: CF62, CF63
• Belfast West DO: BT10, BT11, BT12, BT17
• Bingham DO: NG12, NG13
• Bristol East DO: BS5
• Brixton DO: SW2
• Callington DO: PL17, PL18
• Canvey Island DO: SS8
• Clevedon DO: BS21, BS49
• Dundee East DO: DD4, DD5, DD7
• Dunstable DO: LU5, LU6
• Dursley DO: GL11, GL12, GL13
• Dyce DO: AB21
• Egremont DO: CA21, CA22, CA23, CA24, CA25, CA27
• Erskine DO: PA7, PA8
• Glasgow G52 DO: G52, G53
• Glenrothes DO: KY6, KY7
• Gloucester North DO: GL3, GL4
• Inverclyde DO: PA14, PA15, PA16, PA17, PA18, PA19
• Johnstone DO: PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10, PA12
• Kettering DO: NN14, NN15, NN16
• Kingswood DO: BS15, BS30
• Lichfield DO: WS7, WS13, WS14
• Lisburn DO: BT26, BT27, BT28
• Londonderry DO: BT47, BT48
• Medway Valley DO: ME6, ME18, ME19, ME20
• Northfield DO: B31
• Northwich DO: CW8, CW9
• Nottingham South DO: NG2, NG12
• Paisley DO: PA1, PA2, PA3
• Plympton DO: PL7
• Pontefract DO: WF7, WF8, WF9, WF11
• Renfrew DO: PA4
• Seaham DO: SR7
• Sleaford DO: NG34
• St Helens DO: WA9, WA10, WA11
• Stalybridge SUDO: SK15
• Thornbury DO: BS35
• Tipton DO: DY4
• Warrington DO: WA1, WA2, WA4, WA5, WA55
• Wellington DO: TA21
• Westhill DO: AB13, AB14, AB32
• Whitehaven DO: CA18, CA19, CA20, CA26, CA28
• Whitwood DO: WF6, WF10
• Wigan DO: WN1, WN2, WN3, WN4, WN5, WN6

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