Related Articles
35 delivery offices are taking part in the pilot
Royal Mail previously announced plans to scrap second-class deliveries on Saturdays, and they have now issued an update on when it will come into effect.
The delivery service change will be introduced early next year, though its pilot of the update is already underway.
35 delivery offices are taking part in the pilot, which began back in July.
Read more: Rachel Reeves ‘could scrap’ driving rule in place since 2022 hitting millions ‘immediately’
Royal Mail’s owners, International Distribution Services (IDS), said the reforms were a “massive task.”
Martin Seidenberg, IDS chief executive, added 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.
He added: “We never underestimate the important role we play at Christmas and we are hiring more people, opening temporary parcel sorting centres and putting more vans on the road to deliver for our customers again this year.”
It comes after Royal Mail has been fined £21 million for missing its first and second class mail delivery targets in the 2024-25 financial year, regulator Ofcom said.
Ofcom found in an investigation that Royal Mail had missed its delivery targets for both first and second-class post. The postal service only delivered 77% of first-class mail and 92.5% of second-class mail on time in the 2024/25 financial year.
Both of these percentages fell well short of its 93% and 98.5% targets. The communications watchdog has now said Royal Mail must urgently deliver a credible improvement plan or the fines are likely to continue.
Ian Strawhorne, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said: “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 called on Royal Mail to rebuild confidence in its service “as a matter of urgency”.
“And that means making actual significant improvements, not more empty promises,” he said. The investigation found the company had “breached its obligations by failing to provide an acceptable level of service without justification”.
It also said measures taken by Royal Mail to try and reach its targets were “insufficient and ineffective”.
Ofcom said the fine reflected the “harm suffered by customers” because of Royal Mail’s poor service.
Source link
