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That is the conclusion of a snapshot test carried out by the Star as customers across the region continue to complain about later deliveries.
Ofcom targets under the Universal Service Obligation, require say that 93 per cent of first-class mail should arrive the following day, and 99 per cent of all letters within three working days.
If our test is anything to go by, Royal Mail is is failing to meet those obligations.
We posted 20 letters, by first-class post, at lunchtime on March 4. Straight away, the first obstacle was apparent – the pillar box would not be emptied until 9am the following day, so the chances of the letters arriving the next day were presumably zero. Not so long ago, people had until 5pm each day to post their letters.
But given the new collection times, we’ll be reasonable, and assume that 18 of them will reach their destination by March 6, and the remainder arriving by March 10 – surely not too much to ask for a £34 outlay?
Sadly this has not proved to be the case. More than two weeks on, we are still waiting for two of these letters to reach their destination – including one a 30-minute, 1.3-mile walk from the post box.
Of the letters posted, 12 were received the day after collection, a success rate of 60 per cent. Five more, a further 25 per cent, were received the following day, and another one finally landed on the doormat on March 10, some three days late. And the other two? Nothing, we’re still waiting.
To put the service to the test, we sent letters to 20 addresses, one including my own, a 10-minute walk from the pillar box. The others were sent to a mixture of addresses – nine across the Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Staffordshire areas, five in Shropshire, and five elsewhere in the UK.
On the positive side, the one to my home address had arrived on time, within about 28 hours of being collected. And distance does not appear to have been a deciding factor, with letters to Lytham St Annes and Bristol also arriving on time – while one to Coseley in the Black Country has yet to reach its destination.
Catherine Drew, of Penn, Wolverhampton, received her first class letter on March 10 – three days late. Yet she said a parcel sent to her second class from Bristol in the same week actually arrived the next day.
She said: “It is so haphazard. I don’t think our post is too bad, but the days of paying for a next day service are just gone. I don’t believe the Royal Mail’s promises on first class post and it is now longer reliable.”
A spokesman for Royal Mail, who declined to be named, said about 92 per cent of letters arrived on time, but admitted there were problems.
However, a cross-party committee of MPs said this hid the fact that just 74 per cent of first-class post was delivered on time, against a target of 93 per cent.
With 6.3 billion letters delivered by Royal Mail each year, the business and trade committee said this was equivalent to 126 million first-class letters arriving late.
The spokesman said: “We know how important it is that customers receive their mail on time, particularly when it includes important items. Recent figures show around 92 per cent of letters arrive on time, but we recognise performance is not yet where it needs to be in all areas.
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