STORY
Citizens Advice has criticised Royal Mail after the company failed to meet its reduced delivery targets for both first and second class post between April and June 2026. The charity said late deliveries continued to cause problems for people waiting for medical appointments, benefit decisions and bills, despite changes introduced by Ofcom which lowered the standards Royal Mail is required to meet.
From 1 April, Royal Mail’s annual target for first class post was reduced from 93% to 90% of letters being delivered within one working day, while the target for second class post was lowered from 98.5% to 95% within three days. Citizens Advice said Royal Mail had not met any of its annual delivery targets for the past six years, while the price of a first class stamp had risen by 137% and a second class stamp by 40% over the same period.
Tom MacInnes, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said it was not acceptable that Royal Mail had indicated it could take until next spring to meet the new targets. The charity is calling on Ofcom to consider using caps on stamp prices, arguing that previous fines for poor performance have had little effect. Changes to the Universal Service Obligation also mean second class post is moving to delivery on alternate weekdays, with full implementation expected at all delivery offices by December.