Royal Mail has come below renewed fireplace after analysis discovered it did not ship Christmas letters and playing cards on time to round 16 million individuals, the worst festive efficiency in 5 years outdoors durations of strike motion.
The findings, printed by Residents Recommendation, counsel the variety of individuals affected by delays over Christmas 2025 was 50 per cent greater than in 2024, highlighting what campaigners describe as a persistent deterioration in postal companies.
Anne Pardoe, head of coverage at Residents Recommendation, mentioned the dimensions of disruption was “merely unacceptable”, notably provided that many households haven’t any different postal supplier.
“We’re afraid there’s no gentle on the finish of the tunnel for customers combating Royal Mail’s persistent supply failures,” she mentioned. “When individuals haven’t any different postal supplier to select from, the sheer quantity of delays is unacceptable.”
The analysis, based mostly on a survey of just about 2,100 adults performed by Yonder, discovered that 5.7 million of these affected missed out on receiving necessary correspondence, together with well being appointments, profit choices, fines and authorized paperwork.
Pardoe warned that the issue went far past late Christmas playing cards. “This can be a worrying development, and with cuts to supply days looming, Ofcom should crack down tougher on missed targets earlier than issues go from unhealthy to worse,” she mentioned.
Ofcom doesn’t apply its customary supply targets to Royal Mail throughout the busy festive interval, a long-standing exemption that client teams have criticised.
Royal Mail rejected claims that its Christmas efficiency was poor. A spokesperson mentioned: “Impartial knowledge reveals that greater than 99 per cent of things posted by the final beneficial dates arrived in time for Christmas. This was throughout our busiest time of yr, when volumes greater than double, and we’re grateful to our groups throughout the nation who labored extremely arduous to ship for patrons.”
The disruption got here throughout the first Christmas for the reason that £3.6bn takeover of Royal Mail’s guardian firm, Worldwide Distribution Providers, by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský.
In July, Ofcom authorized plans permitting Royal Mail to finish second-class deliveries on Saturdays and transfer to an alternating weekday service from Monday to Friday, a change that has fuelled considerations about additional declines in reliability.
On the similar time, the price of postage has risen sharply. A primary-class stamp now prices £1.70 — greater than double its 2020 value — whereas a second-class stamp prices 87p. Residents Recommendation mentioned 36 per cent of these surveyed despatched fewer Christmas playing cards this yr as a result of stamps had been too costly.
Royal Mail has not met its Ofcom-mandated supply targets for first-class put up since 2017, or for second-class mail since 2020. In October, the regulator fined the corporate £21m for lacking annual targets.
“Any future stamp value will increase must be conditional on Royal Mail assembly these targets,” Pardoe mentioned.
The challenges dealing with the service replicate a long-term shift in utilization. A decade in the past, Royal Mail delivered round 20 billion letters a yr; that determine has fallen to six.7 billion and will drop to 4 billion inside 4 years. Over the identical interval, the variety of addresses served has elevated by round 4 million.
Royal Mail additionally confronted criticism forward of Christmas after downgrading a employees perk, changing books of first-class stamps with second-class stamps for workers.
Residents Recommendation mentioned the newest figures underline the necessity for harder regulatory intervention, warning that with out significant enchancment, thousands and thousands of customers will proceed to face delayed or missed deliveries for important correspondence.
