Citizens Advice responds to Ofcom imposing a fine on Royal Mail for failing to meet delivery targets

“For far too long, post delays and a substandard service has become business as usual for Royal Mail with consumers left facing the consequences. Today’s fine from Ofcom has shown that enough is enough. 

“By failing to hit delivery targets for five consecutive quarters, Royal Mail has failed to deliver for consumers. Letter delays leave millions of people missing important post like medical appointment letters, legal documents and benefit decisions. This comes despite Royal Mail routinely increasing their prices over the last 18 months, meaning consumers are getting less despite paying more.

“We hope Ofcom’s announcement pushes Royal Mail to finally up its game.” 

Additional information

• The fine from Ofcom imposed on Royal Mail equates to 0.05% of the Royal Mail Group revenue for the year ending 2023. 

Notes to editors

1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
3. Citizens Advice helped 2.55 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2021-22. And we had 40.6 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 18,500 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 service outlets across England and Wales.
5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.