Royal Mail faces multimillionpound fine over late deliveries
ROYAL MAIL is facing a multimillionpound fine after failing to deliver first and second-class post on time.
The company is under investigation from Ofcom, the media regulator, after bosses revealed almost 20pc of first class letters and parcels were arriving late.
Royal Mail could face a fine of 10pc of its turnover if it is found to have fallen short – about £800m – although the penalty is likely to be much lower. It was ordered to pay £1.5m in 2020 for a similar breach.
Campaigners warned that delivery hold-ups are putting ordinary consumers’ finances and health at risk. Matthew Upton, at Citizens Advice, said: “While posties have been working tirelessly to deliver our letters and parcels, Royal Mail itself has been letting people down.
“This is a vital public service, relied on by many for bills and medical letters. We welcome Ofcom’s investigation and hope it clamps down on poor service before it becomes the new normal.”
Royal Mail, which is next week expected to fall out of the FTSE 100 index after a post-covid share price slump, admitted earlier this month that
‘Royal Mail has been letting people down. This is a vital public service, relied on for bills and medical letters’
nearly one in five first class deliveries were not made on time. However, this was an improvement on the previous year when one in four letters and parcels breached the legislative minimum.
Ofcom said it would now gather further evidence to determine the significance of breaches.
Royal Mail has admitted its “performance needs to improve” and said more than 86 per cent of first-class mail was delivered by the next working day in the last week of April.
Before the pandemic, Royal Mail delivered 92.6pc of first-class mail within one working day and was previously fined £1.5m by Ofcom for failing to meet its 93pc delivery target.
Grant Mcpherson, the Mail’s chief operating officer, said: “We’re sorry to any customers who were impacted by service levels during this time. We know we need to improve our performance and some of the steps we have taken to address the issues are bearing fruit.”
Meanwhile, Unite has launched a strike ballot, claiming Royal Mail wants to remove nearly 550 frontline managers. The Mail’s biggest union, the CWU, is preparing industrial action this summer in a row over pay and conditions.