Royal Mail has faced criticism after it emerged that vital post including hospital appointments, fines and court documents could now take longer to reach destinations
Royal Mail could delay deliveries of billions of items to save up to £650million a year.
The privatised postal giant, which racked up a £319million half-year loss in November, is in talks to postpone deliveries of “bulk” mail by a day. Vital post which could now take three days instead of two includes hospital appointments, fines and court documents.
People took to social media to blast the firm. One householder said: “Heaven help those waiting for hospital notifications , they would probably miss the appointment. Royal Mail is becoming a joke!” It also wants to cut daily deliveries of stamped items controlled by the Universal Service Obligation.
Bulk items account for seven out of 10 letters Royal Mail handles.Senders can opt for a two day, or a cheaper five day option. Regulator Ofcom has raised the possibility of the two day option becoming three days to free up Royal Mail to focus on more urgent items. But many customers say bulk mail already takes much longer than two days.
Unlike with stamped items, Royal Mail cannot be fined by Ofcom for delays to bulk mail deliveries. The idea of moving from two to three days is contained in a recent consultation from Ofcom.
Morgan Wild of Citizens Advice, said: “Cutting services won’t automatically make letter deliveries more reliable.” Royal Mail said: “Ofcom’s report demonstrates reform is urgently needed to protect the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service.
“It is not sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we now deliver seven billion. We are considering the options put forward in Ofcom’s report, in discussion with our customers, employees and unions.” Martin Seidenberg, boss of Royal Mail owner International Distributions, earns a £700,000 base salary.
