Royal Mail has robustly rebutted a Citizens Advice survey into its Christmas delivery performance, describing the numbers cited as “not credible”.
The public advocacy charity conducts postal delays research every year. It commissioned Yonder Data Solutions, which surveyed 2,095 adults between 5-6 January to ask them about their experiences of letter delays in the past month.
As a result of the findings, Citizens Advice claimed that 16m people were hit by delays with their post over Christmas, with the number of people impacted up by 50% since 2024.
However, Royal Mail refuted the findings and made a number of points in response.
The postal operator stated: “The numbers quoted by Citizens Advice are not credible as they are based on a sample size of just 2,000 and the picture they paint does not accurately reflect the tens of millions of customers we delivered to successfully throughout the Christmas period.”
Royal Mail also pointed out that Ofcom does not apply its normal delivery targets over the Christmas period “a point largely absent from the main narrative of the [Citizens Advice] release”.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Independent data shows that more than 99% of items posted by the last recommended dates arrived in time for Christmas.
“This was during our busiest time of year, when volumes more than double, and we’re grateful to our teams across the country who worked incredibly hard to deliver for our customers.”
Citizens Advice said its research found that around a third, or 34% of people reported “bunching” of letter deliveries after not receiving post for between one and three weeks at a time.
Royal Mail stated that falling letter volumes mean many households no longer receive mail every day, “which can create a perception of delay even when post is moving as planned. The average household now receives only four letters per week, down from 14, yet the number of addresses has risen by four million,” Royal Mail noted.
Regarding criticism about spiralling stamp prices, with a First Class stamp now at £1.70, Royal Mails said Second Class mail at 87p offered “excellent value”.
Royal Mail has struggled with its delivery targets in general and has been fined by Ofcom for three years running for missing its targets.
Last year’s £21m fine was reduced from £30m after Royal Mail admitted liability.
Citizens Advice head of policy Anne Pardoe commented: “We’re afraid there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for consumers struggling with Royal Mail’s persistent delivery failures. When people have no other postal provider to choose from, the sheer volume of delays is simply unacceptable.
“The company’s dreadful festive slump is about much more than late Christmas cards. People are left distressed after missing health appointments, fines and benefit decisions.
“This is a worrying trend, and with cuts to delivery days looming, Ofcom must start cracking down even harder on missed targets before things go from bad to worse. Any future stamp price increases should be conditional on Royal Mail meeting these targets.”
The roll-out of Royal Mail’s new USO delivery model was paused in September.
The new USO retains a six days a week, Monday to Saturday delivery service for First Class mail. Second Class will be delivered on a five day alternating schedule that excludes Saturdays.