Royal Mail 'fake delivery' allegations spark investigation calls

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 27 Dec 2024, 09:40

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Royal Mail is being called on to investigate reports that some managers are 'faking deliveries' to meet bonus targets.

A story in the Telegraph suggested workers have been told by some managers to class parcels as “inaccessible”, even if no attempt at delivery was made.

As a result, some parcels might not arrive in time for Christmas, said the report

The Telegraph said it had contacted staff who had been told to scan parcels as "inaccessible".

One unnamed source said: “Obviously, it probably is unethical to do something like that, as it is dishonest – and the customer is expecting their parcel. I don’t feel comfortable doing it.

“There is a culture of greed from the managers, and they just care about their bonuses.”

Customer operations managers are said to have part of their bonuses based on parcels leaving Royal Mail depots.

Justin Madders, the minister for postal services, called on both Royal Mail and regulator Ofcom to investigate, adding he was disturbed by the report.

An Ofcom spokesman said: “We’ve been clear that Royal Mail must improve its performance. Following engagement with Ofcom, the company published an update on its improvement plans in May this year, and we’ll be holding it to account for delivering a better service.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are not experiencing any current network-wide delays this Christmas. Last year, more than 99 per cent of items posted before the last posting dates arrived before Christmas, and we are well prepared to deliver this again this year.

“There is no bonus incentive that would encourage items to not be delivered. This would be counter-intuitive to our business as a delivery company.”

Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services PLC (LSE:IDS) is currently in the process of being taken over by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, which will put the postal service under foreign ownership for the first in its 500-year history.