Citizens Advice responds to Royal Mail's latest quality of service results

Responding to Royal Mail's latest quality of service results for Q1 2024-2025 which show that Royal Mail have not met its delivery targets for First or Second class post between April and June 2024, Tom MacInnes, Interim Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said:

“Royal Mail has yet again failed to meet its delivery targets this quarter, with consumers now bearing the brunt of poor service for half a decade.

“The current review of Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligation (USO) will be a touchstone moment for the future of our postal service. But we’ve seen very little commitment from either Royal Mail or Ofcom to tackle these persistent failings properly.

“Options currently on the table all pave the way for a slower and more expensive postal service, at the point millions of us are already feeling the impact of ongoing letter delays. Ofcom and the new government must spell out how the revised USO will deliver for the millions who rely on it, not just for Royal Mail’s bottom line.”

Additional information:

  • Our research found one in four don’t trust second class letters will reach their destination when they should, meaning people end up paying for a more expensive service than they might need.

  • A 1st class stamp now costs nearly double what it did just 5 years ago. In 2019 - a 1st class stamp cost 70 pence, now it’s £1.35. If Royal Mail continues to hike prices at the current rate, 1st class stamps would be almost 200% more expensive in five years’ time - that’s £3.76 in 2029

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 2.66 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2022-23. And we had 60.6 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 16,000 trained volunteers, working at over 1,600 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.