Communications regulatory body Ofcom has fined Royal Mail £21m for failing to meet delivery targets for First and Second Class mail in the 2024/25 financial year.
Royal Mail delivered 77% of First Class mail on time between April 2024 and March 2025, well short of its 93% target. Over the same period, 92.5% of Second Class mail was delivered within three working days, falling short of the 98.5% target.
Ofcom determined that Royal Mail “breached its obligations by failing to provide an acceptable level of service without justification”.
The fine is the third penalty for Royal Mail since 2023. The company was fined £5.6m in November 2023 and £10.5m in December 2024.
The latest fine would have been £30m – the third largest Ofcom has ever imposed – but was reduced by 30% as Royal Mail admitted liability and agreed to settle the case.
Improvement plans
Royal Mail published an improvement plan for last financial year, aimed at delivering 85% of first-class post on time and 97% of second-class post, but according to Ofcom “this has not materialised”.
The regulator has told Royal Mail that “it must urgently publish – and deliver – a credible improvement plan, or fines are likely to continue”.
Ian Strawhorne, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said: “Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp. These persistent failures are unacceptable, and customers expect and deserve better.”
Strawhorne added that Royal Mail must rebuild consumers’ confidence as a matter of urgency. “That means making actual significant improvements, not more empty promises.”
In July, Ofcom set out new reforms to the universal service obligation, impacting how Royal Mail will operate and enabling it to invest more in improving delivery performance.
“Royal Mail must now play its part by implementing this effectively and improving its reliability,” Ofcom said.
Royal Mail reaction
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We acknowledge the decision made by Ofcom today and we will continue to work hard to deliver further sustained improvements to our quality of service.
“A key area of focus and investment has been the detailed work ahead of full implementation of our new delivery model, enabled by Ofcom’s changes to the Universal Service. This is critical to enable us to drive a step change in quality of service. We have also implemented important changes across our network including recruiting, retaining and training our people, and providing additional support to delivery offices.
“Where we have piloted Universal Service changes, we can see that our model is working, with improvements in deliveries. This will help us deliver a modern, reliable and more financially sustainable postal service that meets the needs of today’s postal users.”
