The recent filing of Royal Mail’s 2025/26 delivery performance has led to Ofcom initiating an investigation into the UK postal service.
Royal Mail’s report showed that only 75.7% of First Class mail was delivered the next working day which is short of its then-target of 93%.
Additionally, only 90.2% of Second Class mail was delivered within three working days – also well short of a 98.5% target.
Ofcom measures Royal Mail’s delivery performance against nationwide annual delivery targets, from April to March, excluding the Christmas period.
This is done by independently-audited testing of hundreds of thousands of mail items that are sent each year.
In deciding whether Royal Mail breached its regulatory obligations, Ofcom will consider all relevant factors.
This will include the question of parcel prioritisation, as well as identifying whether there were any exceptional events beyond the company’s control that may have affected its performance.
Ofcom is also deciding whether to impose a financial penalty having fined Royal Mail more than £37 million for delivery failures in the past.
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