'Unacceptable performance': Ofcom launches investigation into Royal Mail over missed delivery targets

Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into Royal Mail after the postal operator failed to meet delivery targets for another consecutive year.The regulator’s latest quality of service figures showed Royal Mail fell significantly short of required standards during the year ending March 2026.Just 75.7 per cent of first-class letters arrived the next working day, well below the 90 per cent target set by Ofcom.The figure also represented a decline from the previous year, when 76.3 per cent of first-class mail was delivered on time.Performance for second-class post also worsened.Only 90.2 per cent of second-class letters arrived within three working days compared with the required 95 per cent target.That marked a fall from 92.2 per cent recorded the previous year.Ofcom described Royal Mail’s service standards as unacceptable despite acknowledging the company had recently started introducing improvements.The regulator updated Royal Mail’s obligations in July 2025 in response to the sharp decline in letter volumes across the UK.Under the revised rules, second-class post no longer had to be delivered every weekday and could instead be delivered on alternating weekdays.However, Ofcom said Royal Mail took almost 12 months to begin implementing the changes.The postal operator said it expects the rollout of its revised delivery model to be completed by the end of this year.Ofcom said the delay in introducing the reforms contributed to continuing poor service standards and ongoing disruption for customers.Ian Strawhorne, enforcement director at Ofcom, said: A reliable postal service is vital to many people across the country.We share the deep frustrations of customers who have missed important letters because of Royal Mail's consistent failure to improve its service over the years.Mr Strawhorne acknowledged Royal Mail had begun making progress through its improvement programme.He added: While the company is now making progress through its improvement plan, we will continue to hold it to account for its unacceptable performance to date.Royal Mail said improving service levels remained a key priority for the business.A spokesman for the company said: Improving quality of service is a top priority and we are delivering a major programme of change through the rollout of our new delivery model which underpins our Improvement Plan, backed by £500million of investment over five years.The company said the changes were designed to modernise operations and deliver more reliable services under the updated Universal Service rules introduced last year.Royal Mail also warned that any financial penalties arising from the investigation could affect future investment in the postal network.The spokesman said: At a time when significant investment is being made to improve reliability across the network, any financial penalty would reduce funding that could otherwise be used to support service improvements for customers.The company confirmed it would cooperate fully with Ofcom’s investigation. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter