Ofcom issued ultimatum over Royal Mail’s ‘unacceptable’ performance and post delays

Postal regulator Ofcom has faced harsh criticism for its failure to deal with Royal Mail’s consistently “unacceptable” performance.

A report by MPs on the Business and Trade Committee has cast serious doubts, arguing that Ofcom is “not up to the job” of policing the increasingly competitive and complex postal market.

Despite receiving fines from the regulator every year since 2022, Royal Mail continues to fail to meet both public expectations and its own mandated targets.

The committee highlighted a dramatic drop in letter volumes, alongside concerns that parcel giants such as Amazon could “chase profits” by using the universal postal service for hard-to-reach addresses without contributing to core Royal Mail infrastructure costs.

Between April 2025 and January 2026, only 74.9 percent of first-class mail arrived the next day; This was a significant figure, 18.1 percentage points below the target.

This means an estimated 126 million first-class letters were delivered late, leading to critical problems such as missed hospital appointments, benefit decisions being delayed and fines arriving too late to appeal.

MPs have given Ofcom a six-month ultimatum to show it has the authority and effort necessary to effectively regulate the 21st century postal market.

Nearly 16 million people experienced letter delays at Christmas last year; This is up 50% since 2024.

The committee stated that Ofcom did not give the concrete number of letters delivered late to parliament, that Royal Mail rejected them on the grounds of commercial confidentiality, and that if there was such a ban, it should be changed.

If Ofcom fails to introduce better regulation of the postal market within six months of its report, the Secretary of State should consult on legislative changes “to ensure it is fit for the 21st century postal market”, MPs said.

Liam Byrne, who chairs the committee, said: “Millions of people are paying for a postal service that doesn’t deliver.

“Hospital appointments being missed, benefit decisions being delayed, fines arriving too late to appeal: these are not minor inconveniences and are the consequences of a national service failing to meet the standards the public has a right to expect.

“Despite years of fines and missed targets, Royal Mail’s performance remains unacceptable and Ofcom has failed to deliver the change needed at the pace needed.

“We are deeply concerned by the lack of any serious investigation into whether letters have been de-prioritised in favor of more profitable packages.

“We recognize that the postal market has changed beyond recognition, with major logistics firms effectively turning a profit as they rely on Royal Mail’s universal service network to reach harder-to-serve parts of the country.

“Universal service remains one of Britain’s biggest civil guarantees, but confidence in it is waning and Ofcom now has six months to prove it has the power and will to regulate the 21st century postal market.”

An Ofcom spokesman said: “As we made clear in our evidence to the committee, Ofcom acted decisively, not only using the full range of our enforcement powers to fine Royal Mail more than £37 million for its poor performance, but also demanding a credible recovery plan from the company, backed by investment.

“We have also modernized our rules to reflect people’s needs and give the postal service the best chance of survival.

“The main issue at hand is the Royal’s Mail’s ability to comply with and deliver on its long-awaited improvement plan.

“Having finally reached an agreement with the union to modernize its operations, backed by a commitment to invest £500 million, Royal Mail now urgently needs to implement its promised reforms.

“We will continue to hold accountable on behalf of our customers, who we recognize have been badly let down by the company.”

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communications Workers Union, said: “Postal workers up and down the country will welcome the committee’s conclusions.

“Ofcom has repeatedly failed in its regulatory duties.

“Royal Mail has failed to adequately address major customer service failures, adequate staff resourcing and a culture of poor management at the company.

“It has also failed to put an end to the exploitative labor models used by other postal companies such as Amazon and Evri to siphon huge profits and undermine Royal Mail.

“If Royal Mail has any chance in the future, we must see a seriously reformed Ofcom that can raise issues honestly and recommend changes that are clearly needed.”