Holiday collapse of Royal Mail as millions of important letters are lost

According to Citizens Advice (CA), more than 30 million people have been affected by email delays over Christmas as Royal Mail “fails consumers for the third year in a row.”

Six out of ten adults say they’ve experienced late mail, including millions who say they missed important doctor appointments or important legal documents because of a dispute. Some said they received Christmas cards in the lead-up to the New Year, a survey by the charity showed.

As a result of the strikes, Royal Mail has moved its final delivery dates to Christmas this year, with the second-class mailing deadline on Monday, December 12th.

More than 110 million parcels and 600 million addressed letters were delivered in December, according to Royal Mail.

Citizens Advice urged Royal Mail to improve its operations, saying that despite the strikes, Royal Mail is facing “serious problems”.

Rumor has it that people are turning to more expensive shipping methods, such as B. guaranteed special delivery, but despite the surcharge, there were still delays.

The rights group said regulator Ofcom should investigate Royal Mail’s activities, especially during the Christmas period when activities are currently tax-free. Stamp price increases should be stopped because the company’s performance is “very poor,” the report said.

CA CEO Dame Claire Moriarty said: “Royal Mail’s virtual monopoly on letters means Ofcom must take action to protect consumers from further harm. We need to learn the underperforming culture at Royal Mail and stop throwing the company off balance over the holiday season.”

Royal Mail owners say the strikes cost the company £200m. The owners of the International Distributions Services (IDS) postal company said they posted losses of £295m in the first nine months of the financial year.

Revenue was reported to be down almost 13% compared to the same period in 2021, due to a drop in emails and a diminishing contribution of Covid test kits.

He predicts a £350 million to £450 million loss for Royal Mail, but assumes there will be no more strikes.

The group resumed negotiations with the Communications Workers’ Union, but the union began its third strike vote earlier this week.

Royal Mail owner cuts costs and jobs as part of a major overhaul of its letters and parcels department. The number of voluntary layoffs required will be “significantly” less than the 10,000 employees initially feared.

He stated that he also resumed some of his international services two weeks after his operations were interrupted by a “cyber incident”. It stated that it provides international tracking and signature services and international signed services across the board for business customers and customers who buy stamps online.