Royal Mail fined £21m by Ofcom over missed delivery targets

(Sharecast News) - Royal Mail has been fined £21m by Ofcom after failing to meet its delivery targets for first and second-class post in the 2024/25 financial year.

The penalty, the third-largest ever issued by the watchdog, follows an investigation into service levels under the universal service obligation, which revealed Royal Mail had delivered just 77% of First Class and 92.5% of Second Class mail on time - falling short of its respective 93% and 98.5% benchmarks.

Ofcom said the fine had been reduced from £30m to reflect Royal Mail's admission of failings.

Ofcom's director of enforcement, Ian Strawhorne, said millions of letters were arriving late and warned fines were "likely to continue" unless Royal Mail delivers a credible improvement plan.

The regulator found Royal Mail had breached its obligations and described its remedial actions as "insufficient and ineffective". It has now been fined three times over delays in recent years, including penalties of £5.6m in 2023 and £10.5m in 2024.

Under the USO, Royal Mail must deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week across the UK. However, since July, some areas have only received second-class letters every other weekday, following changes proposed by Ofcom earlier this year.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com