Almost 11 million people faced Christmas letter delays, Citizens Advice reveals

• 3.4 million people missed vital letters for health appointments, bills, legal documents and fines 

• With Royal Mail’s service obligations up for review, Citizens Advice calls for the regulator Ofcom to ensure consumers’ needs are placed at the heart of reforms

An estimated 10.7 million people (22% of UK adults) were hit with letter delays over Christmas, Citizens Advice has revealed.  

As well as Christmas cards not being delivered on time, damning new research from the charity found that, among those who experienced a delay, 3.4 million faced a serious consequence as a result. This included missing vital health appointments, bills, legal documents, letters from the bank, fines and benefit decisions.

The worst-hit region for letter delays in the past month was the South East, with 27% of people not receiving post on time.

Royal Mail holds the Universal Service Obligation (USO) in the UK and is required by law to deliver letters six days a week, Monday to Saturday, but is exempt from delivery targets around the Christmas period. However, year-on-year, since 2019, Royal Mail has failed to meet its annual First and Second Class delivery targets. 

The regulator Ofcom is set to announce proposed changes to the USO in the next couple of weeks, which could reduce Second Class letter deliveries to alternate weekdays only and could pave the way for Royal Mail to charge much more. 

As statutory watchdog for postal consumers, Citizens Advice is calling on Ofcom to reform the USO in a way that protects consumers from steep price hikes and continued delays.

At a time when poor standards have become part and parcel of using Royal Mail’s services, Citizens Advice says consumers are now paying more than double the price for a First Class stamp than five years ago. Among those who send and receive post with Royal Mail, nearly a third (29%) said they sent fewer Christmas cards in 2024 because stamps were too expensive.

Tom MacInnes, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said:  

“For far too long, letter delays and poor service have become business as usual at Royal Mail.

“Letter delays aren’t just about missed Christmas cards. Millions of people receiving their post late, or not at all, can experience real and worrying consequences - especially when they miss vital medical appointments or bills.

“With the future of our postal service at stake, reforms to the USO come at a critical time. Improving reliability and affordability will be essential. But cutting deliveries won’t automatically lead to the more reliable service people need - nor should they be expected to pay more for a reduced service. 

“Ofcom has to ensure any revised USO puts consumer needs at its heart - not just Royal Mail’s bottom line.”

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Notes to editors:

1. Yonder Data Solutions surveyed 2,079 18+ UK adults between 3rd - 5th January 2025, to ask them about their experiences of letter delays.

2. When asked ‘thinking about any post you've received from or sent with Royal Mail in the last month, has any of your post been delayed or not arrived at all?’ 21.6% (an estimated 10.7 million people) said they had experienced a letter delay. The population estimate was calculated using ONS 2023 Mid-2023 Estimates of the population for the United Kingdom.      

3. When asked ‘Did you experience any negative consequences because a letter was delayed or didn't arrive in the last month?’ 25% of those who experienced a letter delay in the last month, experienced a serious negative consequence as a result. This is the equivalent of 7.4% (3.4 million) UK adults. 

4. Examples of serious negative consequences include: missing important documents (insurance, legal or bank letter), missing a health appointment, missing a financial appointment (e.g. a job interview), losing money (having to pay more, fines), or not being able to pay a bill.   

5. The regions hit most by post delays in England are as follows: 

• South East: 27%

• South West 26%

• North West 25% 

• East Midlands 24%

• Eastern 22%

6. When asked, ‘thinking now about Christmas cards for the holidays. If you sent fewer Christmas cards this year, what was the reason?’ 29% of people who send and receive post with Royal Mail said they sent fewer Christmas cards in 2024 because stamps were too expensive. 

7. Royal Mail has annual delivery targets. Ofcom fined the postal service last year (£10.5 million) and in 2023 (£5.6 million) for breaching its obligations relating to delivery targets.

8. Royal Mail is exempt from its targets over the festive period.

9. While Royal Mail failed to meet its annual delivery targets between 2019 and 2022, Ofcom did not find it in breach of its obligations because of the effects of the pandemic on its operations.

10. The price of a First Class stamp is £1.65, and a Second Class stamp is 85p.

11. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

12. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. 

13. Citizens Advice helped 2.68 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2023-24. And we had 51.7 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

14. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,000 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 service outlets across England and Wales.

15. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal markets. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers. 

16. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.