Royal Mail hit by decade high of more than 1m complaints
Royal Mail received more than a million complaints from householders last year, the highest level for a decade.
An analysis of Royal Mail quality service reports reveals that it investigated 1,135,441 consumer complaints in the year to 28 March 2021. This is an increase of nearly 50% compared with the previous year.
The surge in complaints is revealed as the company is under fire for delays in postal districts across the country. The Observer last week revealed that more than 120 postal districts experienced delays over the Christmas and new year period. The regulator Ofcom has said it is closely monitoring the situation and will take action if necessary.
In 2020-21, Royal Mail also missed many of its key targets. It delivered about 75% of first-class letters the next working day, compared with its target of 93%. The price of a first-class stamp has risen 21% during the pandemic and is now 85p.
Royal Mail has a near-monopoly over letter deliveries to the front door and has faced claims in parliament that it has prioritised parcels over letters because it is in fierce competition with rival operators, including Amazon. Royal Mail said it warned customers that its service was likely to be disrupted by Covid-19 because of an increase in parcel volumes, social distancing requirements and staff absences.
Customers have complained of delays of up to an hour when phoning Royal Mail customer service agents to complain about missing post.
Lorna Scott Fox, 67, a writer who lives in east London, said her postal deliveries had stopped for about three weeks in December and she had still not taken down her Christmas cards because they only arrived this month.
She said that when she phoned Royal Mail to complain, she faced a wait of about 50
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