Royal Mail bosses to be called to Parliament over letter delivery failures

"The Committee is very concerned by consistent and growing reports, and now many direct representations, about significant failures in Royal Mail's letter delivery service. EP Group's takeover was approved on a legal undertaking that it would maintain the Universal Service Obligation that is the bedrock of the UK's postal service. But one year in, even first-class deliveries are way off track."

"Hundreds of people contacted the BBC to express frustration over late deliveries, saying they had missed hospital appointments, and had not received important documents including school certificates and bank statements. More than a dozen Royal Mail postal staff from different delivery offices claimed rounds were being missed on a daily basis and parcels were being prioritised over letters as they are stretched beyond capacity."

Royal Mail faces parliamentary scrutiny after the Business and Trade Committee summoned executives to answer questions about significant service failures. The BBC received hundreds of complaints from customers experiencing delayed mail delivery, missed hospital appointments, and undelivered important documents like school certificates and bank statements. Postal staff reported that daily delivery rounds were being missed as parcels were prioritized over letters due to capacity constraints. Committee chair Liam Byrne expressed concern about consistent failures in letter delivery service, particularly first-class mail. The summons follows Royal Mail's acquisition by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group last April, which had committed to maintaining the Universal Service Obligation.

Read at www.bbc.com