Royal Mail has issued a warning that postcodes throughout the UK will experience delayed deliveries this weekend. The postal service typically aims to deliver letters and parcels six days per week.
Nevertheless, it has come under fire regarding delivery setbacks alongside rising stamp costs. Weekend delivery and collection services are scheduled for today, Saturday, March 21, whilst parcel deliveries are planned for tomorrow, Sunday, March 22. However, numerous delivery offices have confirmed delays, creating a domino effect on specific postcodes.
Royal Mail said: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors. In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.
“We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.”
It added: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.” This weekend, 25 delivery offices nationwide are experiencing disruption.
This affects households and businesses across 62 postcode districts. Locations impacted include Birmingham, Leicester, Grimsby, Oxford, Pontefract and Whitechapel.
The company received a £21million penalty last October after failing to meet first and second class delivery standards during its previous financial year. Only 77% of first-class post and 92.5% of second-class were delivered punctually in its 2024-25 financial year – falling short of its respective 93% and 98.5% targets.
This development comes as Royal Mail prepares to raise stamp prices next month. From 6th April, First Class stamps will cost £1.80 whilst Second Class stamps will rise to 91p.
In 2020, a First Class stamp cost 76p. Next month, customers will face a charge of £1.80 (up 10p), representing a 137% increase over six years. Since 2020, First Class stamp prices have increased eight times, according to Citizens Advice.
Richard Travers, managing director of letters at Royal Mail, said: “We always consider price changes very carefully, balancing affordability with the rising cost of delivering mail.
“On average, UK adults now spend just £6.50 each year on stamps and there are 70% fewer letters sent than 20 years ago.
“In the meantime, the number of addresses we deliver to has increased by four million to 32 million addresses across the UK.”
