Royal Mail Fined £21m for Delivery Failures

Published: 15 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk / Reporter Name. The English Chronicle Online.

Royal Mail has been fined £21 million by Ofcom after repeatedly failing to meet its annual delivery targets, resulting in millions of letters across the UK arriving late. The communications regulator described the postal giant’s performance as “unacceptable” and warned that further penalties could follow if the company does not deliver on promised improvements.

According to Ofcom’s six-month investigation, Royal Mail delivered just 77% of first-class and 92.5% of second-class mail on time during the 2024–25 financial year — falling far short of its required targets of 93% and 98.5%. The regulator said this marked a “persistent failure” to meet basic service standards despite prior warnings and repeated fines.

This is the third time in recent years that Royal Mail has faced financial penalties for underperformance, and the £21 million fine is the third largest Ofcom has ever issued. The watchdog said Royal Mail must now publish a credible improvement plan to rebuild public confidence in its reliability.

Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom’s director of enforcement, said: “Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp. These persistent failures are unacceptable. Royal Mail must make real improvements — not more empty promises.”

The company, which traces its origins back to 1516 under Henry VIII, has long struggled to meet its delivery obligations amid staffing shortages, declining mail volumes, and growing competition from digital communication.

Royal Mail’s failure came despite a recent change in ownership. In April, Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský completed a £3.6 billion takeover of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), following a UK government national security review. Known as the “Czech Sphinx”, Křetínský also holds stakes in Sainsbury’s and West Ham United, as well as major energy assets.

That same month, Royal Mail raised the price of first-class stamps by 5p to £1.70 and second-class stamps by 2p to 87p — a move that frustrated customers already unhappy with delayed deliveries and poor service.

Ofcom said it had taken into account exceptional factors, such as extreme weather, but concluded that Royal Mail had “failed to provide an acceptable level of service without justification” and “took insufficient and ineffective steps to prevent this failure.” The fine was initially set at £30 million but reduced by 30% after the company admitted liability and agreed to settle the case.

Royal Mail’s owner, IDS, was granted permission by Ofcom earlier this year to end second-class Saturday deliveries and move to an alternating weekday schedule. However, the company has said this change will take “many months” to fully implement.

The regulator said it would continue to monitor Royal Mail’s progress closely and warned that future fines could follow if delivery performance does not improve significantly.

The latest penalty highlights growing tensions between regulators, customers, and the centuries-old postal institution as it struggles to modernise in a rapidly changing communication landscape. For millions of households and businesses still reliant on timely mail delivery, Ofcom’s message was clear: the nation’s postal service must do better — and soon.