Royal Mail issues alert as 51 UK postcodes face delivery disruption

Royal Mail has issued yet another disruption alert affecting postcodes throughout the UK. Areas spanning England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all experiencing postal delays.

The delivery giant aims to deliver letters and parcels to UK addresses six days a week. However, it has confirmed it is unable to meet delivery targets across 51 postcode areas today. As of Monday, April 13, there are delays in areas including Barry, Lichfield, Oxford, Wellingborough and Yate.

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.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”

Royal Mail has faced considerable criticism over late deliveries. Owner Daniel Kretinsky previously told MPs: “Of course I am deeply sorry for any letters that arrive late.”

Nevertheless, he rejected claims that Royal Mail’s track record for late letter deliveries was worsening. Addressing the Commons Business select committee, Mr Kretinsky said: “It is not perfect, but it is not catastrophic.”

This month, customers have been hit with a stamp price increase. First Class stamps have risen to £1.80 and Second Class to 91p. The cost of a First Class stamp in 2020 stood at 76p.

Royal Mail attributed the increases to the escalating expense of delivery as letter volumes declined and the number of addresses grew.

Its managing director of letters, Richard Travers, said: “We always consider price changes very carefully, balancing affordability with the rising cost of delivering mail.

Mr Travers added: “In the meantime, the number of addresses we deliver to has increased by four million to 32 million addresses across the UK.”