Royal Mail’s latest Quality of Service report show that they delivered 92.4% of First Class mail the next working day in the second quarter of the year missing the Royal Mail USO target of 93%. However they delivered 92.9% of First Class mail on time over the six months leading up to 24 September 2017 due to a sterling first quarter of the year suggesting that without further issues they can make up the target over the full year.
The Second Class regulatory target in the first half of the 2017/18 financial year, delivering 98.8% within three working days, against a target of 98.5%. 98.8% of Second Class mail was delivered within three working days both of the first two quarters.
The Royal Mail Special Delivery target of 99% was also narrowly missed with 98.7% delivered on time.
It’s worth pointing out that many of Royal Mails’s parcel products sold on account fall outside of the regulatory targets and so aren’t reported on in the Quality of service reports. Whilst we have no way to accurately determine parcel delivery standards, based on personal experience, and as they are treated in a similar fashion to Special Delivery, it appears likely that services like Tracked24 have a very high success rate of being delivered on time.
Are you experiencing any problems with Royal Mail with late deliveries? With strike action cancelled for the foreseeable future and almost certainly no industrial action before Christmas we don’t foresee any major problems for Royal Mail before the end of the year. Whilst a few employees might decide in absence of strikes that they will work to rule, the same won’t apply to the 20,000 additional employees Royal Mail has recruited to help handle the Christmas rush.
4 Responses
98.8 within 3 days? No way. We see it’s closer to 60-70%.
I think they’re OK for what is and what we pay.
Yes, there is the odd one that arrives 1 day late. And there are those that for some reason take the magical 10 working days to turn up, having been given a full tour of the UK first. But most of our so-called ‘late’ ebay deliveries were actually on time deliveries according to the Royal Mail service selected. 2nd class/RM48 is 2-3 days. They were deemed 1 day late however, as ebay randomly declare a best case scenario 2 day ETA or a more accurate 2-3 day ETA for these. The logic or reason behind this, I cannot work out. But if they tell a buyer 2 days and it arrives on day 3, the buyer will think it is late.
This is utter rubbish. They only have figures for signed for items. This year I’ve had three signed for parcels given to me by postmen without being asked for a signature. Two items pre-signed for, but not by me, and I have also received 5 letters for people in the next street! My friend bought a rare £500 LP on eBay & the postman left it outside his front door – it was signed for by an unknown person. He has been led a merry dance trying to investigate. Royal Mail keep saying…”well you have the parcel so that’s the end of the matter” No investigation into why it was left on display outside his front door & no response when asked who signed for it. They refuse to speak to the postman who was working that day.
I doubt these figures are true we have seen a vast increase in numbers lost never mind late.
Since Royal Mail brought in the new confirmation of delivery the service has become pretty much an unfunny joke. In just a 5 week period we have seen 9 parcels just vanish the tracking number for the confirmation gives no information at all. Which then makes the customer submit claims instantly as they do not believe we even posted the parcel. Our tracked service just says delivered they do not give a clue as to where the item was delivered which with todays technology it would be so simple to put a house number or shed/outbuilding or at least some clue and they just never leave a card and then we are told “oh he might have run out of cards” the excuse is so poor considering he should have 200 parcels and 200 cards or at least 50% cards.