Around 16 million people in the UK received Christmas letters or parcels later than expected during the most recent festive period, according to new research that has raised fresh concerns about the reliability of Royal Mail’s service.
The findings suggest the scale of disruption was significantly worse than the previous year, with the number of people affected around 50% higher than in 2024. It marks the poorest festive performance in five years, excluding the period when strike action disrupted deliveries in the run-up to Christmas several years ago.
Consumer advocates said the delays went far beyond late greeting cards. Millions of households were affected by late delivery of important documents, including health appointments, benefit decisions, fines and legal correspondence. For people with no alternative national postal provider, the impact was described as particularly serious.
Pressure on a universal service
The research indicates that about 5.7 million of those affected missed out on time-sensitive or essential information. Critics argue this highlights the wider consequences of service failures in a system where consumers have little choice but to rely on the national postal operator.
Campaigners warned that the situation shows no clear sign of improvement and said regulatory intervention may need to intensify. With changes to delivery patterns already approved, including reductions to second-class services, concerns have been raised that reliability could deteriorate further if missed targets continue without stronger enforcement.
Royal Mail response and regulatory context
Royal Mail has disputed the scale of the problem, pointing to internal data which it says shows that more than 99% of items posted by the last recommended dates arrived in time for Christmas. The company said the festive period remains its busiest time of year, with volumes more than doubling, and credited frontline staff for maintaining deliveries under pressure.
The regulator, Ofcom, does not apply its standard delivery targets during the Christmas peak, a policy that has drawn criticism from consumer groups who argue it weakens accountability when demand is highest.
Rising costs and changing habits
The report also points to the rising cost of stamps as a factor changing how people use the postal service. A first-class stamp now costs £1.70, more than double its price in 2020, while a second-class stamp costs 87p. More than a third of people surveyed said they sent fewer Christmas cards because of the expense.
Despite higher prices, Royal Mail has struggled to meet long-term delivery targets. It has not achieved its regulatory benchmark for first-class post since 2017, or for second-class mail since 2020. In October, Ofcom fined the company £21m for missing its annual performance requirements.
Ownership and long-term challenges
The latest Christmas period was the first since the £3.6bn takeover of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services, by Czech businessman Daniel K?etínský. The change in ownership has renewed debate about the future shape of the universal postal service.
Letter volumes have fallen sharply over the past decade, from about 20 billion items a year to fewer than 7 billion, with forecasts suggesting further declines. At the same time, the number of addresses served has continued to rise, adding to operational pressures.
What this means
For households, the findings underline ongoing reliability issues with a service many still depend on for essential communications. For regulators, the data adds to calls for tougher oversight and clearer links between stamp prices and performance. For Royal Mail, the results highlight the challenge of maintaining trust while balancing falling letter volumes, rising costs and expectations of a universal service.
When and where
The findings were published in January 2026 following a UK-wide survey of adults carried out for Citizens Advice into Christmas postal deliveries.
