Consumer information

Common issues

Delivery times

Condition 1 of Royal Mail’s licence defines the universal service as at least one delivery and one collection of relevant postal packets every working day (Monday–Saturday). There are no requirements in terms of the times at which deliveries or collections should be made.

Following the national strikes in 2009, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail announced an agreement (Business Transformation: 2010 and Beyond) on 8 March 2010. This agreement is valid for the next three years, and was ratified by CWU members on 27 April 2010.

Under the terms of this agreement, one of the changes that has been made to the way Royal Mail operates affects mail delivery times. Letter delivery completion times are now up to 3pm for urban areas and up to 4pm for rural areas, but the vast majority of letter deliveries are planned to be completed by 2.30pm and most by 2pm. These delivery hours also apply to Saturdays; previously, deliveries on Saturdays were completed by 12pm.

While Royal Mail tries to meet these times every working day wherever possible, there might be delays in some extreme circumstances eg traffic delays or adverse weather conditions. Addresses in rural areas are also subject to exceptions for remote areas with limited transport infrastructure such as the Highlands and Islands (see Universal postal service for more information).