Royal Mail missed first class delivery targets in every region in Wales last year as a result of industrial action and bad weather, cumulative annual results show.
The figures in Wales were consistent with the rest of Great Britain as Royal Mail failed to achieve its 91.5 per cent next day delivery target for first class stamped and metered mail across all postal codes in Wales during the four quarters of 2009/2010.
Newport was the worst performing area in Wales, failing to reach its target by more than three per cent (88.2).
Liz Withers, Principal Policy Advocate at Consumer Focus Wales, said: ‘Royal Mail needs to raise its game if it is to satisfy the needs of consumers in Wales and hit the targets it has been set. Consumer Focus Wales will be talking to Royal Mail about these results to challenge it to at least meet its Post Code Area targets with immediate effect.
‘We will be continuing to monitor their performance closely this year, but believe the results should improve following the agreement that was signed between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union in March.’
Consumer Focus Wales recently carried out research1 to find out what postal services issues are important to consumers.
We found that 83% of people didn’t know the correct price of a standard first class stamp, while only 42% of people were satisfied with the system of paying for letters or packets based on their size as well as their weight.
Ms Withers said: ‘Our research also shows that Royal Mail still have some way to go to ensure consumers understand the prices of stamps for different sizes of standard packages. Consumers should not lose out because of delays to the delivery of their mail or the recipient forced to pay a surcharge where the wrong postage has been paid.’
Notes to editors
Consumer Focus Wales today launched a quarterly post report which will look at the performance of Royal Mail and assess the opinions of attitudes of people on Post Office issues.
- The research was conducted by Beaufort Reserch Ltd. A total of 1,005 interviews were completed with a representative sample of the population between 5th and 22nd March 2010.
