Royal Mail scraps major delivery service from today for millions of UK homes

Royal Mail has made a major change to its second class postal service starting from today.

Second class post will no longer be delivered on Saturdays, and Royal Mail will also only deliver second class post on alternate weekdays, instead of six days a week.

Royal Mail told The Mirror that this will be piloted in a small number of areas starting from today, after Ofcom first announced plans to allow Royal Mail to cut the number of days for second class post in January this year.

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But despite the reduced service, Royal Mail will still have a target for second class letters to arrive within three working days. At the time, the regulator estimated that reducing second class deliveries would save Royal Mail between £250million and £425million.

As well as saving Royal Mail money, Ofcom said the decision was also due to fewer letters being delivered to UK homes. The number of letters has reduced from 20 billion twenty years ago, to 6.6 billion today.

Royal Mail has been fined more than £16million over the last two years for missing delivery targets and poor performance. First class post will still be delivered six days a week, Monday to Saturday.

Natalie Black, Ofcom’s Group Director for Networks and Communications, said: “These changes are in the best interests of consumers and businesses, as urgent reform of the postal service is necessary to give it the best chance of survival.

“But changing Royal Mail’s obligations alone won’t guarantee a better service – the company now has to play its part and implement this effectively.

“We’ll be making sure Royal Mail is clear with its customers about what’s happening, and passes the benefits of these changes on to them.

“As part of this process, we’ve been listening to concerns about increases in stamp prices. So we’ve launched a review of affordability and plan to publicly consult on this next year.”

Martin Seidenberg, group chief executive of Royal Mail parent firm International Distribution Services, said: “It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service.

“It follows extensive consultation with thousands of people and businesses to ensure that the postal service better reflects their needs and the realities of how customers send and receive mail today.”

It comes after Royal Mail raised the price of a first class stamp from £1.65 to £1.70 in April, while standard second class stamps went up from 85p to 87p. It marked the sixth time stamp prices had increased in three years.

The cost of other Royal Mail services - such as “Signed For” and “Tracked” - also increased in April. Royal Mail blamed the price rises on fewer letters being delivered.