Czech’s in the post

Royal Mail Takeover

The takeover of the Royal Mail by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky was approved on 15th December 2024. We question the commitment to maintaining the Universal Service Obligation beyond the initial five years, and the omission of the word ‘letters’ in earlier comments by Kretinsky. With the approval only recently granted we wait to see if our fears over job cuts are realised, however recent headlines have not made for pleasant reading. 

The Royal Mail was fined £10.5m by Ofcom on 13th December 2024 for failing to meet its first and second class delivery targets for the 2023/24 financial year. Only 74.7% of first class mail and 92.7% of second class were delivered on time – well short of the target 93% and 98.5% respectively. This is the second sanction in just over a year as Royal Mail fails to significantly improve service levels.  

The 30p rise in the price of first-class stamps to £1.65 effective from 7th October 2024. While the price of second class stamps is regulated and tied to inflation, no such limits exist for first class stamps. The increase was due to the “very real and urgent” financial challenges.