ROYAL MAIL was slapped with a £21 million Ofcom fine today after missing its delivery targets for first and second-class post once more.

The company has obligations under its licence to deliver 93 per cent of first-class mail the next working day, and 98.5 per cent of second-class items within three working days, but managed just 77 per cent and 92.5 per cent respectively over the last year.

This is now the third year in which the targets have been missed, which led to fines of £5.6m in 2023, £10.5m in 2024, doubling to £21m this year amid dissatisfaction at Ofcom over the company’s effort to turn the situation around.

Ofcom director of enforcement Ian Strawhorne said: “Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp.

“These persistent failures are unacceptable, and customers expect and deserve better.

“Royal Mail must rebuild consumers’ confidence as a matter of urgency. And that means making actual significant improvements, not more empty promises.

“We’ve told the company to publicly set out how it’s going to deliver this change, and we expect to start seeing meaningful progress soon.

“If this doesn’t happen, fines are likely to continue.”

A Royal Mail statement said: “We acknowledge the decision made by Ofcom today and we will continue to work hard to deliver further sustained improvements to our quality of service.

“A key area of focus and investment has been the detailed work ahead of full implementation of our new delivery model.

“We have also implemented important changes across our network including recruiting, retaining and training our people, and providing additional support to delivery offices.”