Royal Mail - quality of service

Under the conditions of its licence, Royal Mail is obliged to use all reasonable endeavours to meet certain “quality of service” standards covering a wide range of products, including first and second class mail, special deliveries and certain bulk mail services.

Postcomm monitors Royal Mail's compliance with these standards and if we consider that it has not used all reasonable endeavours to meet them, we can take enforcement action against it and/or impose financial penalties. Royal Mail provides us with monthly performance figures and publishes quarterly quality of service reports on its website.

On 24 August 2006, Postcomm imposed a financial penalty of £9.62m on Royal Mail for breaching its licence by failing to properly protect the mail in its care.

More information about Postcomm's role as regulator of Royal Mail.

Related documents:

5 February 2008 - news release
Court of Appeal upholds £9.62 million financial penalty imposed on Royal Mail. 
13 March 2007 - news release
High Court rejects Royal Mail's appeal against Postcomm's £9.62 million financial penalty.
24 August 2006 - imposition of penalty 
Royal Mail’s Mail Integrity Procedures: Imposition of Penalty (pdf, 75KB).
24 August 2006 - news release 
Postcomm imposes penalty on Royal Mail for failing to protect mail.
22 August 2006 - note 
On 26 January 2006, we reported our decision not to appeal the judgment given against Postcomm in the judicial review (JR) proceedings brought by Postwatch. The proceedings related to Postcomm's approach to the interpretation of Royal Mail's bulk compensation scheme. Royal Mail - also party to the JR proceedings - decided it would appeal the court's decision. This appeal was heard early in 2007.  
9 August 2006 - consultation responses 
responses to "Royal Mail's mail integrity procedures: proposed variation of penalty".  Royal Mail's response (pdf, 396KB), Postwatch's response (pdf, 429KB). 
16 June 2006 - report
Royal Mail's mail integrity procedures: proposed variation of penalty (pdf, 238KB). 
16 June 2006 - penalty notice 
Postal Services Act, Sections 30, 32 and 33. Notice of variation of proposed financial penalty to be paid by Royal Mail Group plc (pdf, 24KB). 
16 June 2006 - news release
Postcomm confirms penalty on Royal Mail for failing to protect mail. 
3 May 2006 - Postcode Area Investigation
Postwatch representation (pdf, 195KB). 
3 May 2006 - Postcode Area Investigation 
Royal Mail representations (pdf, 118KB). 
3 May 2006 - Postcode Area Investigation 
Communication Workers Union representation (pdf, 398KB). 
26 April 2006 - final decision 
Royal Mail's quality of service performance. Final decision on investigation by Postcomm into performance in seven Postcode areas (pdf, 176KB).
26 April 2006 - notice 
Postal Services Act 2000, Sections 30, 31 and 32. Notice of imposition of financial penalty to be paid by Royal Mail Group Plc (pdf, 24KB). 
26 April 2006 - news release 
Postcomm confirms postcode penalty of £271,000.
10 February 2006 - mail integrity report
Royal Mail's mail integrity procedures: report on review by Postcomm (pdf, 664KB). 
10 February 2006 - postcode areas report 
Royal Mail's quality of service performance: report on investigation by postcomm into performance in seven postcode areas (pdf, 832KB). 
10 February 2006 - notice of proposed financial penalty 
Postal Services Act 2000, Sections 30, 31 and 32. Notice of a proposed financial penalty to be paid by Royal Mail Group Plc (pdf, 752KB).  
10 February 2006 - news release 
Postcomm proposes penalties of £11.7m on Royal Mail for failures in customer service. 
26 January 2006 
Postcomm not to appeal JR. 
22 March 2005 - report on investigations by Postcomm 
Royal Mail's quality of service performance. Report on investigations by Postcomm. Undertakings by Royal Mail (pdf, 579KB).
22 March 2005 - news release 
£60 million returned to postal customers in compensation.
6 June 2004 - quality of service statistics 
Royal Mail: Service Quality. Note summarises Royal Mail’s quarterly and annual service quality statistics between April 2001 and March 2004 (pdf, 50KB). 
May 2004 - requirement to furnish information 
Postal Services Act 2000, Sections 11-13. Licence granted to Royal Mail Group plc. Condition 16. Requirement to furnish information (pdf, 95KB).
27 May 2004 - news release 
Postcomm to probe Royal Mail’s serious service quality failings.
27 May 2004 - briefing 
Briefing note on Royal Mail quality of service issues (pdf, 28KB). 
18 December 2003 - news release 
Postcomm confirms £7.5m penalty on Royal Mail.
13 October 2003 - consultation responses 
Responses to “A compensation scheme for delays by Royal Mail”. A supplementary consultation on a proposed determination (pdf, 229KB). 
9 October 2003 - briefing 
Compensation if your mail is late (pdf, 114KB). 
7 October 2003 - decision document 
A compensation scheme for delays by Royal Mail – determinations by Postcomm. A decision document and determination (pdf, 176KB). 
7 October 2003 - news release 
Postcomm sets compensation rates for delayed mail.
3 October 2002 - proposals document  
Review of Consignia plc's price and service quality regulation: a compensation scheme. A proposals document. October 2002 (pdf). 
30 September 2003 - penalty notice 
Postal Services Act 2000, Section 32. Notice of proposal to impose a financial penalty (pdf, 149KB).
30 September 2003 - attachment to penalty notice 
Quality of service statistics (pdf, 127KB). 
30 September 2003 - news release 
Postcomm gives Royal Mail notice of £7.5m penalty for quality failures.
23 April 2003 - consultation document
A compensation scheme for delays by Royal Mail. Supplementary consultation on a proposed determination (pdf, 97KB).
23 April 2003 - news release 
Postcomm consults on the details of compensation for delayed mail.
28 March 2003 - decision notice 
Postal Services Act 2000, Section 27. Notice of decision not to make a final order (pdf, 773KB).
5 March 2003 - Royal Mail industrial relations 
Independent report on industrial relations between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union. Second Review. March 2003 (pdf, 171KB). 
7 February 2003 - draft notice 
Postal Services Act 2000, Section 26. Draft notice in relation to a proposed final order (pdf, 701KB).
7 February 2003 - news release 
Postcomm tells Royal Mail to tighten up on poorly performing postcode areas. 
23 December 2002 - news release 
Postcomm acts to enforce business mail improvements. 
23 December 2002 - final order 
Postal Services Act 2000, Section 22. Final order (pdf, 70KB). 
13 December 2002 - modifications to proposed final order 
Postal Services Act 2000, Section 27. Notice in relation to proposed modifications to a proposed final order (doc, 39KB).
23 December 2002 - final order 
Postal Services Act 2000, Section 22. Final order (pdf, 407KB).
2 December 2002 - consultation responses 
Responses to Postcomm’s “Review of Consignia plc’s price and service quality regulation: a compensation scheme. A consultation document” (pdf, 292KB). 
22 October 2002 - notice of a proposed enforcement order 
Postal Services Act 2000, Section 26. Notice in relation to a proposed final order (pdf, 721KB). 
22 October 2002 - news release 
Postcomm tells Consignia to try harder.
3 October 2002 - consultation document   
Review of Consignia plc's price and service quality regulation: a compensation scheme. A proposals document. October 2002 (pdf). 
12 August 2002 - letter to Royal Mail 
Licence condition 4. End of year service quality performance (pdf, 85KB). 
12 August 2002 - news release 
Services improve, but Consignia breaches its licence.
7 December 2001 - news release 
Information about postal services in South and South West England: determination under Section 58 of the Postal Services Act.
6 December 2001- determination
Postal Services Act 2000, determination under Section 58(6). Postwatch information notice – 28 July 2001 (pdf, 185KB).
26 July 2001 - Royal Mail industrial relations 
Independent review of industrial relations between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (pdf, 158KB).