ALMOST half the letters sent first class during an Oxford Mail investigation this month were not delivered on time.

Of the 24 letters posted from around England to our offices in Osney Mead, Oxford, on December 9, some 14 – 58 per cent – arrived the next working day.

Royal Mail’s target throughout the year is that 93 per cent of first class mail should arrive the next working day but regulator Ofcom suspends this in December.

Yet the results are an improvement on the same test we carried out in 2011 and 2012, when 43 and 47 per cent, respectively, arrived the next day.

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Among the first class letters, six arrived after two days, three within three days and one within four days.

Second class post performed better with 21 of 24 sent – 86 per cent – arriving within Royal Mail’s three-day target, down from 87 per cent in 2012.

Shoppers outside the Post Office in St Aldates, Oxford, had mixed views on the quality of service.

Sharon Andrews, 57, of Stert Street, Abingdon, said she feared this year’s privatisation of Royal Mail would hit services.

She said: “I’m not surprised they’re not hitting their target, the service is far from what it once was.

“I worry about it getting even worse now the Royal Mail has been privatised, just like what happened with the railways.”

Rob Sawford, 34, of Abingdon Road, Oxford, said: “I definitely seem to have more problems with posting letters and parcels than I used to.

“Most of them arrive on the following day, but about a quarter of the time they seem to take forever.”

Clare Richmond, 48, of Cowley Road, said: “I know they’re not perfect, but I think I’ve actually seen an improvement in the Royal Mail over the last year.

“I still use the post a lot and in 2014 I’ve not really had anything to complain about.”

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “While we always aim to provide a next day service on first class mail and a three day service for second class, at this time of year Royal Mail deals with a huge increase in volumes of letters, cards and parcels.

“Since 1985, Ofcom has excluded December from the specific normal target requirement for deliveries, in recognition of the vast amount of mail we deal with during the Christmas period.

“Nonetheless, Royal Mail continues to prioritise first class mail over second class mail in the normal way.”

She said 93.3 per cent of nationwide first class mail arrived the next working day in the six months to September 28.

And 98.9 per cent of second class mail arrived in three days against a 98.5 per cent target, she said.

HOW THE TEST WORKED

  • WE sent a total of 24 first class and 24 second class letters – half from within Oxfordshire, half from outside the county – on Tuesday, December 9, 2014
  • Percentage of letters arriving within one working day:
  • First class – 58 per cent
  • Second class – 13 per cent
  • Percentage of letters arriving within two working days:
  • First class – 83 per cent
  • Second class – 58 per cent
  • Percentage of letters arriving within three working days:
  • First class – 96 per cent
  • Second class – 86 per cent
  • Percentage of letters arriving within four working days:
  • First class – 100 per cent
  • Second class – 100 per cent

 


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