Industry balks at claims of Royal Mail letters go-slow

The direct mail industry has blasted reports that Royal Mail posties are being told to leave letters behind in the sorting office – allegedly for days on end – and prioritise “more profitable” parcel deliveries.

According to claims made in The Sunday Times, frontline postal workers said they had been ordered to ensure parcels are delivered, even if it means leaving letters behind on their rounds.

The newspaper quoted one “senior Royal Mail worker in London”, who said: “Managers are prioritising special delivery items, then tracked items and then other parcels. Then the poor old flat mail – the letters – suffer delay.

“We have parcel-only delivery days. It has been happening since Covid. It was due to staff sickness but now they are not filling vacancies.”

Royal Mail denies the claims. It said: “Every item of mail is important to us. We have also reminded colleagues that the delivery, collection and processing of letters and parcels should be treated with equal importance.”

However, the move is yet another blow to the direct mail industry, which is already reeling from long-running industrial action that many fear could lead to the closure of some firms.

One source told Decision Marketing last month: “The direct mail industry has suffered enough, and this industrial action, following so soon after Covid, could be the nail in the coffin for many firms. For the sake of the sector, we need a settlement and we need it now – before it kills us.”

Industry body the DMA has also waded in, demanding a swift settlement.

Royal Mail’s decision to bring forward price rises from January to November has also been a major blow, meaning many Christmas campaigns will now cost more.

According to reports, the price hikes range from 10% to nearly 18%, and cover advertising mail, business mail, publishing mail, partially addressed mail, poll card mailing, and response services.

In response to the latest claims of a mail go-slow, one industry insider said: “Parcels are now the biggest part of the business, so it is perhaps easy to see why they might think that prioritising deliveries will keep some of their biggest customers happy.

“However, direct mail is also a big money-spinner so if it is delaying our deliveries, Royal Mail is not only cutting off its nose to spite its face, it is also hurting some of the biggest UK brands which rely on its mail services, too.”