PA Media
Royal Mail has been fined £10.5m by the regulator Ofcom for failing to meet delivery targets for first and second class mail.
The fine is almost double the penalty the company was hit with last year for the same reason.
Ofcom said Royal Mail’s poor service was “now eroding public trust in one of the UK’s oldest institutions”.
Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services (IDS) said it had carried out “substantial” reforms this year to try to drive improvements.
The main reason Ofcom nearly doubled the fine was due to the harm to consumers, a spokesman said, plus the regulator felt it had taken inadequate steps to address its previous concerns.
Universal Service
News of the fine comes at a time when Royal Mail’s parent, IDS, is facing a probable takeover by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group.
Christmas post
The fine announcement comes during a traditionally busy time for Royal Mail and other carriers in the run-up to Christmas.
- Second class – Wednesday 18 December