You've only got until the end of the week to post your cards if you want to ensure they will arrive in time for the big day.
Last posting dates for Christmas have been brought forward because of strike action on four remaining days this month by Royal Mail staff and households have been urged to send their Christmas cards as soon as possible now to avoid any delays.
The final date for second class deliveries was December 12 instead of the usual December 19, while for first class it is December 16, five days earlier than the original date of December 21. The final posting date of any kind before Christmas is Special Delivery Guaranteed on December 21.
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The Communication Workers Union called on Royal Mail members to take part in industrial action on December 14, 15, 23 and 24 and on strike days, services will be limited and letters or door to door mail will not be delivered, Royal Mail said.
But there have been reports that some Christmas cards may not be delivered until February due to usual seasonal backlogs worsened by strikes. Mountains of post have been pictured outside Royal Mail centres due to industrial action and an insider told The Telegraph: "The back-up of the post is really bad. Royal Mail is focusing on parcels and there is not a lot of room in the model for letters. Christmas cards will likely be very late with some certainly not arriving until February."
The delays come after regulator Ofcom warned Royal Mail it could not carry on blaming the pandemic for failing to make deliveries on time as its performance is falling “well short of where it should be”.
Ofcom said an investigation found the company only delivered 82% of first class mail on time compared to a target of 93%, but Royal Mail blamed the pandemic, citing staff absence, particularly during the Omicron wave last Christmas, social-distancing measures and “unusually high parcel volumes and sizes”.
“Looking back at last year, Covid-19 was clearly still having a significant impact on Royal Mail’s operations,” Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s group director for networks and communications, told The Guardian. “However, the company’s had plenty of time to learn lessons from the pandemic, and cannot continue to use it as an excuse. We’re concerned by Royal Mail’s performance so far this year, which is falling well short of where it should be. It must do everything it can to bring service levels back up, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on it throughout the year.”
The final remaining last posting dates are:
- Friday, December 16: 1st class, 1st class signed for, Royal mail 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48
- Monday, December 19: Royal Mail tracked 24
- Wednesday, December 21: Special Delivery Guaranteed
- The deadline for second class mail, Bulk Mail Economy, international tracking and signature and international economy have all now passed
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