Deliveries are postcode lottery

Latest Royal Mail figures have revealed a postcode lottery – on how quickly we get our mail.

They show residents in Dudley are getting their first class post delivered quicker than in other parts of the Black Country.

The latest performance figures reveal that 95.2 per cent of first class mail with a postcode from the Dudley borough is delivered during the next working day by the company's postmen. That is almost four per cent ahead of addresses in Sandwell and Birmingham.

In these two areas there is almost a one in 10 chance of first class post arriving late, with a next day delivery rate of 91.6 per cent.

In Wolverhampton, 94.5 per cent of first class mail drops onto doormats the day after it is sent.

In the Walsall postcode, which covers Cannock and Lichfield, that figure is 93.3 per cent – but that figure plummets in the ST postcode region of Stafford, Stone and Penkridge. The delivery rate there is the worst in the Midlands at just 90.3 per cent.

The regional figures compare to a 91.5 per cent target set by the Royal Mail nationally, reached by 98 of the UK's 118 postcode areas, down from 116 in the previous quarter.

The figures, which cover April to July, are based on the percentage of first class stamped and metered items posted within a postcode area to anywhere in the UK the next working day.

Royal Mail is still on course to pass 11 out of its 12 licence targets this year, although industrial action and flooding is expected to have a detrimental effect on figures to be released in November. Najma Hafeez, who is chair of independent watchdog Postwatch Midlands, said: "The good news is that Royal Mail is on course to meet 11 of its 12 national targets, including first and second class post.

"However, we are concerned that certain areas are falling short. More postcodes throughout the UK failed the minimum target than in the previous quarter. Royal Mail must redouble its efforts to ensure all customers get the service they pay for. We will be taking up these issues with Royal Mail," added the boss.