Royal Mail will dramatically scale back their second-class delivery service from the end of this month.
The post company will only deliver second-class letters once every other day during the week and get rid of their Saturday service entirely.
Postmen’s new schedule will see them deliver second-class post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or on Tuesday and Thursday, in a two-week cycle.
Royal Mail will continue to deliver first-class letters six days a week and is keeping its target for second-class items to arrive within three working days.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
The change will come into effect on July 28 and be rolled out over the next 12 to 18 months.
The regulator Ofcom said reforms were needed because fewer people were sending letters, and could cut costs between £250 million and £425 million a year.
Royal Mail delivered 20 billion letters in 2004-05, but only 6.6 billion were handed out in 2023-24.
Ofcom also plan to review the price of stamps next year over concerns they cost too much.
The cost of a first-class stamp has shot up from 85p to £1.70 since 2022.
Royal Mail are also scaling back their delivery targets with permission from Ofcom.
The company must deliver 90% of first-class mail next-day, which is down from a current target of 90%.
While 98.5% of Second-class letters must currently be delivered with three days, that will be reduced to 95%.
A new target that 99% of mail must not arrive more than two days late will now be introduced to encourage Royal Mail to stamp down on long delays.
These new guidelines follow an investigation launched in May after only three-quarters of first-class post were delivered on time last year.
Ofcom has already fined Royal Mail £16 million after it missed its targets in the past two years.
Natalie Black, Ofcom’s group director for networks and communications, said the new delivery changes were ‘These changes are’ in the best interests of consumers and businesses’.
She added: ‘Urgent reform of the postal service is necessary to give it the best chance of survival.
‘But changing Royal Mail’s obligations alone won’t guarantee a better service – the company now has to play its part and implement this effectively.
‘We’ll be making sure Royal Mail is clear with its customers about what’s happening, and passes the benefits of these changes on to them.’
The government stressed that the public still expected a post service where letters arrive on time.
Their spokesperson said: ‘With the way people use postal services having changed, it’s right the regulator has looked at this.
‘We now need Royal Mail to work with unions and posties to deliver a service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send a letter anywhere in the UK.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.