Royal Mail considers launching ‘bin collection’ style website in bid to cut services

Royal Mail is reportedly planning to set up a new “bin-collection” type website so that householders can track which day they will receive their mail in a bid to cut back on services.

The Guardian is reporting that the 507-year-old company has proposed creating an online service where customers can input their postcode to discover when their letters and packages are due.

It would be similar to the dedicated government webpage that allows consumers in England and Wales to look up their bin collection days.

The regulator Ofcom is said to be studying the proposals along with plans to scrap second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays.

Plans on the table suggest that second-class post wouldn’t be delivered on Saturdays and would instead operate on alternate weekdays.

Since January, Ofcom has been discussing the future of the postal service as it aims to maintain a six-day-a-week deliveries for first-class mail.

The regulator recently fined Royal Mail £5.6m last year for missing delivery targets. In the three months to June 30 it has been revealed they delivered less than 80 per cent of first-class post on time.

A senior industry source told The Guardian that: “The idea is that this new site would work in the same way as the bin collection one. Anything Royal Mail can do to show that cuts can be done smoothly and the service can be more predictable and reliable could convince Ofcom.”

The industry source added: “Those who rely on the service the most will be those, typically older, people who are not connected to the internet to check when their deliveries are due.

“Also, if this lists when the post is supposed to be delivered – that’s not a guarantee the delivery will happen given the current state of the service. Royal Mail must not allowed to reduce the service without improving reliability.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Ahead of any potential reform of the universal service, Royal Mail is exploring a range of options to ensure customers have the information they need about their local postal services.”