I sent an important letter to HMRC on 2 Dec. As I’ve had 3 other important letters go missing, recipient claimed not to have received them, I sent this one signed for, at a considerable premium. It hasn’t got there yet, or at least if it has RM haven’t got a signature for it. I have to wait 30 days before I can make a claim.

It was difficult enough finding a dirt mail address for HMRC, in days of old I would have been able to sort it at my local tax office, but that was too easy

On 15 December 2025 at 18:18 old mart Said:

The post box outside my local sub Post Office and shop has been wrapped up in black plastic for over a month now and the postmaster told me that all the post boxes were due for a modification to allow them to handle parcels. They certainly picked a clever time of year to block them up. Any sensible firm would only shut them immediately before carrying out the work.

You would think that but the Mail thinks like BR used to – when the trains are full and people complain cancelling the overfull service removes the problem. If you can’t post the mail targets are easier to reach for Mail.

Royal Mail is a private company, owned by an Eastern European billionaire, so it really shouldn’t be allowed to retain the soubriquet ‘Royal’, or the King’s cipher in its branding, IMO. The government supposedly owns a ‘golden share’, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean, but as with all private enterprises it will all be about profit rather than providing a public service. Although the universal service obligation has been retained, delivery frequency has been reduced but, in fairness, not to the level of Denmark where the state owned postal service, in conjunction with Sweden, has abandoned domestic deliveries altogether.

I thought it strange that we hadn’t seen one Christmas card or anything else for that matter, until yesterday! There was a big bundle of cards plus other rubbish shoved through the letterbox, royal mail are obviously stockpiling stuff and then delivering once a week, there was also a hospital letter which took 11 days to travel 2 miles!

Tony

I think some people are conflating Post Office and Royal Mail. These are two separate organisations, Post Office is a wholly government owned corporation and Royal Mail is now a private company, although one provides services to the other. The PO sells RM products and collects revenue, e.g. stamps and parcel services, but has nothing to do with the collection, sorting and distribution of mail.

Post Office services are mostly provided on a franchised basis, i.e. at counters within convenience stores etc., with only a few ‘Crown’ offices operated directly by the company. I am not altogether certain what government services are available through the Post Office as I do all my business online these days, but at one time you could tax your car, buy Premium Bonds, buy a driving or television license, obtain a passport etc. and collect your pension or other social benefits over the counter. Maybe you can still access all of these government services at a PO, especially a Crown office, but I won’t be making a thirty-mile round trip just to be told that I have to do these things online!