Consumer Focus welcomes Royal Mail extension
Consumer Focus has welcomed Royal Mail’s decision to extend opening hours in its busiest delivery offices. Royal Mail is adding almost a quarter of a million extra hours a year to the opening times, aimed at making it easier for people to receive items they have ordered online or from a catalogue.
Nigel Woods, postal expert at Consumer Focus, said: “By extending opening hours, Royal Mail has delivered a really welcome piece of news for its customers. Shopping online and irregular working patterns are features of modern life, so people need greater flexibility when it comes to receiving mail.”
Royal Mail’s £2.6m investment will see the hours of around 650 delivery offices – almost half of Royal Mail’s UK-wide network of 1,400 sites – extended to 8pm on Wednesday evenings and 2pm on Saturdays to make the collection of items even more convenient for people who are not at home during the day.
“Royal Mail must continue to look at other alternative delivery options to ensure it meets the needs of customers in the 21st century. These include nominated day of delivery, nominated time of delivery and deliveries to a secure locker at a nearby location,” added Woods.
Consumer Focus is the consumer champion for England, Wales, Scotland and (for postal consumers) Northern Ireland.