Mail monopoly’s end: How your experience at Post Office will change this Christmas

Customers across Britain will soon have the option to choose which firm will deliver their parcels from the Post Office, ahead of this Christmas.

Earlier this month, Royal Mail lost its 360 year monopoly over parcel deliveries from Post Office branches, now bringing a choice between DPD and Evri as well as Royal Mail.

So, which options are going to be the cheapest for you?

For an item below 1kg and up to a metre in length, Evri quote £3.46 for their Standard 2-3 day delivery, or £4.15 for their Next Day service.

The same item with Royal Mail will cost £5.49 for Second Class which “normally arrives in 3 business days”, £6.29 for a 1 day First Class delivery, and up to £25.95 for their next day Special Delivery 9.00am service,.

And finally, with DPD it will cost £9.95 for Next Day and their Next Day AM service will cost £11.15. All these prices include VAT – and they all may vary according to location and item size.

This change comes after the chaos of the 2022 Christmas period when only 74% of First Class mail was delivered on time – short of 93% target.

Royal Mail were fined £5.6 million by Ofcom for missing their targets, and the company reported massive losses on top of this.

The CEO of Post Office, Nick Read said: “We are fundamentally transforming Post Office by introducing new mails carriers for over-the-counter sales.”

Further, he said this will “offer greater choice for customers and more opportunities for Postmasters as we build a Post Office fit for the future”.

The build-up to Christmas is now in full swing, so many people across the country will be hoping for their gifts to arrive in time. With the information we’ve provided, we hope you can make an informed decision to help make your Christmas special.