Not happy with our service?
Royal Mail aims to provide you with a reliable and consistent service at all times. If, however, you are unhappy with the service we have given you, this guide will tell you how you can get in touch with us and how we will deal with your complaint or issue.
If you do want to register a complaint with us you can contact Royal Mail Customer Services.
Our Customer Promise
Once we have the full details of your complaint our promise is that we will normally take no more than 30 calendar days to respond fully to your issue. Please be aware that some international complaints may take longer to resolve due to the work that needs to be done by foreign administrators.
There may be occasions when we require additional information or responses from you to complete our investigation. When that is the case we will allow 14 calendar days for your response. Allowing for complex cases with several such interactions, that means our longest investigations for inland complaints may take up to 90 calendar days to fully complete.
Our Customer Service Advisors will take ownership of your complaint and look to provide you with a resolution.
At every key step in our complaints process we will give you the opportunity to let us know if you are happy or unhappy with our response.
How to make a complaint
You can make a complaint by contacting Royal Mail Customer Services through our website or by speaking with one of our advisors or by writing to us.
If you contact us through the Royal Mail website or in writing please provide us with full details of your complaint. If we require further information we will notify you using your preferred method of contact.
If you choose to contact us by phone please have the details of your complaint available. For some complaints you may be required to complete a “Loss Damage or Delay” form which is available online through our website or from Post Offices. Our Customer Services Advisors will let you know the appropriate process to follow. If you are contacting us on behalf of another person, we may ask you to provide proof of that person's consent to your handling their complaint.
Once we have received your complaint, the Customer Services Advisor will record your details and provide you with a unique reference number that identifies you and your complaint.
There are 3 key stages in our complaints process – at the end of each one we will ask you if you are satisfied with how we have handled your complaint. In written communications we will allow 14 calendar days for you to come back to us with your response. If we do not hear from you after this time we will assume you are content with how the matter has been resolved. If you do contact us after the 14 calendar days your case can be re-opened using your original reference number.
Our preference is always to deal with your complaint on a person to person basis by phone, but, if you prefer, we will deal with your complaint at any stage through e-mail or letter.
To fully understand the process, please download and view a diagram of the customer complaints process (opens in new window).
Stage 1: Contacting our Customer Services Advisors
The Customer Services Advisor will take the details of your complaint. They will make every effort to investigate and resolve your complaint providing you with an appropriate response. The Customer Services Advisor will check if you are happy or unhappy with the reply you have received. If you are unhappy please tell them explaining your reasons and the Customer Services Advisor will take another look at your case.
Stage 2: Re-contacting our Customer Services Advisors
Our Customer Services Advisors are trained to deal with your complaint and will endeavour to address and resolve your concerns. If, however, after allowing them another chance to try and deal with your complaint, you remain dissatisfied with the response then you will have a further opportunity to let them know. Your complaint will then be referred to the Customer Services Manager who will personally review your case.
Stage 3 – Contacting the Customer Services Manager
The Customer Services Manager will work with you to try and sort out and resolve the problems or issues surrounding your complaint. The Customer Services Manager will check to see if you are happy or unhappy with their response. If you are unhappy please tell them explaining your reasons why.
If you are unable to reach a satisfactory outcome you can, at this stage, ask for your case to be escalated to the Postal Review Panel.
Stage 4 - The Postal Review Panel
Royal Mail customers who have complained have access to the Postal Review Panel. This unit sits outside of the Royal Mail customer complaints process and will take a fresh and impartial look at your case. After this review the Postal Review Panel will establish and provide a final response from Royal Mail about your complaint. This will take place within 30 days of your first contact with them.
The objective of the Postal Review Panel is to find a mutually satisfactory resolution for your complaint.
However, if you are not satisfied after the Postal Review Panel has provided you with a final response then your case will be considered ‘deadlocked’, customer complaints in deadlock can be referred to the independent ombudsman.
You can contact the Postal Review Panel at any time quoting your Royal Mail reference number. However Royal Mail will always want to try and resolve any concerns or complaints you have, and it is strongly recommended that you work with the Customer Services team to try and sort out the problem before contacting the Postal Review Panel.
Stage 5 - If you remain unhappy
If you remain dissatisfied with the response you have received after contacting both Royal Mail Customer Services and the Postal Review Panel and you have received a deadlock letter you can then escalate your complaint to the independent Ombudsman style scheme, the Postal Redress Service (POSTRS). The service is available to you if:
- we have not been able to settle your complaint within the 90 day timescales set out by Royal Mail Customer Services.
- if you have been referred to the scheme through your ‘deadlock’ letter
- if we have not followed our own complaints procedure in handling your complaint
Depending on the nature of the specific complaint, the Postal Redress Service (POSTRS), may be available. Please see the set out products (PDF 75KB, opens in new window) for which with Ombudsman-style service is available
Further information
If you require independent advice about your rights as a consumer or how to progress a complaint, you can contact Consumer Direct. Consumer Direct is a service operated by the Office of Fair Trading. They offer practical advice via the telephone and on-line. Please be aware that Consumer Direct cannot make a complaint on your behalf or provide advice on specific Royal Mail products and services.
Contact Details
Royal Mail Customer Services
Web: www.royalmail.com/customerservices
Telephone: 8am – 6.00pm, Monday to Friday
8am - 1.00pm on Saturdays
From within UK: 08457 740 740
International callers: +44 1752387112
Textphone: 08456000606
Writing:
General Enquires: FREEPOST, 20 Turner Road, St Rollox Business & Retail Park, GLASGOW G21 1AA
Making a claim: Royal Mail Customer Services, FREEPOST, Plymouth PL9 7YB
The Independent Ombudsman-style Service
IDRS provide an independent and free service and their findings are binding on Royal Mail. For further information please refer to their website
www.postrs.org.uk (opens in new window).
Register
