Royal Mail delays left almost 15 million people waiting for post over Christmas - with some missing important bills as a result.
Over half (54%) of all people said they went at least a week without receiving any letters, according to new research from Citizens Advice.
Some 2.5 million people missed important documents, health appointments, or were unaware of an upcoming payment because of the delays.
In some cases, not receiving a bill resulted in further penalties and fines for households.
Of the 3% of people who said they couldn’t pay a bill, 8% said they missed an important document, and 4% said they were left out of pocket.
A further 7% said they missed a health appointment. This rose to 16% of those on an NHS waiting list.
People across London (35%), the South East (32%) and the North West (31%) were most likely to experience a letter delay.
Citizens Advice said the delays didn’t improve massively in January, with 23% of those asked reporting post disruption.
Again, more than half of those (54%) reported receiving no post for over a week.
The worst time for postal delays was on January 12 and 13, when Royal Mail warned that 77 areas across the UK were hit by disruption.
This would have affected up to 2.4 million people in England and Wales each day, said Citizens Advice.
Some of the worst affected areas, including Chelmsford, Willesden and Upminster, faced eight weeks of severe disruption.
Have you been hit by Royal Mail delays? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
When The Mirror checked today, Royal Mail is still experiencing delays in one of its delivery offices, although this has improved from the fifty postcodes after Christmas.
Residents in Southend-on-Sea are still experiencing delays - with the SS0 to SS4, SS9 and SS22 postcodes affected.
Royal Mail has blamed both Covid-related self isolation and high levels of workers off sick for delivery upheaval.
It also said “resourcing, or other local factors” has caused service disruption.
Citizens Advice - the consumer advocate for the postal sector - is now calling on Ofcom to investigate the performance of Royal Mail and consider enforcement action and fines.
This is the second year running that the charity has flagged severe Christmas disruption, with 16.5 million people affected last year.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “A staggering 2.5 million of us missed important documents, health appointments, or were unable to pay a fine or bills due to post delays over Christmas.
“We understand the strain the pandemic has placed on Royal Mail. But after two years of disruption, Royal Mail cannot let poor service become the new normal.
“These delays can have serious consequences for those left waiting for their letters.
“Ofcom must now investigate Royal Mail’s performance and consider enforcement action and fines to ensure lessons are learnt.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson told The Mirror that "the vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time" but the rise of Omicron had a particular impact during Christmas and January, with approximately 15,000 staff members off work.
"As Citizens Advice has acknowledged, the situation has significantly improved," they said.
"The number of offices we have reported as being most impacted by service issues has reduced from 77 to just one today. We apologise for any delays that our customers may have experienced in the local areas affected.
"We are working hard to equalise performance and improve service in those areas, including spending over £340 million on overtime, additional temporary staff and sick pay, as well as targeted support."
