Moonpig sounds alarm over Royal Mail delays before Christmas as it makes £33.3m loss

Moonpig has raised the alarm over Royal Mail deliveries before Christmas.

Moonpig chief executive Nickyl Raithatha has said he is in talks with the delivery company about service levels as many areas of the country are “struggling” with delivery reliability.

His comments come as billionaire Daniel Kretinsky – known as the Czech Sphinx – nears a £3.6bn deal to buy Royal Mail by acquiring its parent company International Distribution Services.

Raithatha said: ‘We are working with (Royal Mail) to ensure they continue to improve service levels which have not been at the level we would like them to be in recent years.

‘If you send someone a birthday card and tomorrow is their birthday, it needs to arrive tomorrow.

“There are a lot of regions that have difficulty (with reliability), and you probably just need to talk to a few of your friends, and some of them will tell you that the mail arrives every day and some of them don’t.”

Moonpig suffered a loss of £33.3m in the six months to October 31 amid dismal consumer confidence following a £18.9m profit a year earlier.

In a report published in October, regulator Ofcom said Royal Mail was “continuing to fail” its service obligations.

Only 74.5 percent of first-class shipments arrived on time in the 12 months to the end of March, against a target of 93 percent.

Last year, Royal Mail celebrated its “best Christmas” in four years after a huge effort to turn around a chaotic festive operation in 2022.

It said more than 99 per cent of first and second class items sent before the latest recommended postal dates were delivered in time for Christmas.

But many consumers and small businesses are cautious after the strike left parcels and cards piling up in sorting offices across the UK.

This precaution has resulted in Moonpig introducing reminders to customers for special occasions, such as birthdays, to ensure cards are sent on time and account for delays.

But Raithatha downplayed concerns about the acquisition.

‘We speak quite regularly (with Royal Mail) and we have been assured many times that

“The quality and level of service we get will not be affected by any type of ownership change,” he said.