Royal Mail is the postal service of the United Kingdom, which was originally government department used to deliver private mail between parliament. However, it became the Post Office, which is a state owned business in 1969. Later on in 2000 it became a Government Owned Public Limited Company as it now remains and adopted the registered name Consignia PLC. This new name, in part, was aimed at ending the confusion that has stood for many years between the company term ‘The Post Office’ and Post Offices, which are the customer accessible offices for mail handling. However, this new name did not go down well with employees and users of the system so Consignia PLC became, as we know it to be now, Royal Mail Group PLC in 2002.

Post Office Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail, which operates the national network of Post Offices in the UK. Royal Mail is solely responsible for the universal mail collection and delivery service for the UK, the process being that letters are deposited in the red pillar boxes, famously British, collected by the Royal Mail staff and taken to a local Post Office for sorting.

Mail can also be collected in bulk from companies which use it’s services to a great extent. The mail is sorted and sent to the desired locations by train or van (or air for overseas mail) and delivered once everyday. Charges are uniform for all destinations within the UK (delivery abroad is dependant on location and distance) and Royal mail offer services for special delivery and recorded delivery, which are usually worked out by package rate, which again, is standard for the UK.

The Royal Mail is regulated by Postcomm however consumer interests are represented by Postwatch. The relationship between the two has not always been good and in 2005 Postwatch took Postcomm to Judicial Review over its decision regarding rebates to late paying customers.

The Government department responsible for the Royal Mail is the Department of Trade and Industry, however the public financial interest is managed by the Shareholder executive.

Although now a private company, the Royal Mail enjoys special protection under Government legislation which severely limits consumer rights. Under the Postal Services Act 2000, the Royal Mail is under no contractual obligation to deliver most mail, including special delivery items. In addition, no court action can be taken against the Royal Mail more than 12 months after an item is posted.