The postal service is to trim later collections on almost half of UK post boxes.
Collection times on almost 50,000 post boxes will be brought forward to between 9am and 3pm, rather than 4pm or later, the Royal Mail has confirmed.
Those that have mailed a letter over the weekend may have come across a notice telling them of changes to the collection times of certain post boxes.
The new times will be rolled out in England and Wales over the coming month. Scottish postal users will be notified of their changes next month, with new collection slots being introduced throughout September.
Rural residents don't have too much to worry about though; these plans mostly affect urban and suburban areas.
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Making up for lost time
Royal Mail says that it will add 2,000 post boxes to under-serviced areas such as Northern Ireland and quieter parts of Scotland. By contrast, other new boxes will appear in more convenient spots such as train stations and shopping centres.
Tabs will also be added to the boxes to show if a collection has been made.
Royal Mail emphasises that there’ll still be late collections. Wherever there’s a box with an earlier collection time, a later one will be available within half a mile.
'Streamlined' service
Royal Mail is acting as many post boxes can no longer cover their costs. It says it wants to develop more of a 'streamlined' service for both its postal collectors and customers.
In a survey carried out by the regulator last year, 91% of postal users didn’t choose which post box they used based on collection time.
Do you think these changes will cause you much inconvenience? Let us know in the comments below.
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