Royal Mail gets green light to revamp final mile deliveries

Royal Mail has received approval to  revamp its final mile delivery service, and will roll out its Delivery to Neighbour initiative next week.

It has received regulatory approval from Ofcom to launch the programme on Monday 1 October, allowing the firm to  deliver large items or items that require a signature to a neighbouring address if no one is home to receive them.

Until now it was  the only major delivery company in the UK who did not offer the service as standard practice.

“We are delighted that Ofcom has approved the regulatory changes that enable us to roll out the Delivery to Neighbour initiative across the UK.

"This means that customers will benefit from the improved convenience during the busy Christmas period and beyond,” said Mike Newnham, chief customer officer at Royal Mail.

The delivery company is rolling out the initiative as part of its plans to bring  their terms and conditions more in line with its competitors, following a successful trial last November.

In August it wrote to all 29 million addresses in the UK to introduce the new initiative, which it hopes will make deliveries more convenient for its customers .