CHESTER — A copy of the magazine Mother & Baby was delivered to Paul Edwards in Chester 19 years after he ordered the subscription in 2007. The delivery prompted social media attention and regulatory review of postal service performance.
Edwards, a 52-year-old science fiction writer, ordered the subscription when his daughter was 18 months old and his son was expected to be born three months later. His children are currently 20 and 18 years old. Edwards wrote on a social media platform, "Well done @RoyalMail – took a mere 19 years to deliver this magazine." He also stated, "I'm not sure we realised at the time that the magazine was missing." The social media post garnered approximately 1.5 million views and 60,000 likes. The delivered magazine included a printed note that read, "for any inconvenience caused." "You get a half-torn screwed-up bag and you think: 'What on earth is this with sincere apologies on it?'" he said. He added, "Then it's suddenly arrived in the post."
Edwards said, "Like a lot of relatively new parents, you sign up for subscriptions for things to give you advice, offers and provide things to do with the children – then obviously everyone realises you have to work it out for yourself." The communications regulator initiated an investigation into the postal operator due to a failure to meet annual delivery performance targets. The operator reported that 24.3 percent of first-class mail missed its delivery deadline in the fiscal year ending in March, an increase from 23.5 percent in the preceding year.
The operator has been fined £37 million since 2023 for not meeting delivery standards. A company representative stated that business operations will receive £500 million in investment over a five-year period. This representative added that operations would "engage fully with Ofcom" and stated that improving service quality is "a top priority." The operator conducts daily checks of its delivery facilities and sorting machinery. The operator indicated that the delayed magazine was likely re-entered into the postal network by a third party rather than lost during initial internal processing.