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I have set up a Royal Mail international mail forwarding to have mail sent to my UK address forwarded to my new German address. There are several competitors, such as TNT Mail or UK Mail, however I read that the last mile delivery is still held exclusively by Royal Mail (but I can't find a recent source to confirm this). Will the Royal Mail redirection work for other companies, or must I set up separate redirection for mail sent through Whistl, Hermes, UK Mail, and any other company involved in mail delivery (not parcels)?

All I could find on the topic is a post on removalreviews.co.uk:

The Royal Mail redirection service is only valid for mail delivered by Royal Mail, if your mail is delivered by a third party, for example TNT Mail (Whistl), as used by some UK banks, it is unclear how the redirection service works. I could not find any links to a redirection service and only conflicting information regarding redirection of TNT delivered mail.

which is clearly inconclusive.

gerrit
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Under "Business Diversion" RM says they can't divert:

... mail delivered to your door by other delivery services or couriers, including Parcelforce. In some areas, this may include business mail items such as bank statements, council tax statements and utility bills, which are delivered to your door by postal service providers other than Royal Mail.

https://www.royalmail.com/corporate/mail-management/redirection/business-diversion#faq-19350814-19350810

It appears that in some areas where there is sufficient delivery point density mail providers may do their own doorstep deliveries. As these don't go via the Royal Mail delivery office they won't be covered by RM diversion. I would expect the same to apply for RM redirection.

Owain
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  • This is about business diversion. Does the same apply to personal mail diversion? Do the other postal service providers deliver such business mail to the door for personal customers as well? – gerrit Apr 12 '19 at 07:22
  • Yes, in practical terms the mail is delivered the same way. RM Personal redirection says (under 'be aware of timings'): "When your mail is redirected, it will be sent to the delivery office that serves your old address first. From there, it will be forwarded ...". Therefore RMcan't redirect anything which doesn't go via its delivery office, as it will never be in physical possession of the item. Whether other postal service providers deliver to personal addresses in your area - you'd have to ask them. – Owain Apr 13 '19 at 08:20