Is the post office and royal mail the same

The Post Office and Royal Mail are two separate entities, but they are closely related and often work together.

Royal Mail is the UK's designated universal postal service provider, responsible for delivering mail and parcels throughout the country. It is a public limited company, listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is owned by a consortium of investors. Royal Mail is responsible for collecting, processing, and delivering mail and parcels, as well as providing postal services to businesses and individuals.

The Post Office, on the other hand, is a retail network of branches that provides a range of services, including postal services, banking, and bill payments. The Post Office is a subsidiary of the Royal Mail Group, but it operates independently and is not a part of Royal Mail's postal network. The Post Office has a separate management structure and is responsible for its own finances.

While Royal Mail is responsible for delivering mail and parcels, The Post Office is responsible for selling postal services, including stamps, and providing access to Royal Mail's services. In other words, The Post Office is a retail outlet that sells Royal Mail's services, rather than a postal service provider itself.

In practice, this means that:

• Royal Mail delivers mail and parcels to customers' doors.
• The Post Office sells stamps, postal services, and provides access to Royal Mail's services, such as parcel tracking and delivery updates.
• The Post Office also offers additional services, such as banking, bill payments, and travel money, which are not related to postal services.

So, while The Post Office and Royal Mail are separate entities, they work together to provide a comprehensive postal service to the UK public.