No more 'while you were out' misery for millions They will be entitled to continue to receive the "sorry you were out cards," and trek down to their local sorting offices to collect the packages. Trials carried out by Royal Mail at 750,000 homes found that the overwhelming majority of people are likely to sign up gladly to the new deal. The trials - in Edinburgh, Gatwick, Hull, Norwich, Swansea, Wigan and Bolton - found that more than nine out of 10 people were happy with the experience. Royal Mail said it was now "asking Ofcom to amend the regulatory arrangements which will allow us to extend "delivery to neighbour" across the UK later this year." Ofcom, the postal regulator, would only be able to make the change after a lengthy consultation with the public. Mike Newnham, Royal Mail's chief customer officer, said: "The results of the trial have been very encouraging. Customers welcome the convenience of having items delivered to a neighbour if they are not at home to receive them. Royal Mail is now seeking regulatory changes to allow us to extend Delivery to Neighbour across the UK for the benefit of customers. The cards - formerly known as "while you were out" cards - are delivered to around 50million people every year, forcing them to travel miles to the nearest delivery office to collect them. There was anger two years ago when it emerged that more than one in two consumers said they had received the cards when they were, in fact, at home. That prompted concerns that postmen were leaving parcels at the delivery office and posting the cards to avoid the trouble of carrying the packages. Consumer Focus, the postal watchdog which carried out its own mystery shopping exercised alongside Royal Mail, supported the changes, saying that the scheme "could make the lives of consumers as well as postmen and women much easier." It said the trials had worked well, apart from some concerns that the wrong items such as special delivery items, were being left with neighbours. It added that it was vital that people knew they could opt out of the new system, adding: "Royal Mail should investigate the needs of these people who have undeliverable mail but do not wish to have it delivered to a neighbour." Robert Hammond, head of Postal Policy and Regulation at the watchdog, said: "We are ordering more and more items online and during the week many people will be working, meaning undeliverable mail is an inconvenience for consumers and a growing demand on Royal Mail's resources. Leaving post with a neighbour is a good way of tackling this issue. It may not be a universal solution as some people will not want to leave mail with people living nearby, but as long as consumers are fully aware they can opt-out, then we feel the scheme could be extended further, if Royal Mail wished to do so. Hundreds of people contacted The Daily Telegraph in late 2009 after one reader claimed to have received one of the cards when she was sitting at home. When she confronted her postman, she discovered that he did not have the parcel with him anyway and was told she must travel to the nearest sorting office to collect it. Her letter prompted more than 200 readers to come forward, most claiming they had encountered a similar problem.