GB News panellists discuss the price hike of Royal Mail stamps
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From tomorrow, April 4, standard First Class stamps will be priced at 95p (up 10p) and Second Class stamps at 68p (up 2p).
Today is the last day that Royal Mail customers can purchase First Class stamps for 85p and Second Class stamps for 66p.
Tomorrow and onwards, customers will have to spend an extra 10p on First Class stamps (a 12 percent increase) or an extra 2p on Second Class stamps.
The rise in prices can be credited to a decrease in people sending letters alongside an increase in addresses.
Commenting on the figures, Royal Mail chief commercial officer Nick Landon stated: “While the number of letters our postmen and women deliver has declined from around 20 billion a year to around seven billion since 2004/05, the number of addresses they have to deliver to has grown by around 3.5 million in the same period.”
“We need to carefully balance our pricing against declining letter volumes and increasing costs of delivering to a growing number of addresses six days a week.
“As customer needs change and we see a greater shift from letters to parcels, it is vital that the Universal Service adapts to stay relevant and sustainable. These prices changes are necessary to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service for future generations.”
People have taken to social media to express their disappointment for the change.
Twitter user @MercedesBevs branded the news “Shocking!!!”
“My thinking would be – reduce stamp prices AND more people would buy them!
“To think that one little (First Class) stamp is almost £1.00 when most other costs are rising means less people will buy them!”
She continued: “@RoyalMail @RoyalMailStamps have totally got the wrong idea!”
@SheppyVIPSs added: “I recall when first class postage was 17p and second class was 13p. Around 1984.”
Dan Morgan mused: “Thank goodness for emails.”
@letfluft said: “Waste of money. Bad management surely driving pricing. Say goodbye to the postal system.”
@bvanegghen referred to the new prices as a “rip off”.
The increase in stamp prices isn’t the only change Royal Mail is making.
New barcoded stamps are also being rolled out, meaning existing ones will no longer be valid from 31 January 2023 – without paying extra costs.
Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme was introduced on March 31, 2022 and will run until the same date next year, allowing customers to exchange existing stamps for barcoded ones.
From January 31, 2023, only barcoded, Christmas and collectable stamps can be used to send post.
Martin Lewis said: “This change will come as a shock to the many stamp-hoarders out there.
“It’s the first time I can remember you’ve not been able to just lick it and stick it.”
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