It follows April’s 10p hike to £1.35 and means that, from 7 October, it’ll cost you £1.65 to send your post by first-class delivery.
The cost of second-class stamps will remain the same at 85p, the postal service confirmed in a statement.
Justifying the price of the stamps, which have been projected to rise 200% on their £1.35 cost by 2029, the service cited financial challenges that needed to be addressed “urgently”.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We have no certainty on regulatory reform and the rate of letter decline, and ongoing losses [mean] that Royal Mail has had to take the necessary steps within its power to address the very real and urgent financial sustainability challenge the universal service faces right now.”
It follows yesterday’s (5 September) announcement from Ofcom that confirmed second-class letters could be delivered on alternative days next year.
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The delivery days would potentially be every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, depending on consultations with industry groups and considering the interests of customers, unions and businesses.
The decision won’t be finalised until early 2025, as the regulator looks to reform the service that it has admitted has lost “hundreds of millions of pounds”.
The huge losses have been put down to the changing habits of communication, which have seen people sending less mail over the years.
Due to late deliveries, which saw seven million people experience a delay in either sending or receiving a letter in spring this year, Citizens Advice said the postal service’s future “hangs in the balance”.
‘Universal service must adapt’
Nick Landon, the Royal Mail’s chief commercial officer, says the privatised firm “always considers price increases very carefully”.
He said: “However when letter volumes have declined by two-thirds since their peak, the cost of delivering each letter inevitably increases.
“The Universal Service must adapt to reflect changing customer preferences and increasing costs so that we can protect the one-price-goes-anywhere service, now and in the future.”
Landon added: “We are proud to deliver the Universal Service, but the financial cost is significant.”
Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, says the price increase “couldn’t be coming at a worse time for consumers, who will now be paying more than double the price of a first-class stamp compared to five years ago.”
Back in 2019, it would cost you just 70p to post a letter with a first-class stamp.
Macinnes added: “Royal Mail is choosing to hike prices far beyond the rate of inflation at a time when millions continue to miss important letters, as a result of post delays. People shouldn’t be having to fork out more while experiencing such poor service.
“Ofcom should be holding Royal Mail to account, but it’s letting the company get away with setting rocketing prices in the wake of half a decade of missed delivery targets. We need the regulator to make sure reforms of our postal service put the needs of consumers first – not Royal Mail’s bottom line.”
