ROYAL MAIL has said it will increase the price of stamps again next month.
The delivery giant said the price of first-class stamps will increase by 10p to £1.35 and second-class stamps will increase by 10p to 85p.
1
A year ago, a first-class stamp cost 95p before being hiked to £1.10 in April 2023, before another 15p increase in October last year.
The increase comes after warnings by the loss-making firm over the impact of higher costs and lower demand for letters.
Royal Mail said the price increase will come into force on April 2.
Last year, industry regulator Ofcom said increases to the price of second-class stamps would be capped at the rate of inflation until 2029 in an effort to keep the sending of letters affordable.
READ MORE IN MONEY
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: “We always consider price changes very carefully, but we face a situation where letter volumes have reduced dramatically over recent years while costs have increased.
“It is no longer sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering seven billion.
“As a result of letter volume decline, our posties now have to walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters as before, increasing the delivery costs per letter.”
It comes after the Royal Mail raised the price of first class stamps from £1.10 to £1.25 on October 2.
Most read in Money
The Royal Mail charges more for first class stamps as they ensure your letter gets to its destination faster.
Generally, a letter with a first class stamp on it will arrive at the intended address the next working day.
Meanwhile, it takes up to three working days for second class items to arrive.
Depending on the size of your letter, you may have to pay more for a first or second class stamp.
I’m a coin expert – how to spot valuable 50p rare ‘rotation error’ coin in your change
It comes after the Royal Mail ousted old-style stamps and replaced them with barcoded ones in July.
The business said the move would make letters more secure.
Anyone who still has these old-style stamps and uses them may have to pay a surcharge.
Ofcom has said the Royal Mail could be allowed to cut its letter deliveries to five days a week or three, as it warned the UK postal service risked becoming “unsustainable” without reform.
Royal Mail, which is owned by International Distributions Services (IDS), recorded a £419 million loss in its previous financial year, while it was also fined £5.6 million last year for failing to meet its delivery targets.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.
