Size pricing unlikely to be introduced in UK before 2006

Size-based pricing is unlikely to be introduced before April 2006, according to postal watchdog Postcomm.

Up until now, it was thought that the new pricing system could be introduced as early as September 2005.

Speaking at a meeting organised by Royal Mail, Richard Moriarty, Postcomm director of competition and regulation, said Postcomm had received 9,000 responses to its size-based pricing consultation and was undertaking a thorough analysis of all feedback, while continuing to work with Royal Mail on understanding the cost justification for the proposals.

Royal Mail launched its consultation into the plans to price mail by size rather than weight in April. The Direct Marketing Association has already spoken out against the move, arguing that while other countries such as Germany and Australia already take into account the size of mailings in their prices, it is not used as a key factor.

Royal Mail proposed that any mailed item more than 12mm thick should be classed as a packet and incur extra costs. However, the Periodical Publishers Association argued that this was too much of a narrow boundary and should be raised to 15mm. This, the PPA argues would take into account three major elements to magazine delivery — inserts, supplements and promotional CDs or DVDs.

At the latest meeting, Lorna Clarkson, Royal Mail’s director of commercial policy and pricing, acknowledged magazines were particularly affected by the size-based pricing proposals.

She said the publishing market was an important sector and that Royal Mail was committed to working with PPA to address publishers’ concerns around the introduction of a uniformity measure for magazines.