UK Royal Mail in threat to sue post watchdog

The Royal Mail, which yesterday announced that it had had a record Christmas, has threatened to sue Postwatch, the consumer watchdog, for advising customers to send letters second class during the festive season.

Angry correspondence has been exchanged since Peter Carr, Postwatch’s chairman, told customers that paying seven pence more for a first-class stamp was a waste of money.

The Royal Mail, which will this year pay Postwatch’s pounds 10million running costs, is understood to have demanded a retraction of “inaccurate information”.

The dispute centres on Royal Mail’s decision to exclude December from its performance figures. Postwatch thinks consumers should know how the Royal Mail is doing all year.