Royal Mail to raise First Class stamp prices 3.3% next month

Royal Mail is set to increase stamp prices from the end of next month, with First Class letter rates rising 3.3% to 62p. The new prices, along with a 6% increase to the Second Class stamp price, to 53p, will take affect from 31st March.

Royal Mail’s starting rate for large letters will rise by 3.3% or 3p to 93p, while a Second Class large letter stamp will increase by 5.8% or 4p to 73p.

Consumer parcel shipping rates will rise by 2.6% on average.

The newly-privatised national postal service last raised its retail stamp prices two years ago, in April 2012 when First Class stamp prices shot up 30%, and Second Class stamps by nearly 40% after the company was given new pricing freedom by regulator Ofcom in preparation for privatisation.

This year, the company said it had “thought carefully” about the impact on customers before deciding to raise its rates again above the rate of inflation.

“Difficult”

“We understand how difficult it has been for householders and businesses in the recent tough economic conditions,” Royal Mail said in a statement.

“Stamp prices have not risen for two years. In order to provide a high quality, six-day-a-week, one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service, Royal Mail must maintain a high fixed cost infrastructure, costing more than £7bn annually.”

Royal Mail said under the current guidance from Ofcom it could have raised Second Class stamps to 57p.

The company also insisted its stamp prices were “among the best value in Europe”, stating the European average for First Class letters as 67p, and for Second Class letters as 60p.

Stephen Agar, Royal Mail’s Managing Director of Consumer and Network Access commented: “We understand that nobody likes to pay more, especially in the current economic climate. Our prices remain amongst the best value for money in Europe, and we have the highest service specification of any major European country.”

Royal Mail will be raising its business mail rates this year, with its Downstream Access rates increasing by the rate of inflation, after additional price increases were suspended pending an investigation by Ofcom.