Royal Mail stops stamp sales
The Royal Mail has banned the sale of stamps from its own sorting offices and stripped nearly 4,000 post offices across the UK of stamp vending machines.
Customers at most post offices around the country will now have to join lengthy queues if they wish to buy stamps at the counter.
The changes have gone through without any public consultation, leading to criticism of the Royal Mail’s “monopolistic attitude”.
The Royal Mail admitted moves were under way to shut down 3,900 stamp dispensers in or near post offices, 2,700 elsewhere owned by the Royal Mail, and a further 2,000 owned by retailers.
Watchdog group Postwatch said: “The fault, having made the decision in May, is in not letting people know. They told their office staff but they didn’t tell the public. It’s disappointing and shows a monopolistic attitude.”
The Royal Mail denied the closure of stamp machines would make it harder for people to post a letter.
“Customers no longer rely on vending machines in the way they used to years ago, ” a spokesman said.
“Since the 1980s there are more than 55,000 retail outlets which have begun selling stamps.
He added: “This isn’t about deteriorating customer service, it’s about adapting to the changing customer demands.”
The Royal Mail was already under fire after it announced 17,000 job cuts on top of 13,000 previously made, and its decision to axe the second post in a bid to stem losses running at £1.2million a day.
