UK Royal Mail to end heavy parcels service

The Royal Mail was given permission today to withdraw a service delivering heavy parcels which loses the company £1 million a year.

Parcels weighing between 20kg (46lbs) and 30kg (66lbs) were delivered for £10.76, but the Royal Mail said the actual cost was between £22 and £36, depending on the destination.

Around 45,000 of the parcels were delivered every year, less than 1% of the 4.5 million handled by the Royal Mail.

The service will be withdrawn next April.

Ross Drake, the Royal Mail’s head of goods distribution said: “There are specialist carriers that have designed their networks to handle items weighing more than 20kg.

“Our network is not designed for this and for every higher weight parcel we handle, we have to put ad hoc arrangements in place to distribute and deliver it.”

The postal regulator Postcomm said it had agreed to the service ending as long as it was publicised and delayed until next year.

The regulator has also allowed Royal Mail to to make changes to its next day guaranteed postal service, which costs £3.75 for guaranteed next day delivery of packages weighing up to 100g (3.5oz).

The changes will allow Royal Mail an extra three hours for delivery and will double maximum compensation for lost or damaged mail to £500.

The Royal Mail said it was considering how to implement the changes.