Tag: Europe

The Royal Mail is planning to charge some businesses more for sending mail to London and remote rural locations so it can cut delivery prices elsewhere in the country.

Officials say charges that more accurately reflect the cost of moving mail through the congested capital and out to the furthest corners of the UK will enable it to provide a better deal to companies wanting to blanket addresses in more accessible locations.

Both the company and regulators underlined yesterday that the charges will make no difference to residents and small businesses sending stamped mail.

The changes – planned for April 2009 at the earliest – will apply to a limited number of firms that send out vast amounts of junk mail, bills, statements, and other business correspondence using certain bulk mail services.

Eyebrows have been raised that Royal Mail finds it as expensive to deliver to London as far off places in the British Isles and the regulator Postcomm is wondering why bosses are so keen on the new price structure when most customers involved have already said they do not want it.

But the higher wages paid to staff working in the capital and the congestion charge are among the arguments for higher charges – although critics say the service would be better improving its efficiency in London.

Under the proposals a certain kind of business in London planning a mailshot on Leeds would be likely to pay 4.9 per cent less for deliveries to a business district and two per cent less to a densely populated area.