Tag: Royal Mail

Financial winners and losers in post shake-up

Posted by | Aug 22, 2006 | |

Today is the Royal Mail’s red letter day. The price of post will now depend on the size of what you are sending.

The new system has three categories.

The letter classification, with maximum 5mm thickness, is equivalent to a standard birthday card and the large letter, 25mm, around the depth of a monthly magazine.

The packet category covers anything larger.

The Royal Mail has predicted more than 85% of stamped mail will be the same price or cheaper than the old system.

The new pricing structure is called “Pricing In Proportion”.

Ian McKay, Royal Mail’s director of Scottish affairs, said one of the easiest ways to save money under the new rules was to fold all A4 items in half and put them in a C5 envelope.

Watchdog body Postwatch said there would be financial “winners and losers”.

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No chaos as postal prices change

Posted by | Aug 22, 2006 | |

Yesterday was a just a “typical day” for Post Office customers despite predictions the new pricing system would cause “chaos”, said Royal Mail.

New rules which came into force yesterday mean postage costs will determined by the size and shape of the item, not just weight.

Lorna Clarkson, Royal Mail’s Director of Pricing, said: “This is turning out to be a typical day in Post Office branches. There is no sign at all of the ‘chaos’ some predicted!

“I am very confident that customers will quickly get used to the new pricing structure, and we’re grateful for the way they have been taking the time to read the information we’ve distributed.”

The changes were accompanied by a pounds 10m campaign, 27m households received leaflets about the plan.

A spokeswoman for Postwatch, an independent consumer body, had earlier warned “many people still don’t know” about the details.

Ms Clarkson said: “Of course, we are not complacent and recognise that we are making significant changes. We will take all the time they need to explain these changes.

“But every indication we have had from Post Office branches and our customer call centres show that most people are aware of the changes.”

Royal Mail have said they will not gain extra revenue from the changes, and the postage for 80% of the mail will remain the same.

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Chaos as customers are left baffled by 'confusing' new prices for post

Posted by | Aug 22, 2006 | |

Sending letters used to be simple – if increasingly expensive. Yesterday it got more complicated amid widespread confusion and suspicion that the Royal Mail was trying to make a fast buck.

From now on the cost of posting letters and packets varies according to their shape, thickness and weight. This replaces a long-standing system in which first class stamps cost 32p, second class stamps cost 23p and items weighing more than 60g varied in price according to weight.

A spokeswoman for the consumer group Postwatch said people were “utterly confused” by the change. The organisation registered deep concern about how the new pricing structure was being introduced.

Its study of more than 300 post offices in the first week of August showed that a third did not have any information for customers on the new system, called Pricing in Proportion (PiP).

The new system is expected to cause particular confusion among those buying greetings cards, which vary considerably in size, but less so in weight.

The changes attracted a mixture of bafflement and suspicion among customers. In a post office near St James Park, central London, Amanda Kershen said she found the system complicated, despite reading the leaflet she had received. “I’ll be very reluctant to send any packages. It’s going to cause pandemonium,” she said. “I was sent a sizing guide to my home which was helpful but the first thing I thought was, ‘this is going to be stressful’.”

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Postal density charge plan attacked

Posted by | Aug 21, 2006 | |

Radical plans by Royal Mail to charge customers different rates according to the density of deliveries in each geographical area have been attacked by business.

The dominant postal operator is today launching its biggest price overhaul in decades, which will charge customers according to the size, thickness and weight of mail, rather than just weight alone.

But Royal Mail has also applied to Postcomm, the postal regulator, to extend zonal pricing to some bulk business mail from April, albeit with a six-month transition period.

The system is already used in some Royal Mail services, and would cut prices for delivering in densely populated areas and raise them for less dense zones.

It would not apply to stamped or frank consumer mail or erode the Royal Mail’s commitment to deliver to every address. But bulk mailers, in particular, would be affected.

Postcomm began to open up bulk mail to competition three years ago, with the entire market facing competition from the beginning of this year.

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First time buyers are overstretched and under protected

Posted by | Aug 21, 2006 | |

Nearly half (48 per cent) of first time buyers (FTBs) would only be able to meet their mortgage repayments for six months if they lost their regular income tomorrow, reveals new research by Post Office® Financial Services.

With the average house deposit now at GBP 11,710, many FTBs are left overstretched financially. A third then face the additional shock of household running costs, which are much higher than they expected.

The Post Office® research reveals that despite these financial pressures, many FTBs are skimping on protecting themselves. Almost half (45 per cent) of FTBs don’t have any kind of protection against loss of income, from accident, sickness or unemployment (Payment Protection Insurance). Of those who are unprotected, the majority (44 per cent) have avoided doing so because they think it’s too expensive. Almost a third just don’t think they need it.

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