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Martin Lewis’ financial advice website Money Saving Expert has issued a ‘last chance’ warning for people who send letters and packages to stock up on stamps, ahead of next month’s price spike.
From April 2, the cost of sending a letter or parcel by second-class standard delivery will jump by 13 per cent to 85p, an increase of 10p per stamp. At the same time, the cost of first-class postage is set to rise again, now costing £1.35 per standard stamp and £2.10 for a large – the third such rise in the last year.
Last April, the price of a first-class stamp was just 95p, 42 per cent lower than the level it will rise to from next month. Royal Mail has stated that increased cost pressures, wage rises, and an ever-increasing number of addresses for their posties to get around on their route have caused the sharp rise in postage costs.
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Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: “We face a situation where letter volumes have reduced dramatically over recent years, while costs have increased. It is no longer sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering seven billion.
“As a result of letter volume decline, our posties now have to walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters as before, increasing the delivery costs per letter.”
| Class | Price from April 2 | Price increase |
| First – standard size | £1.35 | +10p |
| First – large size | £1.95 | +15p |
| Second- standard size | 75p | +10p |
| Second – large size | £1.55 | Same |
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “For years, every time stamps go up in price I’ve suggested people stock up and bulk-buy in advance, as provided the stamp doesn’t have a price on it and instead just says the postage class, it’s still valid after the hike.
“This has been an effective tactic, as a first-class letter stamp is now £1.25, soon to be rising to £1.35 – in 2012 it was just 60p. So you may as well stock up now.”
The cost of other Royal Mail services are set to increase from next month, including Tracked, Signed For and Special Delivery. You can find out the price of each of their services here.
