Martin Lewis urges everyone to ‘stock up now’ as prices set to rise

Martin Lewis has sounded the alarm with a “last chance” warning for anyone needing to buy postage stamps, as prices are on the rise.

Currently, sending a first-class letter costs £1.65, but this will increase to £1.70.

The MoneySavingExpert.com guru, Martin Lewis, advised: “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 rise.”

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He pointed out that while the savings might not be substantial, it’s wise to purchase before the hike: “So while it’s not a huge saving this time, you still may as well stock up now.”

Stamp prices are set to change on April 7, with first-class stamps going up by 5p—a 3% increase to £1.70—and second-class stamps rising by 2p, marking a 2.4% jump to 87p.

Nick Landon of Royal Mail cited escalating operational costs as the reason for the inflation, stating, “We always consider price changes very carefully but the cost of delivering mail continues to increase,”

Royal Mail’s letter volume has dramatically fallen from 20 billion letters annually to just 6.7 billion.

With projections showing a further decline to 4 billion letters over the next four years, despite an additional 4 million addresses being covered, delivery costs are expected to soar.

Royal Mail faced a hefty penalty last December, being fined by Ofcom a staggering £10 million due to its failure to achieve delivery targets. Over a quarter of first-class letters did not arrive when expected.

“Ofcom has recognised that reform is urgently needed to protect the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to about 32m UK addresses six days a week,” commented Landon.

Furthermore, he noted: “Reform will allow continued investment in the modernisation and transformation of the business to provide a more financially sustainable service.”