£10 for a book of stamps! Royal Mail slammed for 'absolutely disgusting' price hike
A book of eight first-class stamps will hit £10 as Royal Mail increases prices from October 2
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A book of first-class stamps will rise to £10 for the first time in October 2023, when Royal Mail increases prices.
A first-class stamp for a standard letter will rise by 15 pence from October 2 to £1.25.
It means a book of eight stamps, currently costing £8.80, will now cost £10.
The delivery company said the first-class stamp price rise comes as the business faces “increasing cost pressures” and a “challenging economic environment”.
Second-class stamp prices for standard letters won't rise from October, Royal Mail said
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Sharing their reaction to the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, one person penned: “Absolutely disgusting! No Christmas cards being sent by me again this year, I refuse to pay it!”
Another exclaimed that they now found it was “too expensive to send a letter”.
A third explained they have stopped buying so many stamps, posting: “From dozens of stamps a year, I can count on one hand number I buy now. Purveyors of your own demise!”
What do you think about the price of first-class stamps rising? Share your thoughts in the comment section or email us at money@gbnews.uk.
Second-class stamp prices for a standard letter will not change, remaining at 75 pence.
For large letters, first-class stamps will increase by 35 pence to £1.95 while second-class prices will rise by 40 pence to £1.55.
Royal Mail chief commercial officer Nick Landon said: “We understand the economic challenges that many of our customers are currently facing and have considered the price changes very carefully in light of the significant decline in letter volumes.
“Letter volumes have reduced dramatically over recent years, down more than 60 per cent from their peak in 2004/05 and 30 per cent since the pandemic.
"It is vital that the universal service adapts to reflect this new reality.”
The rise means stamp prices will have more than doubled since 2012, the year before Royal Mail was privatised.
The number of letters being sent has fallen from 20 billion in 2004/05 to seven billion a year in 2022/23. The number of addresses has risen by four million in this period.
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Royal Mail's latest stamp price rise means stamp prices will have more than doubled since 2012
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The firm also blamed the lack of reform of the “universal service obligation” (USO), which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week to all 32 million UK addresses for the same price, regardless of where letters are being sent to.
It said: “Royal Mail has been clear that the cost of delivering an ever-decreasing number of letters to an ever-growing number of households six days a week is unsustainable.”
Royal Mail highlighted Ofcom research from 2020 showed that providing a weekday-only letter service would meet the needs of 97 per cent of consumers and small and medium-sized businesses.
It said: “Given the ongoing decline in letters, Royal Mail continues to call on Ofcom and the Government to review and modernise the USO to better reflect changing customer needs.”