Royal Mail first class stamps surge to cost more than £1 from today

Brits are facing a rise in Royal Mail stamps from today (April 3).

The cost of a first class stamp will go over the £1 threshold for the first-time ever.

It sees the stamp go up by 15p, from 95p to £1.10, while the second class stamp is up from 68p to 75p.

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The 16% increase for a first class stamp is above the current level of inflation of 10.4%.

Citizens Advice said the price hike represents a 64% increase over the last five years.

And Royal Mail claimed the decision was made after a 25% drop in letter volumes since the pandemic.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: "We have to carefully balance our pricing against a continued decline in letter volumes and the increasing costs of delivering letters six days a week to an ever-growing number of addresses across the country.

"We are seeing a fundamental change in consumer needs with a greater shift in demand from letters to parcels. It is vital that the Universal Service adapts and stays both relevant and sustainable.

"We need to make these price changes to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service for years to come."

Sending mail with a first class stamp should mean your letter reaches its intended address the following day.

A second class stamp usually takes around two to three working days to arrive.

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Royal Mail is required to deliver letters across the country six days a week as part of its "universal service obligation".

It comes as Royal Mail warned of "significant delays" for a small number of destinations in the UK.

Last month, the firm said if you can't see tracking information, it's likely to be available on the overseas' post websites.

It restarted its international parcel and letter deliveries through its branches after it was impacted by a cyber-attack in January 2023.

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