Martin Lewis is warning Brits to stock up on £1.25 NOW before prices rise
MONEY man Martin Lewis has warned Brits to stock up on household goods before prices rise.
The budget journalist gave this advice because the price of first-class stamps will increase by eight percent for standard letters from April 2.
3
This means that a first-class standard letter stamp, which now costs €1.25, will cost €1.35 next month.
A first class large stamp will rise from £1.95 to £2.10.
A second class standard stamp will also rise in price, from 75p to 85p – a higher figure of 13 per cent.
Martin Lewis suggests people grab as many stamps as they can now because you can still use them even if you buy them at a lower price.
He said: “Every time stamps go up in price, for years I have been advising people to stock up in advance and buy in bulk, because if the stamp doesn’t show a price and instead just states the shipping class, is it still valid after the walk.
“This has been an effective tactic as a first class postal stamp now costs £1.25, and will soon rise to £1.35 – in 2012 it was just 60p. So you might as well stock up now.”
MoneySavingExpert.com reported that the price of a standard letter first class stamp has increased three times in the past year.
In March 2023, those stamps cost just 95 cents, but in April they rose to $1.10. In October the price rose again to £1.25.
They report that the Royal Mail is blaming the price rises on increasing pressure on costs, such as wages, and the six-day-a-week service.
Last year, industry regulator Ofcom said price increases for second-class stamps would be capped at the rate of inflation until 2029, in a bid to keep sending letters affordable.
Nick Landon, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Mail, said The mirror: “We always take price changes into account very carefully, but we are faced with a situation where the number of letters has decreased dramatically in recent years, while costs have increased.
“It is no longer sustainable to maintain a network built for twenty billion letters, when we now only deliver seven billion letters.
“As a result of the declining letter volume, our postal deliverers now have to walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters as before, causing delivery costs per letter to rise.”
A standard size letter should not exceed 24cm x 16.5cm x 5mm.
Large letters may not exceed 12″ x 10″ x 1″ (35.3 cm x 25 cm x 2.5 cm).
The Royal Mail charges a higher fee for first class stamps because they ensure that your letter reaches its destination faster.
Normally, a letter with a first class stamp on it will arrive at its intended address the next business day.
Meanwhile, second-class items will take up to three business days to arrive.
Depending on the size of your letter, you may have to pay more for a first or second class stamp.
It comes after the Royal Mail ditched the old-fashioned stamps in July and replaced them with barcoded ones.
How are shipping costs determined?
The Royal Mail typically increases the price of stamps annually and last year the price rose in April.
Normally, customers are warned about a month in advance before prices go up.
This year the increase was announced in March.
Royal Mail said it is increasing postage costs due to the decline in the number of people sending letters.
The number of letters being posted has fallen by 60% since 2005 and by about 20% since the start of the pandemic.
It also blamed rising inflation for the increase.
Britain is facing a cost of living crisis, with food and energy prices also rising.
3