Royal Mail’s bosses deliver £60k stamp price blunder

ROYAL Mail posted a major blunder yesterday as it announced a round of stamp price increases.

It said first class stamps will rise by 3p to 70p and second class will go up by the same amount to 61p on March 25.

However, shortly after unveiling the changes, Royal Mail had to apologise for breaking the official second class price cap. The 60p cap, set by regulator Ofcom, should stand until April 1. The increase to 61p comes into effect one week early.

Royal Mail apologised and said it would give the extra money it expects to receive – estimated at £60,000 – to a children’s charity. A spokesman said: ‘We apologise for this mistake.

‘We are putting this right by donating the revenue that we expect to collect from the error – around £60,000 – to our chosen charity Action for Children, which helps disadvantaged children across the UK.’

It is the second major blunder by Royal Mail in two months. In late December bosses were forced to apologise over a stamp design planned to commemorate the D-Day landings which actually showed US troops on a beach in Asia.

The stamp was intended to represent British troops landing in France and was labelled ‘D-Day Allied soldiers and medics wade ashore’. It was part of the 2019 Special Stamp programme showcasing the ‘Best of British’ and was due to be released in June to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings in 1944. In a humiliating U-turn, Royal Mail said the image would no longer be part of the final collection.

Historian Paul Woodadge had warned post chiefs: ‘The image chosen actually depicts US troops disembarking at Dutch New Guinea in May 1944. Please correct this or you will look like idiots.’

In the changes announced yesterday, first class stamps rise by 4.5 per cent and second class by 5.2 per cent. They follow a dramatic fall in the number of letters being sent as Britons opt instead for email and instant messaging.

They are also paying bills online rather than sending cheques through the post. The number of letters sent fell by 8 per cent in the nine months to December 23 compared to the same period the year before.

Income from stamp sales was down 6 per cent. Royal Mail claimed that UK stamp prices were among the best value in Europe.

It said the European average for first class letters up to 100g is 99p while second class is 77p.

The company is trying to boost its relevance to younger people – including some who have never posted a letter – with a set of superhero stamps featuring Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther and Captain Britain.

It coincides with Marvel’s 80th anniversary this year.

‘We are putting this right’