A penny on price of stamps takes f irst class up to 63p

FOOD and energy costs may be falling... but there’s one price rise we just can’t seem to stamp out.

Royal Mail has announced that sending a letter is going to be a penny more expensive from next month.

The company, which was privatised in 2013, is bumping up the cost of a first class stamp from 62p to 63p, while second class is rising from 53p to 54p. Both changes come into effect on March 30.

Royal Mail said it ‘thought carefully about the impact on customers’ before raising the price of posting a letter. ‘We recognise how difficult it has been for householders and businesses in the recent tough economic conditions,’ it said.

Critics said the increase will hit small businesses in particular as they often rely heavily on the postal service. The price increase amounts to 1.6 per cent for a first class stamp, and 1.9 per cent for second class – above the official inflation rate of 0.3 per cent.

The price of stamps has more than doubled in the last ten years.

John Allan, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘If you’re a business that relies heavily on the postal service, increases in stamp prices won’t be welcomed.

‘While prices have only gone up by a penny, this still represents an above inflation rise. Businesses affected will still have to decide whether to absorb this rise or pass it on to their customers.’

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: ‘Royal Mail needs to focus on making efficiency savings rather than relying on raising prices. Consumers will want to see a fair balance between Royal Mail raising prices and saving money by being a more efficient organisation.’

Royal Mail insisted its prices ‘remain among the best value in Europe’. It also said the price of sending a medium-sized parcel weighing up to 2kg second class will be cut by as much as £3.11 to £4.89.

Mr Allan added: ‘Those businesses that s end l arge numbers of packages will appreciate the lower charges for parcels below 2kg.’

Royal Mail has previously warned that it will be forced to raise prices if private delivery services are not brought under control. Last year it said the growth of private firms ‘could threaten the economics of the universal service’.