Movers ‘ripped off’ after leap in cost of mail redirection

THE Royal Mail has been accused of ripping off people who move home affter the cost of redirecting post leapt by three quarters in five years.

Research by Citizens Advice shows that since 2012 the cost of having post redirected to a new address for three months has gone up by 74 per cent from £19.50 to £33.99, and the cost of a year-long redirection increased by 43 per cent from £47 to £66.99.

The cost of the service, which is designed to reduce the stress of moving home, while protecting consumers from identity theft as a result of other people opening their post, has risen six times faster than for postage stamps, which have gone up by 12 per cent over the same period.

Citizens Advice said Royal Mail had a “monopoly” on the redirection service, so consumers have nowhere else to turn if they cannot afford it.

It also estimated that over 150,000 households with different surnames have paid for two redirections, as Royal Mail treats couples with different names as if they are not living together.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said it planned to scrap its surname policy to be “more reflective of society”.

The spokesman added: “Redirections remain affordable and offer excellent value for money. We note that a recent Citizens Advice report recognised that customers are ‘very satisfied’ with the service they receive, and that the majority of customers who use redirection (61 per cent) believe it is ‘good’ or ‘very good’ value for money, with a further 27 per cent believing it is ‘average’ value for money.”