Royal Mail to push through stamp price increases
Royal Mail will soon push through a two pence rise in the cost of a first-class and second class stamp to 41p and 32p respectively. This move will come in on 6 April 2010 and while it had been expected, there was the potential for a three pence increase in the cost of a first-class stamp but for some reason this option has been rejected in the short term. However, the finances of the Royal Mail are still under pressure and the company has a massive deficit on its final salary pension scheme.
While the move to increase the price of stamps in the UK will have an impact on business costs, in the overall picture it will be fairly minimal and unlikely to have a significant impact upon probability. There is confusion as to why the extra one pence increase in the cost of a first class stamp was not taken up and the situation is ever more bizarre when you consider the state of the Royal Mail finances!
However, what we are starting to see is a transfer of operating costs from the taxpayer to the UK consumer and business arena at a time when the government is still shaping Royal Mail for a potential sell-off in the short to medium term.
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