Prices 2012

Important information about our prices

Our regulator, Ofcom, has published its decision on the future of regulation for postal services. We can now publish our stamp and franking prices which come into effect from 30 April 2012. We can also confirm that prices for our business contract services, which we published on 2 March 2012, will come into effect on the 2 April 2012.

What do these changes mean for you?

• Personal customers
• Business customers
• Value Added Tax (VAT) on our services

Why are prices changing?

We know how hard it is for households and businesses when our economy is as tough as it is now. We have thought very carefully about the impact on our customers and our own business, before deciding to raise our prices.

Ofcom has said our one-price-goes-anywhere, six-days-a-week Universal Service is at risk. Royal Mail made a loss of almost £1 billion over the last four financial years because we were unable to charge the price the service truly costs to deliver.

We have started the process of returning to financial viability, reducing our costs and increasing our efficiency. We have closed 16 mail centres in the last three years. Around 50,000 people have left Royal Mail in the past decade. This is a painful process of change, but one we are committed to completing.

We need to put the Universal Service on a sound, secure and sustainable footing for the benefit of all.

Our quality of service is very high. Our targets of 93% of 1st Class items delivered next working day and 98% of 2nd Class items delivered within three working days of posting, are the highest for any major European country. We also deliver six days a week while many EU countries only provide a five-day delivery service.

Personal customers

Details of our prices from 30 April 2012 can be downloaded below.

Find out more about our prices and how they affect you.

Find out about our scheme for customers on low incomes.

Business customers

Find out more about our prices and how they affect you.

Use our pricing calculators to work out prices by destination, weight and size of the items you wish to send.

Value Added Tax (VAT) on our services

Changes to the rules about VAT on postal services and the way in which our services are regulated have affected the VAT status of a number of our products. A limited range of our services became subject to VAT in 2011, and this will extend to all non-Universal Service Obligation services from 2 April 2012.

This is a result of changes made in the Postal Services Act 2011 and is not affected by Ofcom’s regulatory consultations. A summary of the main services affected is available at: www.royalmail.com/vat 

For more information on what the changes in VAT could mean for your business, we recommend speaking to your finance director or a tax specialist. VAT will be automatically applied and shown on your sales invoice, so there is no need to change the way you process your orders.

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