**** Press release Monday 7th October 2024
UK’s Greeting Card Association members concerned Royal Mail is ignoring views of small and medium-sized businesses and their consumers
Fears Royal Mail plan to end the more affordable, reliable, second class stamp
Move could impact charitable giving through card sending this Christmas
On Monday (7 October), Royal Mail will raise the price of a first class stamp from £1.35 to £1.65 – an inflation-busting 22 per cent increase that’s the fifth hike in less than three years.
A first class stamp is now almost twice the price of a second class stamp, which remains affordable at 85p because it has the protection of being pegged to inflation by regulator Ofcom.
And today, the UK’s Greeting Card Association which represents over 500 publishers, retailers, agents, specialist suppliers and distributors in an industry worth £1.5bn to the UK economy, said it feared the rise was part of a plan to kill off the more affordable second class stamp for good.
That’s because Ofcom and Royal Mail last month announced plans to chop the second class post down to three or even two days a week – and ending Saturday second class deliveries.
The GCA believes that move will seriously undermine consumer trust in the service, leaving the small businesses they represent fearing the service will be wound down – and if it is, it will leave them and the consumers they serve, with no option but to use an unregulated, high price first class stamp for important cards and letters that need to be delivered on time.
Many of the GCA members donate to charity through the sale of their Christmas cards and others work directly with chosen charities.
One member, Cards for Good Causes, believes the move could have a detrimental impact on the amount raised through card sending, especially at Christmas. In the past 10 years alone, Cards for Good Causes has given £22.5m back to charities and £2.7m to local communities all raised during the Christmas period.
At its annual Conference and AGM in Bristol last month, the GCA provided a platform for the Royal Mail to explain its strategy to its members.
In a forthright session it was clear the Royal Mail would not budge on its plans to seek approval to weaken its legal obligation to send second class mail Monday to Saturday, reducing it to three, or even just two days a week.
Amanda Fergusson, chief executive officer of the GCA said:
“We fear the latest above-inflation rise in the price of a first class stamp – the fifth in less than three years – shows what could happen if proposals to further undermine second class mail are pushed through without proper parliamentary scrutiny.
“The small businesses we represent – and the consumers they serve – depend on a Royal Mail that remains affordable – and that’s now seriously threatened.
“At our annual conference, we heard directly from Royal Mail that they had persuaded Ofcom that the future of the second class delivery service is going to be chopped back to two or three days a week leaving those who buy and send our members’ cards with little idea when they’ll arrive.
“Our members are worried this this will simply lead to a loss of even more trust in the relatively affordable second class stamp and the service Royal Mail provides.
“We fear the consequence of that collapse in trust will be a doom spiral of decline which will result in Royal Mail, in time, calling time on an affordable second class stamp leaving card and letter senders with no option but a premium, uncapped, unregulated first class stamp beyond their financial reach.”
“That’s why our members believe next week’s first class price hike could herald the beginning of the end of an affordable and reliable national postal service.
“It’s time for politicians from all sides to save the second class postal service from being dismantled.”
Christine Ansell, the chief executive officer of Cards for Good Causes said:
“We rely on people buying and sending cards, especially during the Christmas period.
“In addition to negatively impacting our ability to generate funds for charities, an increase in the cost of stamps, combined with a reduction in second-class stamp deliveries, could exacerbate social isolation and loneliness.
“That could particularly impact vulnerable groups like the elderly, people in rural areas, and those with limited access to digital communication.
“For many individuals, physical letters and cards are a personal and important means of staying connected with family and friends, especially for those who may not be comfortable using email or social media.
“Charities and voluntary organisations, support government by delivering much needed services to individuals and communities.
“They are more flexible in being able to change the services they deliver to best meet the needs of the diverse range of people being supported and reach those individuals who may not be able to access mainstream services.”
Charities delivered £16.8bn worth of public services in 2020/21[1]. If organisations like Cards For Good Causes didn’t exist alongside many other UK charities, the burden of supporting the most vulnerable in our communities would sit with the Government and local councils which already face well documented challenges in taking on additional responsibilities.
The planned reforms of the postal service is of acute concern to the small and medium sized businesses that make up the creative, vibrant greeting card sector in the UK and reply on a postal service that’s reliable, affordable and national.
Ofcom say 42pc of postal users now say greeting cards are the only reason they use Royal Mail for anything (parcels or letters).
What’s more, sending a physical card is a simple, joyful and inexpensive way to create a tangible connection between people that builds and nurtures relationships. An average card costs £1.89 and it’s still only 85p, thanks to the second class stamp, to send it anywhere in the country.
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Further information: Nick Agarwal, or Andrea Ross gca@arena-pr.com
[1] https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/the-true-cost-of-delivering-public-services/