Are you paying the right price for your mail?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://conversation.which.co.uk/money/a ... -your-mail" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Royal Mail’s making a right royal mess of its pricing system. Many of us are paying too much or too little to send our mail, forcing people to cough up at the other end.

Sending a letter seems pretty complicated to me since Royal Mail introduced its pricing in proportion system four years ago.

Even a visit to their website doesn’t really clear my confusion. First class letters have no maximum weight limit; second class has a weight limit of 1000g. So far, so good. But prices are from 41p for first class and 32p for second class, all based on weight and thickness of item. Now you’ve lost me.

There’s no obvious information about how weight and thickness applies to price. Ok, in the post office you can use those handy letter box card thingies to see if your letter’s too thick. But really, how many of us are organised enough to have one of those to hand every time we stick a stamp on a letter?

Not many, if the 66% increase in Royal Mail’s revenue from underpaid mail (from 06/07 to 08/09) is anything to go by. And now our research shows that three in ten people are charged when they receive their mail because their kind friends at the other end didn’t cover the postage costs properly.

We also found that one in ten people add extra stamps to a letter, just in case. That sounds familiar. Gah – come on Royal Mail, sort your stamps system out so simpletons like me can worry about bigger things.

[dvbuk55]

Well he said it but Royal Mail isn't responsible for his lack of intelligence.

He does however have a point. The one price anywhere IS outdated. When transport was cheap it didn't really make any difference but it does now, when granny was sending loads of letters it made a difference, but it's big business that uses RM now. We should have moved to a radical pricing structure which took into account weight, size and distance. The current size through a slot is clearly not working for the customer and therefore letters are letters, A4 are large letters and packets/parcels are big/heavy and distance?..........well anywhere outside the UK would have a standard charge, anything within the UK would be based on distance - whatever is realistic based on costing, it's much simpler.

Does anyone think that the current pricing structure will survive privatisation?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Well he said it but Royal Mail isn't responsible for his lack of intelligence.

He does however have a point. The one price anywhere IS outdated. When transport was cheap it didn't really make any difference but it does now, when granny was sending loads of letters it made a difference, but it's big business that uses RM now. We should have moved to a radical pricing structure which took into account weight, size and distance. The current size through a slot is clearly not working for the customer and therefore letters are letters, A4 are large letters and packets/parcels are big/heavy and distance?..........well anywhere outside the UK would have a standard charge, anything within the UK would be based on distance - whatever is realistic based on costing, it's much simpler.

Does anyone think that the current pricing structure will survive privatisation?

Last question first: Nope not a chance

However Postcom dislike Zonal Pricing as do the leeches so it will take a lot of lobbying to change. http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/cont ... d=29900664" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lounge Lizard]

"First class letters have no maximum weight limit; second class has a weight limit of 1000g. So far, so good. But prices are from 41p for first class and 32p for second class, all based on weight and thickness of item. Now you’ve lost me.
There’s no obvious information about how weight and thickness applies to price"
- what ? you don't just look at the columns of weights and prices, it's blatently obvious above them the very clear wording in red of max. length, width and depth. and if he can't see that it's a wonder that he can work out how to write an address on the package and how to post it.