Royal Mail's 'stealth tax' on posting parcels: Small busines

[pinstripe]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ouble.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Royal Mail has been accused of implementing a ‘stealth tax’ on small businesses by increasing the cost of sending a parcel by up to 100 per cent.

Small business owners say the increases are crippling their finances as their postage bills rocket.

It is the latest in a series of moves designed to prepare Royal Mail, owned by the Government, to be sold or floated on the stock market.

Royal Mail has already been allowed to dump its pension fund black hole of £9.5billion on to the taxpayer.

Regulator Ofcom has also scrapped rules which used to limit how much Royal Mail could raise the cost of a first-class stamp each year. This resulted in a jump from 46p to 60p.

Now Royal Mail has introduced a complex new pricing system for parcels. For many small business owners, a parcel which used to cost £2.70 now costs £5.65, an increase of 109 per cent, because it is just too big to qualify as a ‘small parcel’.

Zoe Friskney, of Nelly Pepper, a small firm selling home accessories, said: ‘It is a bit like a stealth tax.’ She used to send ten to 15 packages a week via Royal Mail’s second-class delivery service, but has now switched to a rival courier.

David McDaid, of Silk Blooms, which makes artificial flower displays, said: ‘I can’t believe it has come to the point where top quality couriers are cheaper than the Royal Mail.’

He sends around 30 parcels every day, but said he is already getting customers emailing him to complain ‘about ‘extortionate’ postage prices.

A petition on the Downing Street website, which warns of ‘a deleterious effect on small business’, has attracted nearly 5,000 signatures.

Mike Cherry, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘The Government should be doing all it can to support small businesses, and we urge it to look again at this problem.’ A Royal Mail spokesman said the price changes vary depending on size and weight and in some cases prices have dropped.

He added: ‘Royal Mail has been losing money on delivering larger, heavier items that are typically delivered by van.

‘We are increasing parcel prices to more closely align them to the cost of handling and delivering those items, like any other business would do.’

[DGP1]

This is the competition that people wanted, if they wanted cheap prices then they should have protected the single provider, without losing all the DSA contracts we'd be doing well, well not really with the idiot management spending money on things that don't improve efficiency but the thought is there

[steven100]

We'll soon be privatised and it will only be worse. I'm waiting for redelivery charges getting brought in.

[Wessex]

Hey, if they don't like it they can use a competitor.

[hubbahubba]

Hey, if they don't like it they can use a competitor.

And you think thats a good thing?

Less work = less postmen

[Wessex]

Hey, if they don't like it they can use a competitor.

And you think thats a good thing?

Less work = less postmen

No I don't HubbaHubba , I want Royal Mail to remain 100 % as a public service .Sorry I should have used a more appropriate emoticon to show I wasn't being entirely serious.

[somerset]

I have spoken to several people who use us for parcels and they are switching to other companies, but they will soon be back again i think when they see what the shell suited boys in the white vans have done .

[hubbahubba]

ok wessex,sorted

[Cichlid]

I sell on eBay frequently and this price hike is ridiculous.

Went to post what I thought was a small parcel.

New sizes deem it to be medium.

£6.75 first class recorded.

£6.95 Special delivery.

Before April 2nd same package first class recorded would have between £3.00 & £4.00.

I know the postage is paid by the buyer but they will set their maximum bid lower because of the higher cost of postage.

[UnhappyGremlin]

We'll soon be privatised and it will only be worse. I'm waiting for redelivery charges getting brought in.

I'm surprised this hasn't already happened. Maybe if one of the managers is watching the suggestion will be passed on.