Optician incensed at Royal Mail’s latest price hike

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/busine ... -1-5084883" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A BUSINESSMAN has criticised Royal Mail after the price to send a light parcel shot up by nearly 20 per cent.

Andy Bevis makes a living as a mail order optician. He creates glasses to order and posts them to his customers.

The 54-year-old from Fareham said that over the past few weeks he has received several complaints from customers after their orders were held up as he had not put the right amount of stamps on the parcel.

He said he was unaware of any price increase, meaning the parcels were sent to sorting offices and incurred an extra £1 charge,

He said: ‘I don’t think Royal Mail notified people enough. If they did not make the media aware, then we are going to get caught.’

Royal Mail made several changes to its parcel prices on Tuesday, April 2. Whereas some services have been improved, Andy has been affected because the parcels he sends are very lightweight – usually under 100g.

Previously, light parcels were classified in brackets of 0g to 100g, 101g to 250g, 251g to 500g, 501g to 750g and 751g to 1kg.

Royal Mail has scrapped these, meaning that all parcels now fall into the more expensive 0g to 1kg price.

Andy said this means it now costs him £2.60 to send a pair of glasses instead of £2.20, a near 20 per cent rise.

Royal Mail spokesman Mike Norman said that the number of price brackets was reduced to make the postage system easier to understand.

He added: ‘To support smaller businesses, we have reduced the minimum volume threshold that they need to send to qualify for contract parcels.

‘This means that businesses which send more than 1,000 parcels a year can benefit from discounts on their postage costs.

‘Previously, the threshold was 5,000 parcels a year.’

But Andy disagreed. He said: ‘This will affect everybody. They seem to be able to turn a blind eye to certain things.

‘They have deliberately increased the prices and I don’t think anybody is aware of what they are doing.’

[Biker Mouse]

Of course they deliberately increased prices..........it wasn't accidental!

[Lounge Lizard]

"Andy Bevis makes a living as a mail order optician. He creates glasses to order and posts them to his customers. .... He said he was unaware of any price increase" With a mail order business he presumably uses meter or PPI in which case he will have been informed of the price increase.

[arnold cheshire]

i was incensed at being charged 24 pound for an eye examination at my local opticians but hey that doesnt matter

[bobmick]

Apparently large packet and parcel prices have just gone up by an average 110% and some from £5.50 to £15.00!
This was according to a sub postmaster I was talking to last week. Royal Mail keeps telling us that our future lies in packets and parcels and now they do this which will drive business away. I know of at least several ebay sellers who are now jacking it in.
The whole price hike has been done without fanfare or press outcry.
I smell a rat.

[P13]

i was incensed at being charged 24 pound for an eye examination at my local opticians but hey that doesnt matter

Move to Scotland as eye examinations are free

[spoodoo]

Got a small parcel today ,the courier guy told me that they've been snowed under with parcels because of royail mails price hike ,other couriers bin saying same thing. What the hell is this about increasing prices , moya what u up to?

[arnold cheshire]

i had right miserable git from TNT today delivering my wifes parcel

[Lounge Lizard]

Apparently large packet and parcel prices have just gone up by an average 110% and some from £5.50 to £15.00!
This was according to a sub postmaster I was talking to last week. Royal Mail keeps telling us that our future lies in packets and parcels and now they do this which will drive business away. I know of at least several ebay sellers who are now jacking it in.
The whole price hike has been done without fanfare or press outcry.
I smell a rat.

"He creates glasses to order and posts them to his customers." - must be gigantic pairs of glasses then.

[Lounge Lizard]

i had right miserable git from TNT today delivering my wifes parcel

Probably because you were home. ( Only joking )

[RedBagMan]

Bit of an "eye-opener" for him then ...

[bobmick]

Everbody here seems a bit jokey about this but I think this story is potentially huge - Royal Mail is deliberately pricing itself out of the market.
Why?

[Lounge Lizard]

Everbody here seems a bit jokey about this but I think this story is potentially huge - Royall Mail is deliberately pricing itself out of the market.
Why?

If it is, then because it doesn't want to be in that market.

[bobmick]

Everbody here seems a bit jokey about this but I think this story is potentially huge - Royall Mail is deliberately pricing itself out of the market.
Why?

If it is, then because it doesn't want to be in that market.

Strange - we just recently had a team brief where we were told by Moya Greene (TV) that packets and parcels are the future of the business.
Somethings afoot.

[harrybass]

Everbody here seems a bit jokey about this but I think this story is potentially huge - Royal Mail is deliberately pricing itself out of the market.
Why?

Yeah, don't know about selling us off, they may as well just give it away.