Royal Mail redirection service 'designed for households of the past', claims Citizens Advice

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Royal Mail has agreed to change how it charges for its redirection service after claims it currently discriminates against many modern families.

Citizens Advice said the service was "designed for households of the past" as it charged for each surname rather than by household.

This penalised families with multiple surnames, including unmarried partners and many same-sex married couples, the watchdog said.

Royal Mail is finalising new fees.

Currently, householders pay an upfront fee based on the length of time they want to use the service, with three packages ranging from £33.99 per surname for three months to £66.99 for 12 months.

Adding the cost of just one additional surname makes the service more expensive than in any other country, Citizens Advice said.

It also found that, since 2012, the price of a three-month redirection had increased by 74%, while second-class stamps had only gone up 12%.

'Double whammy'
Of 4,000 people surveyed by Citizens Advice, 26% said the price was one of the reasons they did not use the service last time they moved.

Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: "Many people rely on Royal Mail's redirection service, yet it's designed for households of the past.

"Consumers are facing a double whammy.

"Royal Mail has drastically increased the price of redirection over the years but hasn't changed its outdated price structure that assumes families always share the same surname.

"As the dedicated universal service provider, it has a duty to make sure this service is fair and affordable."

Royal Mail agreed there was a need for a different pricing system.

"We will change the pricing structure of our popular redirections service away from a per surname basis or anything similar," a spokesman for Royal Mail said.

"We are currently working on the details of this new pricing structure and will share it once it is finalised."

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Cost of mail redirects to change to ‘per household’ basis and made cheaper after Citizens Advice campaign


Royal Mail has bowed to pressure over how it charges for its redirection service, which critics say penalises modern families with different surnames.

Citizens Advice has urged Royal Mail to change the cost of mail redirections from a “per surname” to a “per household” basis.

Charging per surname to redirect mail penalises unmarried couples and spouses who keep their own names, as well as children and elderly relatives with different surnames who live in the same household, the charity said. The postal service said it agreed with Citizens Advice that there was a “need for a different pricing structure” and added that it was finalising new fees.

Royal Mail said: “We wrote to Citizens Advice last week, before the report was issued, to confirm that we will change the pricing structure of our popular redirections service away from a per surname basis or anything similar. We are currently working on the details of this new pricing structure and will share once finalised.”

Citizens Advice said more than half (55%) of people who have moved house within the last two years in the UK live with at least one person who has a different surname to them. Analysis by the charity also found that the Netherlands is the only other country in Europe to charge per surname.

The charity also called on Royal Mail to make its redirection service generally more affordable. It noted that the price of a three-month redirection had soared 74% since 2012 while second-class stamps only went up by 12%. People currently pay a fee per last name for mail direction of £33.99 for up to three months; £46.99 for up to six months; and £66.99 for up to 12 months.


Royal Mail, however, insisted that its redirection packages offered “excellent value for money”, noting that a six-month direction works out at 30p a day.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Many people rely on Royal Mail’s redirection service yet it’s designed for households of the past. Consumers are facing a double whammy. Royal Mail has drastically increased the price of redirection over the years, but hasn’t changed its outdated price structure that assumes families always share the same surname.

“As the dedicated universal service provider, it has a duty to make sure this service is fair and affordable.”

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Royal Mail’s redirection service favours the nuclear family with a pricing structure that is outdated and costly, a consumer group has said.

Citizens Advice said the service is “designed for households of the past” by charging for each surname rather than by household.

Royal Mail said it agreed that a different pricing structure was needed and is currently “working on the details”.

Currently, consumers pay an upfront fee based on the length of time they want to use the service, with three packages ranging from £33.99 per surname for three months to £66.99 for 12 months.


A couple with different surnames would therefore be charged double for the service, “penalising” unmarried couples and spouses who keep their own names, and children and elderly relatives with different surnames, the charity said.

Adding the cost of just one additional surname makes the service more expensive than any other country, its research found.

Citizens Advice, the statutory consumer advocate for postal services, found that more than half of people (55%) who have moved house within the last two years live with at least one person who has a different surname from them.

It found that, since 2012, the price of a three-month redirection has increased by 74%, while second-class stamps have only gone up 12%.

A quarter of those surveyed (26%) said the price was one of the reasons they did not use the service last time they moved.

Citizens Advice is also calling for Royal Mail to make the service more affordable by offering an option to pay in monthly instalments for those who cannot afford a one-off payment, and concessionary rates for consumers on the lowest incomes.

Some 84% of consumers think Royal Mail should ensure its redirection service is affordable for people who need to use it.

The same survey found those who did pay for mail redirection were highly satisfied with the service they received.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 32% of families have “non-traditional” structures outside the married heterosexual couple, such as cohabiting opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples and lone-parent families.


Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: “Many people rely on Royal Mail’s redirection service, yet it’s designed for households of the past.

“Consumers are facing a double whammy. Royal Mail has drastically increased the price of redirection over the years but hasn’t changed its outdated price structure that assumes families always share the same surname.

“We’re calling on Royal Mail to change its mail redirection service to no longer charge per surname within the same household. As the dedicated universal service provider, it has a duty to make sure this service is fair and affordable.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We agree with Citizens Advice that there is a need for a different pricing structure.

“We wrote to Citizens Advice last week, before the report was issued, to confirm that we will change the pricing structure of our popular redirections service away from a per surname basis or anything similar.

“We are currently working on the details of this new pricing structure and will share once finalised.”

YouGov surveyed 4,107 British adults online between December 18 and January 17.