Citizens Advice reacts to Royal Mail stamp price increase

Responding to the announcement that Royal Mail will increase the price of First Class stamps to £1.35 and the price of Second Class stamps to 85p, Morgan Wild, Interim Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said:

“Inflation has impacted everything we buy, so these price increases couldn’t come at a worse time. But while average product prices have risen by 22% since 2019, the price of a first class stamp has soared, almost doubling in that time. 

“Royal Mail is choosing to hike prices at a time when millions are left waiting for letters - vital medical appointments, legal documents and benefit decisions - all thanks to post delays. Nobody should be paying more for an unreliable service.

“Ofcom should be holding Royal Mail to account, but it’s letting the company get away with rocketing prices and nearly half a decade of missed delivery targets. Enough is enough, it's time for the regulator to act.”

Notes to editors

1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
3. Citizens Advice helped 2.66 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2022-23. And we had 60.6 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 16,000 trained volunteers, working at over 1,600 service outlets across England and Wales.
5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.