Is post too expensive?
Why Ofcom should look at the cost of post
New figures released this month reveal that 1 in 4 people have cut back on sending post to be able to afford essentials — like food or heating. This is a 4 fold increase in 5 years.
Post should be universal and affordable — yet these latest figures show that’s not the case. Here we set out 3 reasons why it’s time for Ofcom — the postal regulator — to step up.
Escalating stamp prices
Consumers now have to pay almost 50% more for a first class stamp than they did 5 years ago. Second class stamp prices have jumped by more than 20% in the same period. The difference between first and second class stamps has widened. And both have increased way beyond the rate of inflation.
Letters are still important for many people. 2 in 3 say they’d feel cut off from society if they couldn’t send or receive post. And yet, their level of income might price them out of accessing this service.
More and more people cutting back on post to pay for food and heating
Figures released this month reveal a worrying direction of travel. The number of people cutting back on post to be able to afford essentials has quadrupled since 2017. This means people are going without postal communication to be able to pay for food and heating.
Source: Ofcom’s residential postal tracker, 2017–2022, Quarter 2.
Unfortunately, our data confirms this. Our Cost of Living dashboard shows people on low incomes are forced to make tough choices.
For example, a single person aged 25 or over whose only income is Universal Credit would receive just £334.91 for a whole month. Once they’ve paid for food, energy and water, they could have £5.00 or less available. A book of 4 first class stamps costs £3.80. As the cost of living crisis deepens, more people will struggle to access a postal service that should be universal and affordable.
Redirection is too expensive for low-income households
In a recent report, we showed that mail redirection is too expensive for people on low incomes.
A 12-month redirection costs £68.99. This represents a whopping 22% of the money the poorest households have left at the end of the month after they’ve paid for essentials. This is 27 times higher than for the richest households. The top 10% of households would only have to spend 1% of their monthly disposable income to redirect mail for a whole year.
We know that people can suffer serious harm if they don’t redirect their post. Our advisers have seen clients who have been charged hundreds of pounds extra because they didn’t receive debt collection letters on time. People who miss letters about health appointments might have to wait much longer to get treatment, leaving them worried about their health and sometimes in physical discomfort.
Yet the service is clearly not affordable for everyone. For single people whose only income is Universal Credit, even a discounted fee for a year’s redirection could be 12 times their monthly disposable income.
This is even more worrying when we take into account that poverty can prevent people from accessing stable and secure housing. This can result in having to move more often. For many, paying for redirection once is unaffordable, let alone multiple times.
Ofcom should review the cost of post
Post should be universal and affordable. But this isn’t the case. Stamp prices are escalating. More and more people are cutting back on post to heat and eat. And redirection fees are simply too high for many households to afford.
People feel cut off from society when they can’t afford to send letters. And they can experience negative consequences when they can’t get their post. Someone’s level of income shouldn’t decide if they can use basic postal services. Ofcom needs to step in and commit to a full review of the cost of post.
