More than two thirds of people think 1st class stamp price increases are unfair, says Citizens Advice

More than two thirds of people think 1st class stamp price increases are unfair, says Citizens Advice

• More than two thirds (68%) of people think the five-year increase in the cost of a 1st class stamp is unfair

• One in three said they would struggle to afford a book of eight 1st class stamps

• A third (32%) felt the need to use a premium product to make sure post arrived on time

More than two thirds of people (68%) think the increase in the price of a 1st class stamp over the past five years is unfair, according to new research by Citizens Advice.

From today, a 1st class stamp will cost consumers £1.70, more than double the amount it did in 2020 (76p). Despite Royal Mail failing to meet any annual delivery targets in the past five years, the cost has risen eight times to the inflation-busting price it sits at today.

While an estimated 35 million people think the rise in price is unfair, millions of consumers admitted they would find it difficult to afford stamps, or simply not be able to afford them.

One in three (33%) - the equivalent of around 15.8m people - said they would struggle to afford a book of eight 1st class stamps, now costing £13.60. While 7.2m (16%) said they would struggle to afford a single 1st class stamp.

Almost a quarter (22%) - around 10m people - said they’d struggle to afford a book of eight 2nd class stamps, now costing almost £7, with 3.9m (9%) saying they would struggle to afford a single 2nd class stamp.

The charity’s research shows delivery reliability is still a concern among consumers, as a third (32%) said they’d used a premium product, as opposed to a basic 1st or 2nd class stamp, to make sure an important letter or card arrived on time.

The regulator Ofcom is consulting on the Universal Service Obligation (USO) held by Royal Mail, which could see 2nd class letter deliveries reduced from six days a week to alternate weekdays. 

Almost a third (29%) of people said they would like Royal Mail to keep delivering 2nd class letters six days a week. More than a third (37%) said they could accept the reduction to alternate weekdays, but only if the company meets its delivery targets.

Ofcom is also considering relaxing Royal Mail’s annual delivery targets. This would mean 90% of 1st class mail would have to be delivered next-day, instead of the current 93% target. Under the plans, 95% of 2nd class mail would need to be delivered within three days, instead of 98.5%, as it stands currently.

Millions of people still rely on Royal Mail - 86% said they’ve received an important letter or document in the post in the last six months and half (50%) have sent one. 

Previous research by Citizens Advice shows that every year, millions of people face post delays. Over Christmas, an estimated 10.7m were hit with delays, with 3.4m of those missing vital letters for health appointments, bills, legal documents and fines.

Tom MacInnes, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said: 

“Royal Mail’s unfair price hikes are making post less affordable, and will hit low-income households and older people the hardest. People from these groups are more likely to be digitally-excluded and rely on mail. 

“These price increases are worsened by the fact people simply can’t rely on their 1st or 2nd class mail being delivered on time - proven by Royal Mail’s failure to meet any annual delivery targets for half a decade.

“Ofcom must act. The regulator is considering slashing deliveries and relaxing targets, but these moves must go hand-in-hand with a curb on price increases. Otherwise, Royal Mail has no incentive, as a monopoly provider, to deliver the service consumers deserve.”

 -ends-

For more information contact: press.office@citizensadvice.org.uk

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Notes to editors:

1. Stamp price increases from April 7 2025 mean the cost of a 1st class stamp has risen from £1.65 to £1.70, and the cost of a 2nd class stamp from 85p, to 87p. In 2020 a 1st class stamp cost 76p - the percentage increase to £1.70 is 124% over 5 years.

2. Accent undertook a nationally representative survey of 3,351 adults aged 18+ in Great Britain, between February 6 - 26, 2025. This consisted of an online survey of 3,000 adults, 251 face-to-face interviews with digitally excluded adults, and 100 telephone interviews with people living in remote rural areas. The survey data was weighted to the profile of the population, using ONS 2023 Mid-2020 Estimates of the population for Great Britain. Figures have been rounded. 

   1. 68% said they felt the five-year increase in the price of a 1st class stamp was unfair. (Net of ‘fairly unfair’ and ‘very unfair’). 

   2. 33% said they would struggle to afford a book of eight 1st class stamps. (Net of ‘fairly difficult’, ‘very difficult’ and ‘I couldn’t afford this’).

   3. 32% felt the need to use a premium product to make sure post arrived on time.

   4. 16% said they would struggle to afford a single 1st class stamp. (Net of ‘fairly difficult’, ‘very difficult’ and ‘I couldn’t afford this’).

   5. 22% said they’d struggle to afford a book of eight 2nd class stamps. (Net of ‘fairly difficult’, ‘very difficult’ and ‘I couldn’t afford this’).

   6. 9% said they would struggle to afford a single 2nd class stamp. (Net of ‘fairly difficult’, ‘very difficult’ and ‘I couldn’t afford this’).

   7. 29% of people said they would like Royal Mail to keep delivering 2nd class letters six days a week. 

   8. 37% said they could accept the reduction to alternate weekdays, but only if the company meets its delivery targets.

   9. 86% said they’ve received an important letter or document in the post in the last six months and 50% have sent one. 

3. Yonder Data Solutions surveyed 2,079 UK adults aged 18+ between January 3 - 5 2025, to ask them about their experiences of letter delays. The population estimate was calculated using ONS 2023 Mid-2023 Estimates of the population for the United Kingdom. 

   1. 21.6% said they had experienced a letter delay. 

   2. 25% of those who experienced a letter delay in the last month, experienced a serious negative consequence as a result. 

4. 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.

5. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. 

6. Citizens Advice helped 2.68 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2023-24. And we had 51.7 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

7. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,000 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 service outlets across England and Wales.

8. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal markets. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers. 

9. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.