First class postal charges may increase dramatically

I would imagine that this decision is a precursor to Royal Mail being sold off altogether.

The volume of mail sent/delivered has declined and so the increase in prices will only ensure that it's losses are maintained or less.

I too use Royal Mail very little prefering the immediacy and safe delivery of email. I have had, sadly, too many negative experiences of cards for birthday's etc not arriving or having been opened when they do arrive. Not fully opened but enough to inspect the contents of the card!!

Management seems to be ineffective and ineffectual in challenging working practices and modernising the process for the benefit of their customers as opposed to the archiac rights of the postal employees.

It is a monopoly that is not truly fit for purpose because of it's unionised working practices. I have also witnessed with my own eyes unacceptable practices of postal employees taking home mail for delivery the night before and placing this in the boot of their car's, so as they don't have to attend the sorting office in the morning to sort and then deliver. After their rounds they then return to the office and beging sorting the mail rounds for the following day.

Such an approach often means that the mail you receive is being deliberately delayed by this practice.

But when it works it is an impressive process, posting a letter in a suburb in London and it arriving in Glasgow within 2 days.

I rarely use it these days Sidesalad and have in fact stopped sending parcels altogether.
Not because I'm a tight wad but mainly because the postage was in some cases exceeding the value of the parcel especially little gifts to my grandchildren who live in Madrid.
I think it started to become unpopular when envelope sizing and costing became a major factor with a great deal of undelivered mail when people were guessing and getting it wrong.

I only use it when I send birthday and Christmas cards mainly otherwise I correspond by email or the telephone. I wonder if you could buy a good few packets of first class stamps and use them this would save a great deal of money or whether you are going to have to state where the letter is going and what it will cost. This would mean you going to the post office every time you wanted to post a letter which isn't always convenient.

I tend to use 2nd class and post early. There's something to be said for having physical cards at Christmas and for your Birthday.

On the other hand, those sound like crazy prices! Think I'd stop using physical mail altogether and send e-cards and paypal money transfers for pressies!

I almost always use first class, Sidesalad, because, as you say, the letter or card tends to actually get there within a reasonable time. But, having said that, I only use Royal Mail when I have to, for birthday/Christmas cards etc, or letters etc sent to children.

I totally agree with G-Man that physical cards for Christmas and birthdays are much better than e-cards etc, but I do use e-cards for overseas recipients, although again it would be a physical card for a child.

Yes, this move is always about maximising revenue generation in time for the big privatisation sell off probably to a non UK buyer. The new Royal Mail PLC will need to co-ordinate new internet-linked interactive services to really continue to be a sustainable business model because it can't survive in the long run just on delivering letters and parcels.

The post seems so haphazard at the moment that I rarely use it - I rely mainly on email nowadays, and I guess that goes for most people too. The only time I do use it is for birthday and Christmas cards for long distance, and then I try to post early and use second class

I have this vision that your daily postie will one day disappear forever ... after all it is manpower intensive and therefore expensive. In the future, I suspect that the red vans will only bring parcels or special delivery/recorded items.

Email, mobile phones and texting has made massive inroads into the way that we communicate ... I can honestly see the day when all post, if letters still actually exist, will be collected say once a week from a local office and you will be notified by text or email when there is something to collect.

Sad to say, the postman ( for daily routine post ) will become a thing of the past. Simple economics must tell us that. But I hope I am wrong.

I try hard not to use the post if I can help it as it's so unreliable.

At least once a week I get mt my neighbours' post and they get mine, and it's quite a long walk down a dark lane between our houses.

If you mention it to the postman he just looks at you as if you're something he stepped in!

I'd forgotten that I started this post! (Doh!). Just a reminder that you can get discounted books of stamps at Superdrug (assuming anyone still uses the post).

Second class if im tight for money but still its only 50p get over it id say! how often do you send letters!