On 21st August 2006 the Royal Mail will introduce a new system for calculating postal costs. Unlike the existing purely weight-based system, future charges will also take into account the size of the item. Items will be classified as one of three formats: letter, large letter, or packet. The format will be determined by the size and thickness of the article. Each format will have its own table of weight-band charges. Postal charges will thus be a combination of size and weight.

Background

The purpose of the change is to reflect more accurately the costs to the Royal Mail of delivering all items of mail. The size of a mailing item is a more important factor than its weight in determining its delivery cost. Large, light-weight, bulky items incur greater sorting, handling and transport costs. The existing system that charges on the basis of weight alone means under-charging for large light-weight items and over-charging on smaller heavier ones.

The change is expected to affect only 30% of mailing items and will not change the cost of posting a standard first or second class letter. Of those items affected roughly half will actually cost less. Overall, the change will be