https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/ ... l-service/
A POOLE-BASED greeting card designer has asked people to help protect the postal service.
Frank Nicholls, managing director of Tache, has joined a petition to get MPs to scrutinise changes to the Royal Mail service.
Mr Nicholls is concerned about proposals to end Saturday deliveries and cut back second-class post to as little as two days a week.
The petition was launched by the Greeting Card Association.
Mr Nicholls said: "The removal of second-class post will have a significant impact on small businesses like ours, increasing costs and putting additional strain on both us and our customers.
"It feels like a step backward for an industry built on communication and connection.
"This change could make it more expensive to deliver our products - especially smaller orders - potentially leading to higher prices for customers and making it harder to stay competitive in an already challenging market."
The petition comes after Royal Mail and regulator Ofcom proposed changes to Royal Mail’s legal obligations last month.
These changes would end Saturday second-class delivery and cut back delivery days to a minimum of two per week.
Despite Ofcom confirming last month that a consultation on the changes wouldn't end until April, it gave the green light to Royal Mail's early trials to end Saturday second-class delivery in more than 30 locations this month.
These trials reduce the service for more than a million households.
The Greeting Card Association has said it fears these changes could result in the end of affordable letter post.
In October last year, Royal Mail raised the price of a first-class stamp from £1.35 to £1.65, a 22 per cent increase that was the fifth hike in less than three years.
A first-class stamp is now almost twice the price of a second-class stamp, which remains affordable at 85p because it is pegged to inflation by regulator Ofcom.
From April 2023 to March 2024, Royal Mail only delivered 74.7 per cent of first-class mail on time and 92.7 per cent of second-class mail on time.