Last post for the letter as Royal Mail falls into foreign hands?
Prepare to say a long farewell to the birthday card, the thank-you note and the love letter. The get-well card is set for a terminal decline. Letter-writing has been a dwindling art for some time, but the takeover of the Royal Mail by Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky looks set to accelerate its demise.
Home deliveries of letters are already ending in Denmark and being slashed in other countries in Europe as postal service owners seek to cut costs. Observers say Kretinsky will follow suit in the UK.
Its fate was sealed earlier this month when Royal Mail's parent, International Distribution Services (IDS), de-listed from the London stock market. It marked the end of an era for Royal Mail, which was founded in 1516 under the reign of Henry VIII, and has now fallen into foreign hands following the £3.6 billion takeover bid from Kretinsky's EP Group.
Investors in IDS who accepted Kretinsky's offer for their shares received their cheques in the post – but that could soon become a thing of the past.
In Denmark, Royal Mail's equivalent, PostNord, will stop delivering letters to people's homes after 400 years at the end of December. Danes will be forced to rely on costly private companies instead.
PostNord cited the impact of email and other electronic message systems on letter and card writing in its decision.
Danish post boxes, which like Britain's are easily recognisable with their crown motif and striking red colour, will begin to disappear from streets this month.
France is cutting back on letter deliveries too. State-owned La Poste sparked outrage earlier this year when it began to remove some of its 120,000 post boxes.
Germany's Deutsche Post, owned by logistics giant DHL, in March revealed plans to slash 8,000 jobs, blaming it on dwindling letter volumes.
In the UK, letter deliveries direct to people's homes began in 1661 when the first postmaster general was appointed by King Charles II.
Today, under a set of rules known as the universal service obligation (USO), Royal Mail is required to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week.
But Royal Mail has said repeatedly that its letters business is costing it hundreds of millions of pounds a year. It has raised stamp prices by record levels despite outrage from customers. Under plans being considered by the postal regulator Ofcom, set to be finalised this summer, these obligations are being watered down.
The Government will retain a golden share in Royal Mail following the Kretinsky takeover. Any changes to its ownership, tax residency or where its headquarters is will need Ministers' approval.
Royal Mail is also under a legal obligation to have at least one post box within half a mile of 98 per cent of the UK population.
Even so, there are fears that service will be eroded, causing huge detriment to communities. Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, said: 'Daily delivery days for rural areas are for many a lifeline.
'Cutting these back would be a 'death spiral' for the valued, door-to-door, universal service and a slippery slope to losing the post service altogether,' he said. Alarm is growing among business groups that rely on the postal service to send their products to consumers.
Amanda Fergusson, head of the Greeting Card Association, which represents about 500 businesses, said higher stamp prices are leading to even fewer letters and cards being sent. She said: '62 per cent of people are sending few letters precisely because of rising prices.'
A Royal Mail spokesman said: 'We remain committed to offering choice, value and a reliable service for all our customers.'
Letter volumes have fallen from 20 billion a year at their peak in 2004-5 to 6.7 billion in 2023-4.
Fans of the UK's much-loved red post boxes, many of which sport quirky knitted toppers depicting topical scenes, hope they will not disappear with letter deliveries.
Robert Cole of the Letter Box Study Group said: 'Many pillar boxes have openings big enough to take small parcels.'
He added that Royal Mail had started adapting them for this purpose, also using GPS and barcodes.
2nd class to be even slower
Royal Mail has been given a slap on the wrist by its watchdog over plans to slash deliveries from next month.
The postal service told businesses it would cut second-class services to just three days a week from July 7.
But Ofcom told Royal Mail boss Emma Gilthorpe that 'no decisions' on approval had been made, adding: 'Any reference by Royal Mail to specific dates is premature.' Royal Mail has been trying out reduced deliveries in 37 towns and cities since February, affecting a million households. It wants to cut targets for first and second-class mail after facing fines for missing goals.
Currently, it must deliver letters six days a week to all 32 million UK addresses. It has been lobbying to change this for nearly five years saying it costs up to £2 million a day, and is no longer needed with fewer letters posted.
Ofcom will make a decision this summer.
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