Car finance firms could be seeing an issue "on par" with the PPI scandal, according to one consumer compensation expert.
18.03.2024 - 10:51 / dailyrecord.co.uk
Martin Lewis is warning Brits to stock up on a household staple before in the next two weeks.
The savings guru has spoken on stamp price hikes on Money Saving Expert, his financial website and consumer blog. As of now, first class stamps cost £1.25 each and Martin expects this to increase further and that any purchased now will still be usable after rises.
"For years, every time stamps go up in price I've suggested people stock up and bulk-buy in advance, as provided the stamp doesn't have a price on it and instead just says the postage class, it's still valid after the hike," he wrote.
As reported by Birmingham Live, the BBC Sounds podcast host and ITV regular then went on and added: "This has been an effective tactic, as a first-class letter stamp is now £1.25, soon to be rising to £1.35 – in 2012 it was just 60p. So you may as well stock up now."
Royal Mail said: "We would always recommend that customers buy their stamps from reputable high street outlets and, where possible, to get a receipt. Stamps are also available directly from the Royal Mail online shop."
It's the third time the price of standard-letter size first-class stamps has been hiked within a year. Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: "We face a situation where letter volumes have reduced dramatically over recent years, while costs have increased.
"It is no longer sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering seven billion."
He added: "As a result of letter volume decline, our posties now have to walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters as before, increasing the delivery costs per letter."
The stamp hikes come at an already difficult time for UK households,
Car finance firms could be seeing an issue "on par" with the PPI scandal, according to one consumer compensation expert.
Despite a huge £238 fall in the energy price cap at the start of April, millions of households will remain in debt or abject fuel poverty, according to Ofgem data. Poverty charity National Energy Action has said the ongoing energy crisis 'cannot be the new normal'.
Households feeling the strain from the past few years of eye-watering energy prices should soon feel some of that financial pressure lift as energy bills fall by around 12 per cent from April. But not everyone will feel the full effect of this price drop if they forget to do one important thing this weekend.
Personal finance guru Martin Lewis has spoken out on his podcast about the 'moral hazard' of increasing standing charges on energy bills from next month, which he likened to a modern-day 'poll tax' on ordinary people.
Money saving expert Martin Lewis has warned millions of EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three customers to send a simple but crucial text before next Monday.
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Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid had a strong message about Kate Middleton during a heated debate on today's show. Susanna and co-host Martin Lewis led a discussion about the new video of Kate and Prince William as they visited a farm shop in Windsor at the weekend.
Financial expert Martin Lewis has criticised a key part of the modern tax system that has ballooned in recent years and can affect the poorest households the most, Council Tax. Despite the tax being based on bad data, some of which was collected by two people driving around in second gear and guessing the value of each property, most homes are still taxed based on their value more than 30 years ago.
Stamp prices are set to rise by by 10p from next month. The Royal Mail confirmed it will increase the price of first-class stamps to £1.25 and second-class stamps at 86p.
Later this year, households with £5,000 in savings will be able to invest in a new type of ISA. The Government has confirmed the introduction of a new British ISA to encourage investment in UK companies and boost the City.
Martin Lewis has explained the 'frustrating' reason energy billpayers are not likely to see standing charges fall anytime soon.
Martin Lewis has dished out his latest advice to help mobile and broadband customers save money as companies get set to hike prices.
More than 80,000 people across the UK are thought to be owed a total of £500m by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), mostly including married women, widows, and people over a certain age. The average sum owed to each of these people amounts to £6250 in money that was owed to them in the first place.
Around one in five people across the UK are set to receive a massive cash boost from next month, as the new State Pension rates are set to increase by as much as £902 each year for people on the full benefit.
Martin Lewis is urging millions of people to take action as they risk missing out on more than £1,000.
The MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis is urging people of a certain age to pay money into a special bank account soon if they want to get additional help purchasing their first home.
Martin Lewis has issued a word of advice to everyone born between 1985 and 2006, telling them to put £1 in a savings account quickly.
Millions of workers across the UK will get a boost to their wages worth hundreds in less than a month.
Martin Lewis has issued a warning to parents who may be confused over the changes to Child Benefit.
This Morning viewers have been flocking to social media as they begged new host Cat Deeley to change one habit. The presenter returned for her second stint at the helm of the ITV daytime show as the new permanent co-host on Tuesday (March 12).