Back in the day, if you wanted to send a parcel, you had to package it up and head on down to the post office.
Nowadays, it’s possible to send something – whether a gift or an item of clothing you’ve sold online – without even stepping foot outside the door. Simply leave it on the doorstep et voilà – consider it ticked off your to-do list.
But now, Royal Mail users have been left fuming as the company has made a ‘bonkers’ change to its customer collection process, introducing a new 30p charge for the parcel to be swiftly collected from the door.
Back in 2020, the cost of the service was 72p – but it was subsequently removed in 2021.
Customers are currently able to organise a collection either via the Royal Mail website or app – and you’re able to choose between printing your own label, or having one provided.
Why has Royal Mail introduced a collection service fee?
‘After a promotional period, we’re now reintroducing a 30p charge to our Parcel Collect service,’ a Royal Mail spokesperson told Metro.
‘Parcel Collect makes it easy to send and return items straight from your doorstep.’
Royal Mail has assured customers that they still have ‘thousands of free options’ to send parcels, referencing its ‘expanding network of lockers, parcel shops and the option to send small packages via our 115,000 post boxes – giving them more choice than ever.’
That said, many Royal Mail users – many of whom use the service as small business owners – are less than impressed.
Over on Reddit, @Dapper-Leading-3260 noticed the new charge and asked: ‘What is going on?’
‘It’s 30p per time. which is going to cripple the small business I run as postage costs are already calculated by the online marketplace I (have) to sell through,’ they added.
In @pax681’s opinion, ‘charging for a label is bonkers,’ while @bacon_cake confessed they’d ‘always been expecting it.’
‘It can’t be sustainable for them to collect for free.’
Meanwhile, @yazzyghostmode said that while the charge ‘might not sound like much, if you’re sending multiple parcels a day, that adds up fast.’
In their opinion, it ‘feels like every part of selling online is getting chipped away — we’re doing more work for less money.’
And over on X, formerly Twitter, @gavinlew said the new charge had been ‘sneakily’ added on as they didn’t ‘recall seeing anything about it or an in-app alert.’
However, some users were on board with the charge, as @julialoveslush wrote, ‘I am more than happy to pay 30p if I need a RM pickup.’
‘Petrol and printer ink/paper costs more than 30p for one parcel, I’m guessing.’
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