Royal Mail has confirmed there will be no collections or deliveries during Good Friday (April 15) or Easter Monday (April 18). As usual, there also won't be any letters or parcels arriving on Easter Sunday (April 17).
But there will be a normal postal service on Saturday, April 16. Royal Mail said: "We deliver and collect your mail on most days of the year, including Saturdays. However, we don’t usually deliver or collect on bank and public holidays."
Post Office branches are expected to be closed on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday too, though those located within convenience stores might still be open if the store itself is also open on that day. Check with your local store to see if its postal counter is also going to be open to take your letters and parcels on those days.
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Those that are usually open on Saturdays will be trading as normal on Saturday April 17. Earlier this month Royal Mail increased the price of a first class stamp, by 10p to 95p, and second class stamps increased by 2p to 68p.
The Royal Mail said there has been a long-term decline in letter usage, coupled with rising inflation. Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: “We understand that many companies and households are finding it hard in the current economic environment, and we will always keep our prices as affordable as possible.
“Whilst the number of letters our postmen and women deliver has declined from around 20 billion a year to around seven billion since 2004/5, the number of addresses they have to deliver to has grown by around 3.5 million in the same period. We need to carefully balance our pricing against declining letter volumes and increasing costs of delivering to a growing number of addresses six days a week.
“As customer needs change and we see a greater shift from letters to parcels, it is vital that the universal service adapts to stay relevant and sustainable. These price changes are necessary to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service for future generations.”
