Postal price rises

SIR - When the Royal Mail introduced pricing in Proportion, the size based pricing system-they said that the price changes would be revenue neutral . This may have been true, but they have been making up for it ever since. They have just announced thei

SIR - When the Royal Mail introduced "pricing in Proportion," the size based pricing system-they said that the price changes would be "revenue neutral".This may have been true, but they have been making up for it ever since. They have just announced their price increases for this April and they are all inflation busting.Yet we have been told that the Post Office has been investing huge sums of money in automation and that they have been making great strides in creating a more efficient system.So why is it that the prices are going up at well over double the rate of inflation? And who should we blame for this? The European Union, which decreed that the postal monopoly was illegal and our spineless politicians went along with it. And what more goodies can we look forward to? Well the Royal Mail is still determined to introduce "zonal pricing" thus abolishing the "national pricing" that has been a hallmark of our postal services since it was created by Sir Roland Hill with his penny post. And, on top of all this, competitors are demanding that VAT be imposed on all postage services so that they can compete on a level playing field and make even more profits.G.Grater, 26, Barnstaple