That's according to this article which claims Royal Mail is looking to increase the price of 2nd class mail dramatically. If the rise goes ahead customer could find that the cost of a 2nd class stamp increases from 36p to 55p. Royal Mail have been criticised for the planned rise but have insisted that the increase was still affordable for vulnerable groups of people. The postal regulator Ofcom is now considering the request and will decide whether it will go ahead within the next few weeks.

PC2paper will be closed during the bank Holidays after the Christmas period. During this time any mail received will be queued in our system and processed on the next available working day. We are closed on Monday the 26th of December and Tuesday the 27th of December. All mail received after our 4pm cut off time on Friday 23rd of December will be processed on Wednesday the 28th of December.

New Years Delivery Dates

In addition to the above dates PC2Paper is also closed on Monday the 2nd of January for the bank Holiday. Any mail received after 4pm on Friday the 30th of December will be processed on the next available working day Tuesday the 3rd of December.

Today is the last recommended posting date for 1st class mail before Christmas. Any mail received by PC2paper after this date will still be processed as normal but may now be received after Christmas. We would like to remind customers that the overseas mailing dates for Christmas delivery have also now passed and that mail for these destinations will now be received in the New Year.

The last guaranteed posting dates for UK mail are fast approaching. Customers should post any Second Class UK mail before close of business on Friday the 16th of December to ensure it leaves us before the last Royal Mail posting of Saturday the 17th of December. First Class mail should be posted by Tuesday the 20th of December in order to be delivered in time for Christmas. PC2Paper will continue to process all mail posted after these dates but Christmas delivery cannot be guaranteed.

We have now added the Recorded Delivery and Special Delivery options back on the website. It was necessary for us to remove these temporarily due to a problem with our online postage provider Royal Mail which meant we could not process these options. This has now been resolved.

Our US printing station will be closed on Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th of November for the Thanksgiving holiday. During this time we will continue to pass all US mail to our printing station for posting, however, customers should be aware that no mail will actually leave the printing station on these days. Normal service will be resumed on Monday the 28th of November.

It has been necessary to temporarily remove the Recorded and Special Delivery options from our website. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, this is due to a problem with our external postage provider. We will reinstate these services as soon as it is possible to do so.

The last recommended posting dates for Christmas are fast approaching for some destinations. The last posting dates for International Airmail are as follows:

Mail for South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East (including Japan), Australia and New Zealand should be posted by Monday 5th of December.

Mail for Eastern Europe, the USA and Canada should be posted by Friday 9th of December.

Mail for Western Europe should be posted by Monday 12th of December.

Customers should also be aware of the last UK posting dates as follows:

Sat 17th December for Second Class and Recorded Signed For

Tue 20th December for First Class and Recorded Signed For

Thu 22nd December Special Delivery

PC2Paper have recently launched a Priority Mail service for US mail. The service will be offered alongside the existing Certified Mail service. We have taken the decision to add the Priority Mail service because it not only offers a faster delivery option than Certified Mail which is sent via 1st class mail, it also offers a better form of tracking your mail. As always the service is dependant on the delivery conditions in the local delivery area but we would normally expect Priority Mail to be delivered within 1-2 working days of being passed to our overseas printing partner. You can find this service available from the extras menu when you are sending a letter from the USA printing station. We welcome any feedback from customers on what they think of the service.

We have been experiencing some delays to US mail due to the aftermath of hurricane Irene. Mail is still being passed to our US printing partner as normal but delivery in some areas may take longer than usual.

Monday the 29th of August is a Bank Holiday in the UK. There are no Royal Mail deliveries or collections on this day. PC2Paper is also closed for the day. Any mail sent after close of business (5pm) on Friday the 26th of August will be queued and processed on the next available working day which is Tuesday the 30th of August. Customers should also expect any UK mail sent 1-2 days previously to this date to take an extra day or two to progress through the Royal Mail system.

Canadian postal workers have now returned to work following the recent postal strikes . Customers should be aware, however, that Canada Post are still working to clear the backlog caused the strike and as result delays are still to be expected to all Canadian bound mail. Canada Post have suspended their service guarantees during this time.

Mail services in Canada have been suspended due to an on-going industrial dispute which has already been causing delays to mail in some areas. Due to this dispute Canada post has now suspended all mail operations across the country. Mail sent since the 10th of June is likely to be affected by this and will be subject to delays. Any mail already in the system is being retained until clearance is given by Canada Post that it can be accepted for delivery. Mail bound for the UK from Canada will also not be dispatched at present. Customer should expect delays to all Canadian bound mail during this time.

The latest stamps released from Royal Mail will feature popular characters from the children's TV series Thomas the Tank Engine. The characters from the series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends were created by the Reverend W Awdry. Thomas will feature on the 1st class stamp, James on the 68p stamp, Percy on the 76p stamp and Daisy on the £1.00 stamps. The stamps will be available from the 14th of June.

Monday the 30th of May is a Bank Holiday in the UK meaning there are no Royal Mail deliveries or collections on this day. PC2Paper will also be closed on this day. All letters sent after our 4pm cut off time on Friday the 27th of May will be queued in our system and passed to Royal Mail as normal on the next available working day Tuesday the 31st of May.

Friday the 22nd of April and Monday the 25th of April are public holidays in the UK. During these days there are no Royal Mail collections or deliveries. Any mail sent after close of business (4pm) on Thursday the 23rd of April will be queued in the PC2Paper system and processed on the next available working day which is Tuesday 26th April. Customers should also be aware that letters will take longer to reach their destinations during this time. Any customer queries received during this time will also be answered when we reopen on Tuesday the 23rd of April.

Royal Mail are increasing their postage prices from the 4th of April 2011. As a result of this increase PC2Paper prices will increase accordingly. The postage price for first class mail up to 100g will increase to 46p whilst second class mail will increase to 36p. The cost of a Large Letter stamp will rise to 75p for first class items and 58p for second class items. In order to take into account these increases PC2Paper prices will rise after close of business on Friday 1st of April for all mail sent on the next working day Monday the 4th of April.

Royal Mail have recently released some new stamps featuring characters from myths and legends. The Magical Realms issue was released on the 9th of May and features characters from the legends of King Arthur, the Narnia stories of CS Lewis, JK Rowling's Harry Potter series and the Discworld of Sir Terry Pratchett. The 1st class stamps are available featuring Rincewind, Nanny Ogg, Dumbledore and Voldemort. Merlin and Morgan le Fay feature on the 60p stamp and Aslan and The White Witch feature on the 97p stamp.

Royal Mail have apologised for its performance during the festive period as it emerged last Christmas was the worst performance since records began. Only one in three letters sent via first class mail met the companies target of arriving on the next working day. Some customers only received their cards and presents in the middle of January. Royal Mail has said that the delays were caused by extremely bad weather during December but consumer groups are unconvinced. Here at PC2Paper we certainly experienced delays in December due to very deep snow meaning Royal Mail vans were unable to collect from post boxes and businesses. The knock on effect and huge backlog of mail caused delays well into the middle of January. We did also experience more lost mail during this period as a result. That being said, we did have rather a lot of snow with up to 18 inches in the area local to our office so we can understand why there was so much disruption to the usually very good service.

Royal Mail has recently launched a set of new stamps featuring the creations of Gerry Anderson. He is the man who created the Thunderbirds. The stamps feature Stingray, Captain Scarlet and Supercar, Joe 90 and the Thunderbirds.

PC2Paper is closed on Friday 31st of December and Monday 3rd of January. There are no postage collections or deliveries on these days. All mail sent after 4pm on Thursday 30th of December will be sent on the next available working day which is Tuesday the 5th of January.

The last recommended posting dates for Christmas mail have now passed. Delivery cannot now be guaranteed in time for Christmas. PC2Paper will continue to post all letters received as normal, however, customers should be aware that these are likely to arrive after Christmas.

PC2Paper is closed from Friday 24th of December through Tuesday 28th of December inclusive for the Christmas break. Any mail sent after close of business on Thursday 23rd of December will be sent on the next available working day Wednesday 29th the December. All mail sent during the period when we are closed will be queued in the system until the next day that we are open.

It has been necessary to suspend all of our tracked mailing services due to the bad weather conditions. Unfortunately as we cannot guarantee the reliability of our business collections during the current bad weather we have suspended these services until further notice. This affects Recorded Delivery and Special Delivery, International Signed Delivery and Airsure services. We will continue to review the situation and reinstate these as soon as we are able to do so.

Royal Mail have withdrawn their Special Delivery guarantee whilst they work to clear the backlog caused by the recent bad weather. Any mail sent via the Special Delivery service will still given priority but cannot currently be guaranteed to arrive on the next working day. During this time customers will be unable to claim for delayed mail under the normal Special Delivery guidelines. PC2Paper are continuing to offer the Special Delivery option on the website but customers should be advised that this should be treated as a priority delivery option rather than a guaranteed next day service.This applies to all Special Delivery items posted after the 1st of December.

The last recommended posting date for Christmas mail to Eastern Europe, the USA and Canada is today (10th of December). Any mail received after this date will still be posted as normal but cannot be guaranteed in time for Christmas. Customers can still use our USA printing station for a quicker delivery time.

Although PC2Paper is now able to pass mail into the postal system as normal, customers should be aware that bad weather continues to cause delays in many areas. All mail is currently taking longer be delivered due to a backlog caused by the extremely bad snow and in some areas there have been no mail deliveries for up to 7 days.

Today (6th December) is the late recommended posting date for mail from the UK to South and Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Far East (including Japan), Australia and New Zealand. All mail for these destinations will be posted but cannot be guaranteed to arrive in time for Christmas. Customers can still take advantage of our US based printing station to send mail.

PC2Paper relies on the good services that Royal Mail provide and an essential part of this is our business collection. With the recent bad weather, however, our local area has been completely cut off. 15 inches of snow have meant no Royal Mail collections for three days causing a huge backlog of mail and with a fourth day of no collections we decided it was time to take drastic action to get the mail to the sorting office. With no post offices open and no way of driving in the dreadful conditions our dedicated staff decided the only way to get the mail out was to walk to the sorting office. We donned our boots, gloves and hats and struggled out each with several sacks of mail slung over each shoulder. After a gruelling 4 mile walk through knee deep snow and freezing conditions the mail was finally passed to the nearest sorting office and we are pleased to say we have now managed to clear the backlog. We are hoping that weather conditions will improve over the next few days and that service will soon return to normal but feel a big thanks is in order to our staff who went the extra mile.

We are currently experiencing extremely heavy snow which is causing delays to all UK mail. We regret that at this time there are no business collections or deliveries in the area of our UK based printing station meaning we are currently unable to pass mail to the postal service. All mail will remain queued until the weather conditions improve. We apologise for this situation which is due to circumstances beyond our control. All letters will be sent as soon as we are able to do so.

We are currently unable to guarantee delivery times for letters due to the fact that we are currently experiencing extremely bad snow causing disruption to both our business collections and deliveries in the UK. We will still pass mail into the postal system as soon as we are able to do so but customer should expect delays to all mail.

The last recommended Royal Mail posting dates for Christmas will soon be approaching for some destinations. The dates are as follows:

International Airmail

• Monday 6 Dec: South and Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East (inc Japan), Australia and New Zealand.
• Friday 10th of December: Eastern Europe, USA and Canada.
• Monday 13th of December: Western Europe.

UK Mail

• Wednesday 15th of December: Standard parcels.
• Saturday 18th of December: Second Class and Second Class Recorded Signed For.
• Tuesday 21st December: First Class and First Class Recorded Signed For.
• Wednesday 22nd December: Parcelforce 48
• Thursday 23rd December: Parcelforce Next Day
• Thursday 23rd December: Special Delivery

PC2Paper will still post mail as normal after the last posting have passed but customers should be aware that Christmas delivery can not be guaranteed after these dates. Customers should also expect mail to take longer to be delivered over the extremely busy Christmas period.

Very high winds in many parts of the UK last night, caused the cancellation of a number of air services that Royal Mail uses to transport mail to and from some parts of the country. Air services in and out of airports in Belfast, Exeter, Newcastle, Stansted, East Midlands and the Isle of Man were subject to some disruption. As a result of the disruption and other weather related transport issues, there is likely to be some impact to mail travelling between the more distant parts of the country due for delivery today. All mail received by PC2Paper will still be processed as normal but customers should expect delivery to take longer in some areas.

According to this article Royal Mail is launching a trial of evening deliveries in some areas. Customers who live within the M25 motorway will be able to order goods from House of Fraser and L'Occitane and choose an evening delivery time. Items will be delivered between 6pm and 10pm rather than during the normal working day. The move comes after a recent study by Royal Mail found more people would shop online if they could choose a more flexible delivery option. Royal Mail is also in talks with other retailers about the possibility of joining the trial scheme. It certainly is interesting and something I would take advantage of if it were available in my area.

Customers should be aware that there is likely to be delays to Greek mail. This is due to the fact that Greece have suspended foreign airmail services after suspicious packages were found. More than 10 suspicious packages were sent to target in Greece and across Europe. This has led to the decision to suspend airmail services for 48 hours to allow the Greek police to carry out necessary checks.

Royal Mail has recently launched some new stamps featuring some of the best loved characters from Winnie the Pooh. The stamps feature EH Shepard's original illustrations of Winnie the Pooh and include Christoper Robin, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. You can purchase them online from Royal Mail.

The latest set of stamps to be issued by Royal Mail feature important Medical Breakthroughs. The stamps which are due to be released on the 16th of September feature medical imagery which illustrates six selected breakthrough. They include beta blockers, penicillin, hip replacements, artificial lens implants, malaria parasites and CT scanners.

Monday the 30th of August is a Bank Holiday in the UK. There are no postal collections or deliveries on this day. All letters sent after close of business (5pm) on Friday the 27th of August will be sent on the next available working day Tuesday the 31st of August.

Unfortunately it has been necessary to suspend our US based printing station due to technical issues. We would like to assure customers that all letters sent via the US printing station to date have already be sent and remain unaffected by this problem. We are working to solve this issue and hope to have the US based printing station back as an option as soon as possible. In the meantime all US based letters will be sent from the UK.

Due to Monday the 31st of May being a Bank Holiday in the UK there are no Royal Mail deliveries or collections on this day. Any mail received after our cut off time of 4pm on Friday the 28th of May will be sent on the next available working day which is Tuesday the 1st of June. This applies to all mail including mail sent using Special Next Day Delivery.

Royal Mail have launched some new stamps to celebrate the war effort of 1940's Britain. The stamps called Britain Alone are dedicated to all the people that came together to do their bit for the war effort. The first class stamp features Sir Winston Churchill, the 67p stamps features air raid wardens. The Home Guard are celebrated on the 60p stamp. Land Girls, women in factories, the fire service, the Royal broadcast and evacuees make up the rest of the set. The stamps were released on the 13th of May.

Due to Monday the 3rd of May being a Bank Holiday in the UK there are no business collections or Royal Mail deliveries on this day. Any letters received through the PC2Paper website after our 4pm cut off time on Friday the 30th of April will be sent on the next available working day Tuesday the 4th of May. All mail received after our cut off time on the Friday will remain queued in our system until the 4th of May. This includes any Special Delivery and Recorded Delivery items.

Royal Mail has recently launched some new stamps which feature  ten of our endangered indigenous mammals. The stamps which were launched on the 13th of April feature the humpback whale, wildcat, brown long eared bat, polecat, sperm whale, water vole, greater horseshoe bat, otter, dormouse and hedgehog. The stamps are being backed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust which has seen some success with its conservation programs providing better protection for otters in their local area.

As of the 6th of April PC2Paper has increased it's postage prices to take into account the increase in Royal Mail Prices. A 1 page letter sent via our services with standard printing option will now cost 65p sent via 1st class mail and 56p sent via 2nd class mail. Prices for overseas mail sent from the UK have also gone up to take into account the Royal Mail price increases.

Friday the 2nd of April and Monday the 5th of April are public holidays within the UK. There are no postal deliveries or collection on these days. All letters sent after 4pm on Thursday the 1st of April will be processed and posted on the next available working day which is Tuesday the 6th of April. Any letters sent during this time will remain in your "waiting to be sent" queue until Tuesday the 6th of April. In addition to this customers should be aware that any letters sent using the Special Next Day Delivery service after close of business (5pm UK time) on Wednesday the 31st of March will arrive on the next working day which is Tuesday the 6th of April.

Royal Mail have recently launched some new stamps which feature Kings and Queens from the House of Stewart. Pictured is the first class stamp which depicts James I who reigned from 1406 to 1437. James II and James III also feature on the first class stamps. James IV and James V are pictured on the 62p stamps and Mary Queen of Scots and James VI are pictured on the 91p stamps. They are available to purchase from this week.

Royal Mail have recently launched some new stamps to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Battersea Dog and cats home. The stamps feature a number of animals that have been re-homed by the organisation over the years.

A detail in the recent agreement between Royal Mail and the Communications Workers Unions will mean that they are no longer limited to delivering just three items of junk mail per household. This could mean that there will a sharp rise in the amount of junk mail that Royal Mail customers receive. If you want to cut down on the amount junk mail that you are getting this article has some useful tips. It suggests sending an email to optout@royalmail.co.uk with your name and address stating that you do not want to receive door to door mail. Writing to your local delivery office telling them to end deliveries of unaddressed mail and registering with the Mailing Preferences Service as just some of the ways to cut your junk mail mountain.

Royal Mail has launched a new set of stamps to celebrate the Royal Society's 350th anniversary. The set of 10 stamps show some famous figures from the world's oldest science academy. They include Sir Isaac Newton, physicist and optical pioneer; Benjamin Franklin, inventor of the lightning conductor; Edward Jenner, inventor of vaccination; Charles Babbage, developer of programmable computers; Alfred Russel Wallace, pioneer of evolution theory; Joseph Lister, inventor of antiseptic surgery; Ernest Rutherford, founding father of nuclear physics; Dorothy Hodgkin, inventor of x-ray crystallography; and Sir Nicholas Shackleton, pioneer of climate research.

Adverse weather conditions are currently causing delays to mail sent within the USA. The conditions are local to our US based printing station and so will affect all mail sent to the USA from mid day on Friday the 5th of February. Mail will be sent to the postal service as soon as conditions return to normal but customers should expect delays.

Heavy snow across the UK is currently causing delays to mail in many areas. Customers should expect mail deliveries to take longer during the adverse weather conditions. Rural areas are particularly affected.

Royal Mail have recently launched a new series of stamps featuring famous album covers. The stamps should start appearing on mail within the next week and feature 10 different album covers. These include Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, Blur's Parklife, New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, the Stones' Let It Bleed, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, Led Zeppelin's fourth (untitled) album, and Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

Please note the last christmas posting dates have already passed.

Because of adverse weather conditions in the UK we cannot confirm if any letters or cards sent now will arrive in time for Christmas

The postal strikes which were planned for Friday 6th and next Monday have now been called off. Although no details have yet been released it appears that a period of calm has been agreed upon in which no further industrial action will take place. Whilst this is only an interim deal it is hoped that further talks will be successful in resolving the long running dispute. A statement with more information is due to released later.

A further two postal strikes look likely to ahead causing further delays to mail sent within the UK. The strikes will go ahead on Friday the 6th and Monday the 9th of November. Rather than continuing the practice of rolling strikes where different staff strike on different days the next wave of strikes will see all workers walking out. If the strikes go ahead there will be no mail collections or deliveries on these days. This will mean that mail sent via PC2Paper after 4pm on Thursday the 5th of November will not enter the postal system until the service returns to normal on Tuesday the 10th of November. Customers should also expect delays to mail after this date as Royal Mail work to clear the backlog caused by the strikes action. Our other printing stations remain unaffected.

It seems that is is not just the postal strikes that are delaying mail. The post office has been dealing with a rising number of complaints caused by snails eating the letters once they are in the post box. Slugs and snails are particularly partial to paper and also like the taste of the gum used on envelopes. So much so that the slimy creatures are devouring mail inside post boxes. Some customers have made complaints after their letters arrived covered in slimy trails or half eaten. Despite putting slug pellets inside mail boxes and cleaning the boxes regularly slugs and snails still manage to get inside. It seems it might be necessary to devise some sort of snail deterrent for the opening of the box to stop the creatures from getting in.

Unless talks between Royal Mail and the CWU are successful there will be further strike action later this week. If no agreement is reached three days of strike action are planned starting on Thursday. On Thursday 43,700 staff in mail centres, delivery units in mail centres, drivers and garage staff will begin strike action at 4am. On Friday 400 workers at three sites in Plymouth, Stockport and Stoke who read and enter mail addresses will walk out. On Saturday 77,000 delivery and collection staff across the UK will strike. During strike action customers should be aware that all mail deliveries sent from the UK will be subject to delays.

The Communication Workers Union have confirmed that a nationwide strike will go ahead. There will be two 24 hours strikes starting on Thursday the 22nd of October. On the first day mail centre staff and drivers will strike and on the second delivery and collection staff will walk out. The union says that it has no choice but to go ahead with the strike action after Royal Mail rejected its latest set of proposals. Talks are still continuing and it is hoped that strike action could still be avoided. PC2Paper will continue to update customers on the latest news regarding any strike action. Customers should be aware that if action does ahead as planned it will cause delays to all post sent from our UK based printing station.

The Communication Workers Union has said that postal strikes could begin on the 22nd of October if an agreement is not reached. The union has called on Royal Mail to agree a last minute peace plan otherwise strike action will be announce. The CWU will announce the proposed strike dates on Thursday the 15th of October if talks to avert the strikes are not successful.

Royal Mail workers have voted for national strike action in a long running dispute over jobs and pay. Over 76 per cent of workers balloted voted for the action which will mean a series of national strikes. The move is likely to mean that millions of letters and parcels will not be delivered in the run up to Christmas. Strike dates have not yet been announced but the union is required to give seven days notice of any strike action. PC2Paper will continue to update our customers on the progress of the dispute, however, customers should be aware that during strike action there will be considerable delays to all mail sent from the UK printing station.

According to this article the recent postal strikes are still causing several delays in some areas. London, in particular is one area that is suffering delays with some mail taking more than a month to arrive. It is estimated that 25 million pieces of mail are stuck in the system somewhere. Although most of the strikes have been fairly short they are none the least causing a huge backlog. PC2Paper are still sending letters as usual during this time but customers should be aware that mail is subject to severe delays especially in the London area and that we are unable to guarantee delivery times for any mail sent since the start of the strikes in August 2009.

The Communication Workers Union has announced that further postal strikes will be held next week. More than 15,000 workers are due to walk out over a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. Postal workers will be go on strike for 24 hours. Areas of London, Cambridge, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Nottingham, Glasgow and Coventry will all be affected. During the strike PC2Paper will still continue to send mail as usual, however, customers should expect delays.

Customers should expect delays to post in the Cambridgeshire area after a 24 hour postal strike. Workers have been striking in a dispute with Royal Mail over national agreements. Staff at delivery office in Ely, Cambridge, Haddeham, Iselham and Soham have been on strike. Mail to these areas is likely to be subject to delays.

Monday the 31st of May is a Bank Holiday in the UK meaning there are no deliveries or collections on this day. Any mail sent after close of business (5pm) on Friday 28th of August will be sent on the next available working day Tuesday 1st of September.

Royal Mail workers have started further strikes over a disagreement regarding job cuts. The strikes will run from the 17th to the 24th of August and have already began in Coventry, London, Leamington Spa, Nottingham and Stoke on Trent. We are expecting mail to the affected areas to be delayed and customers should be aware that mail delivery will take longer than usual. During this time PC2Paper collections are unaffected and we will still mail letters as normal, however, delivery times will be affected. The Strikes take place in London, Coventry, Leamington Spa, Nottingham, Stoke on Trent, Birmingham, Essex, Peterborough, Bristol, Leeds, Kings Lynn, Boston, Carrickfergus, Skegness and Huntington.

A set of new stamps have been launched by Royal Mail that feature mythical creatures. The stamps include a fire breathing dragon, a giant carrying a bolder, a grey unicorn, a mermaid and a pixie riding a snail. They have been designed by artist Dave McKean and novelist Neil Gaiman. The aim of the new stamps was to bring together some of the well known characters from ancient folklore and legend. Pictured are two of the designs for the 1st class stamps.

Royal Mail has launched a tamper proof stamp which should stop people pealing off old stamps and reusing them. The problem whilst it might seem minor costs Royal Mail tens of thousands of pounds every year. Although stamps are franked when they go through the sorting office, the markings on them are not always noticeable and often stamps with little markings on them are peeled off and used again. The new stamps, however, should make it impossible to reuse them. They have two oblong strips on either side of the stamp so that when the stamp is peeled off the strips are left behind. This leaves a useless stamp with two holes in it which should now be unusable.

Postal workers in London have voted for strike action in a protest over jobs and conditions. The Communication Workers Union has said that industrial action has been backed by 9-1 by its members. Dates for strike action have not yet been announced.

Monday the 25th of May is a Bank Holiday in the UK. There are no postal deliveries or collections on this day. Any letters sent after 5pm on Friday 22nd of May will be posted on the next available working day which is Tuesday the 23rd of May.

According to this article the local postman could soon be delivering the mail in a new egg shaped buggy. The vehicle which has a top speed of just 25mph is being trialled in two areas in Oxford and Essex. If the trial proves successful the vehicles could replace the current fleet of diesel Vauxhall vans. The electric vehicles whilst slower than the diesel alternative are more environmentally friendly and could potentially be used on town deliveries although the lack of speed is likely to mean they are unsuitable for rural routes. I find the idea interesting but I do wonder how it would work in practice when postman are under pressure to complete their rounds in a set amount of time, surely a slower means of transport will mean that all of these time limits will need to be revised.

Due to public holidays in the UK there are no mail deliveries or collections on Friday the 10th of April and Monday 14th of April. Any mail sent after close of business (5pm UK time) on Thursday the 9th of April will be processed on the next available working day Tuesday 15th of April. Any Recorded/Signed For and Special Delivery Mail received after 1pm on Thursday the 9th of April will also be processed on the next available working day Tuesday the 15th of April.

PC2Paper prices for UK and international mail sent from the UK will increase from the 6th of April. This is due to Royal Mail prices increases which come into effect on the same day and mean that we need to pass these increases onto our customers.

Royal Mail are currently experiencing delays to deliveries in Staffordshire due to a rooftop protest at the sorting office in Burslem. Deliveries in the ST6 1 to ST6 8 areas are likely to experience delays and disruption to mail deliveries. During this time mail deliveries to this area is likely to take longer than usual.

Due to heavy snow in the South East of England some areas are experiencing delivery delays. During this time we will continue to send all letters but customers should be aware that in many areas deliveries have been suspended and that letters will take longer to arrive. Affected areas include parts of Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, Berkshire and Bedfordshire.

Royal Mail is to launch a campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the postcode in the hope that it will stress the importance of using it. According to this article around a fifth of non business letters are sent without a full postcode. This is despite the fact that mail that includes a postcode is processed much more quickly as it can be sorted by machinery rather than by hand. At PC2Paper when we receive queries about undelivered letters we find that the majority of these have been incorrectly addressed or are missing a postcode so have not reached their destination. The message is clear, in order to help your letter reach the recipient use a full address and include a postcode.

There are no postage collections on Wednesday the 31st of December and Thursday the 1st of January. Any mail sent after close of business on Tuesday 30th of December will be processed on the next available working day Friday 2nd of December.

Please note that we are closed on the 25th and 26th of December. Any mail received after 5pm on the 24th of December will be processed on the next available working day, Monday 29th of December. Customers should also note that delivery over the Christmas period can take longer than usual and allow more time when sending time sensitive documents.

We are unable to offer Special Delivery and Recorded Delivery after 5pm on the 22 December due to the fact that there are no postal collections until Monday the 29th of December. This option has been disabled during this period but will be available again as soon as postal collections resume.

The last guaranteed posting dates for Christmas have now passed for all destinations. All mail received will still be processed and sent as usual but is now likely to arrive after Christmas. No mail will be processed on the 25th and 26th of December and the 1st of January as there are no collections/deliveries on these days. PC2paper would like to wish all our customers a happy Christmas.

Postmen is Bridgwater have voted for strike action in a dispute over working hours. Staff voted to hold up to three one day strikes before Christmas in a dispute over part time working. The first strike will be held on the 20th of December with no further dates having been authorised as yet. The workers are in dispute over plans to replace full time jobs with part time roles. During the strikes there is likely to be delays to mail in the local area.

A consumer watchdog has called for post offices to reduce lengthy queues. The watchdog found that a firth of post office customers have to wait at least 10 minutes before they get to the post office counter. Although the average waiting time is down slightly the watch dog has criticised businesses for assuming that customers are happy to queue. It has said that priority should be given to improving services at poorly performing post branches that have problems with queuing and other service problems. Despite this the results from the watchdogs survey found that 94% of customers were happy with the service they receive from post office branches. It occurs to me that with more and post office branches closing the queues are likely to become longer not shorter as the remaining branches have to cope with more customers. Perhaps the watchdog needs to address this issue?

To make sure that your cards and letters get to their destination in time for Christmas you might want to check out the last recommended posting dates which have just been released by Royal Mail. The last recommended date for mail sent to South and Central America, the Middle East, New Zealand and Australia is fast approaching so if you are planning to send cards to these destinations you need to get them in the post by the 5th of December. The last posting date for Europe is the 12th of December. You have a little bit more time for mail sent within the UK, 2nd class mail should be sent by the 18th of December and 1st class should be posted by the 20th of December.

At PC2paper we will still post your mail after the last recommended posting dates but will not be able to guarantee Christmas delivery after these dates. All Christmas cards are printed and posted in the UK so make sure you leave enough time for them to get to their destination. Remember you can also use our US, Thai and European printing stations to get your mail there even faster. A full list of the last recommended posting dates for the UK is below.

Friday 5th December: South and Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Far East, New Zealand and Australia.

Wednesday 10th December: Japan, USA, Canada and Eastern Europe.

Friday 12th December: Western Europe.

Thursday 18th December: Second Class UK mail.

Saturday 20th December: First Class UK mail.

More than 40 post offices are likely to close in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. If the plans do go ahead 29 post offices will shut completely and 13 will be replaced by an outreach service. The proposed closures are subject to a six week consultation process during which the public will have a chance to put forward their views. A full list of the proposed closures is available here.

The Post Office has released a list of possible branch closures across Edinburgh, the Lothians and the South of Scotland. A six week consultation will begin to decide the future of 26 branches and the downgrading of a further 32 offices. The company has said that almost all of the areas population would see no change to their nearest branch and will still remain within 1 mile of a post office. During the next six weeks people are urged to make their views known. The full list of closures is below.

The following 26 Post Office branches are proposed for closure:

• Breich, Rashiehill Terrace, Breich, West Calder
• Broomhall, 41 Broomhall Drive, Edinburgh
• Calder Crossway, 10 Calder Park, Edinburgh
• Carrington , 4 Primrose Gardens, Carrington, Gorebridge
• Cramond, 20 Whitehouse Road, Edinburgh
• Dalmeny, Main Street, Dalmeny, South Queensferry
• Easthouses, 1 Mayfield Road, Easthouses, Dalkeith
• Elm Row, 20 Elm Row Edinburgh
• Elphinstone, 3 Main Street, Elphinstone, Tranent
• Goldenacre, 20 Montague Terrace, Edinburgh
• Gorgie, 556 Gorgie Road, Edinburgh
• Grangepans, 14 Grangepans, Bo'ness
• Lasswade, 12 High Street, Lasswade
• Lincluden, 40 Lincluden Road, Dumfries
• Longstone, 7 Kingsknowe Road North, Edinburgh
• Magdalene Drive, 46 Magdalene Drive, Edinburgh
• Newton, Main Street, Newton, Broxburn
• Nicolson Street, 79 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh
• Pilrig Toll, 10 Newhaven Road, Edinburgh
• Polbeth, 12-13 Limefield Road, Polbeth, West Calder
• Poltonhall, 12 Hopefield Park, Bonnyrigg
• Rosetta Road, 1 Weymss Place, Peebles
• Shandon Place, 57 Slateford Road, Edinburgh
• Scheuchan Street, 59 Scheuchan Street, Stranraer
• Warrender Park, 73 Warrender Park Road, Edinburgh
• West Barns, 2a Edinburgh Road, West Barns, Dunbar

The following 32 Post Office branches are to be replaced by an outreach service:

• Ancrum - Hosted
• Bonchester Bridge - Hosted
• Bowden - Mobile
• Eccles - Mobile
• Greenlaw - Mobile
• Hutton - Mobile
• Morebattle - Hosted
• Clovenfords - Mobile
• Fountainhall - Mobile
• Oxton - Mobile
• Heriot - Mobile
• Balmaclellan - Mobile
• Colvend - Mobile
• Corsock - Mobile
• Creetown - Partner
• Dunscore - Hosted
• Kirkcowan - Partner
• Lochfoot - Mobile
• Moniaive - Partner
• Mossdale - Mobile
• New Abbey - Mobile
• Bentpath - Home
• Boreland - Hosted
• Collin - Hosted
• Ecclefechan - Partner
• Eskdalemuir - Hosted
• Glencaple - Hosted
• Drem - Hosted
• Garvald - Hosted
• Gifford - Partner
• Innerwick - Hosted
• Stenton - Hosted

Monday the 25th of August is a Bank Holiday in the UK. This means that there is no postal collection or deliveries on this day. Any mail sent after 5pm (UK time) close of business on Friday 22nd of August will be processed on the next available working day, Tuesday the 26th of August. Any Special Delivery or Recorded Delivery items sent after 1pm (UK time) on Friday the 22nd of August will be processed on Tuesday the 26th of August. Customers should also be aware that delivery of mail during this time may take up to 2 days longer than normal.

The village of Booze in the Yorkshire Dales could soon have its postal service restored after the council have agreed to pay for road improvements in the area. The service was suspended by Royal Mail because it said the narrow track leading to the village was too hazardous for its workers. This has meant that 11 households have had to travel 30 miles to collect their mail. The council will make improvements to passing places on the route and Royal Mail have said that deliveries will resume on the 1st of September once the improvements have been made.

At PC2Paper we usually experience a very good service from Royal Mail with only a few letters lost in the post. It does appear, however, that some mail can take a very long time to arrive. This article highlights the case of a postcard that was delivered after 79 years. The post card was posted in 1929 in Essex and arrived at its destination last Thursday. Royal Mail have said it is difficult to determine where it has been for the last 79 years.

The Post Office has proposed closing 52 branches in north and mid Wales as part of a scheme to reduce the UK total by 2,500. A seven week consultation process is beginning during which people can give their views on the proposed closures. The Post Office has said that many people will not notice any change as a result of the closures but a number of politicians have said that elderly and vulnerable people in rural areas will be the hardest hit by them. The full list of proposed closures is below.

Anglesey: Caergeiliog, Holyhead; Church Terrace, Holyhead; Four Mile Bridge, Holyhead; Llaingoch Community Centre, Holyhead; Ffordd Deg, Llanbedrgoch; Bron Craig, Old Llandegfan; Siop Isa, Talwrn, Llangefni

Conwy: Abergeke Road, Colwyn Bay; Llandudno Road, Rhos-on-Sea; Church Drive, Rhos-on-Sea; Penmaen Road, Morfa; Alexandra Road, Llandudno; Conway Road, Llandudno Junction

Denbighshire: Trevor, Llangollen; Gronant, Prestatyn; Rhyl East Road, Rhyl; Grange Road, Rhyl; Clocaenog, Ruthin; Llanfwrog, Ruthin

Gwynedd: Carneddi, Bethesda; Gerlan, Bethesda; Talybont, Barmouth; Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog; Cwmyglo, Caernarfon; Llanwnda, Caernarfon; Deiniolen, Caernarfon; Llanfrothen; Penmorfa, near Porthmadog; Bwlchtocyn, Pwllheli; Llangian, near Abersoch; West End, Pwllheli

Flintshire: Golftyn, Deeside; Londis Stores, Holywell; Bronant, Holywell; Brynford, Holywell; Carmel, Holywell; Reflections Hairdressers, Mold; Ruthin Road, Mold; New Brighton, Mold; Rhosesmor, Mold

Wrexham: Cymau Road; Marchwiel; New Broughton; Ponciau; Rhos y Medre; Tanyfron; Acton Park; Bradley; Rhosrobin; Summerhill

Powys: Aberangell, Machynlleth

A North Yorkshire post office will close following a public consultation. The branch in Aspin Lane Knaresborough will close by the autumn. This is despite a petition signed by thousands of people who wanted to save it. Post Office bosses have said they will provide an outreach service in the area.

The Post Office has released a list of branches which are likely to close in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes. The Post Office has said that the cut backs are necessary to make the service sustainable. It is part of a wider proposal to reduce the number of branches by 2,500 nationwide. A public consultation will now open on the proposed closures. The full list of closures is below.

In Bedfordshire

• Brickhill Drive, Bedford
• Elstow Road, Bedford
• Goldington Road, Bedford
• Midland Road, Bedford
• Springfields, Bedford
• Ravensden
• Stevington
• Stewartby
• Kitelands, Biggleswade
• Blunham
• Old Warden
• Southill
• Chalton
• Eaton Bray
• High Street South, Dunstable
• Luton Road, Dunstable
• Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard
• Linslade

In Luton:

• Slip End
• Atherstone Road
• Biscot
• Biscot Road
• Chapel Langley
• Hightown
• Slip End
• Chalton
• Eaton Bray

In Hertfordshire:

• Bengeo Street, Hertford
• King George Road, Ware
• Ware Road, Hertford
• Blakes Corner, Hitchin
• Hexton
• St Ippolyts, Hitchin
• Station Road North, Harpenden
• Whitwell
• Wadesmill, Ware
• Bedwell, Stevenage
• Benington, Stevenage
• Fairlands, Stevenage

In Milton Keynes:

• Fishermead
• Little Brickhill
• Conniburrow

In Buckinghamshire:

• Gawcott
• Padbury
• Preston Bissett
• Twyford
• Aylesbury Street, Bletchley
• Water Eaton
• Weston Underwood

We are pleased to announce that problems with the US printing station have now been resolved and that it will shortly be operational. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers whilst we have been trying to resolve this issue.

We are currently experiencing some delays to mail sent from our US based printing station. This is due to thunderstorms and tornadoes in the local area meaning that the local post offices are experiencing delays  due to networks being down. During this time mail is still being sent but customers should allow extra time for their letters to arrive.

Monday the 26th is a Bank Holiday in the UK meaning there is no mail collections or deliveries. Any mail sent after close of business (5pm) on Friday 23rd of May will be posted on the next working day Tuesday 27th of May.

Postal deliveries on Saturday may be discontinued under plans by the industry regulator. The proposals are part of a new plan to cut costs for Royal Mail. Under the new proposals deliveries would be reduced to five days a week and fewer first class letters would arrive the next day after they are sent. The regulator has also suggested that Royal Mail's delivery targets are lowered. A member of the  Communication Workers Union, which represents most of the Royal Mail's 130,000 delivery workers, disagreed with the proposals saying: "It is absolutely shocking for the regulator, of all people, to suggest moving from a six day service to a five day service." "We should be investing, not cutting, what was once the leading postal service in the world." The Royal Mail announced a slump in its profits this week and claimed it had lost £100 million in its last financial year from fulfilling the "universal service".