Reacting to Postcomm's amended proposals for Royal Mail price control, Halfacre said the mail market had been expecting a 1p rise in April, but a 2p rise would hit volumes and cause mailers to rein in other budget items.
"This front-loaded rise is the big negative out of Postcomm's proposals," he said. "The rationale of the front loading is just to meet this damn pension deficit."
Royal Mail has a £4bn pension fund deficit and it is partly to help it reduce this that Postcomm raised its proposed price caps. Postcomm's new proposals allow a rise in April from 30p to a maximum 32p, and a maximum 36p by 2010.
However, Halfacre did point to some positives in the proposals, and praised Postcomm for listening to the DMA's input.
The positives he identified are the requirement that any new product developed by Royal Mail, which is substantially similar to one of the products within the price control, should also come within the price control.
He also pointed to Postcomm's change of mind that will put first class Presstream, the magazine delivery service, within the price control rather than outside it; and its introduction of a requirement for Royal Mail to give customers three months' notice when it is to make a non-price related change to a service.
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