A piece in the Guardian today suggesting that the part privatisation of Royal Mail could lead to a rise in the price of the PAF File that is used for data checking of addresses is unlikely to be true according to other reports.

A lot of parts of Royal Mail are regulated by Postcomm – the regulator – and at the moment the PAF File is part of that regulation – meaning in fact that the price is controlled.

Other areas might be changed however if RM is part privatised – and one that must come under consideration is the question of VAT on postage. The current situation is very confused – whether you pay VAT on postage is dependent on which carrier you choose to use, and exactly how the mailing house handles the mail.

Tony