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Combined Priority Services Rates 1993-1998

First Day of the new combined service

The registration and Special Delivery services were combined beginning from 28th June 1993, at a much increased fee. Although compensation had previously only been available with registered post, and guaranteed delivery times only available with Special Delivery, the two services had in fact been very similar in the practical aspects of handling the actual letters.

For a few years the services were kept nominally distinct with their own suitably inscribed labels, but from 12th October 1998 they were all combined into a single service under the Special Delivery banner.

This represented Royal Mail's first pass at combining the services, and gave rise to some short lived methods of handling the mail. Initially "Registered" and "Special Delivery" used similar labels inscribed "Guaranteed Delivery", both with only £2.70 (+ postage) worth of stamps (or meter franking) on the cover itself. The stamp for the additional 30p "compensation premium" for the Registered service was affixed to the back of the certificate of posting. The "Registered Plus" service had its own labels.

(To determine which service was actually used for a given cover, check the 4th and 5th bars from the left on the barcoded label on the back: for Registered the 4th bar is thicker, for Special Delivery the 5th.)

From 1996 there were separate labels for each type of mail and the full fee (+ postage) was placed on the cover regardless.

The compensation limits throughout were £500 for Registered, £1500 and £2200 for Registered Plus. £50 compensation is mentioned for Special Delivery in 1997.

Although the authorising amendment to the Post Office Inland Letter Post Scheme gave a maximum weight of 10kg, the first leaflet of June 1993 only gave rates to 2kg, although the August leaflet gave more detail. Later there was a per-kg additional rate for weights up to 30kg, which appears to have been introduced in advance of the legal authorisation in the Scheme! From 1997 rates were inclusive of postage in broad weight bands.

All services offered a guaranteed delivery time, usually 12.30pm or noon the next working day for most UK destinations (although for some remote Scottish locations it was 5.30pm one, two, or even three days later).


Date Special
Delivery
Registered Registered Plus
£500 £1500 £2200
1993
(28 Jun)
£2.70 + postage
up to 2kg

£13.50 inclusive
up to 10kg
£3.00 + postage
up to 2kg

£13.80 inclusive
up to 10kg
£3.30 + postage
up to 2kg

£14.10 inclusive
up to 10kg
£3.60 + postage
up to 2kg

£14.40 inclusive
up to 10kg
2-10kg Registered Plus rate only implied, not explicit, in leaflets before December 1995
1995
(Dec)
£2.70 + postage
up to 2kg

£13.50 inclusive
up to 10kg

Each extra kg up to 30kg – 75p
£3.00 + postage
up to 2kg

£13.80 inclusive
up to 10kg

Each extra kg up to 30kg – 75p
£3.30 + postage
up to 2kg

£14.10 inclusive
up to 10kg

Each extra kg up to 30kg – 75p
£3.60 + postage
up to 2kg

£14.40 inclusive
up to 10kg

Each extra kg up to 30kg – 75p
30kg weight limit and rates are first mentioned in a leaflet with printing date of "December 1995" (it specifically notes an upcoming change of a guaranteed delivery time on 5th February 1996). However, the Post Office Scheme was not suitably amended to authorise this until 8th July 1996!
1997
(27 Jan)
£3.20 – 100g
£3.50 – 500g
£4.60 – 1kg
£5.85 – 2kg
£13.50 – 10kg

Each extra kg – 75p
£3.50 – 100g
£3.80 – 500g
£4.90 – 1kg
£6.15 – 2kg
£13.80 – 10kg

Each extra kg – 75p
£4.10 – 100g
£4.40 – 500g
£5.50 – 1kg
£6.75 – 2kg
£14.40 – 10kg

Each extra kg – 75p
£4.55 – 100g
£4.85 – 500g
£5.95 – 1kg
£7.20 – 2kg
£14.85 – 10kg

Each extra kg – 75p