DMA hails PAF pricing 'climbdown'

The DMA is claiming victory in the fight against proposed price increases to the Postcode Address File after Royal Mail appeared to climb down over the plans, which it was claimed would spread “pandemonium” in the DM sector.
Under the proposals, which opened for consultation in August, Royal Mail was planning to introduce a raft of new charges the replace the current annual licence fee. One measure would have seen businesses charged between 1p and 8p every time an address is checked against PAF.
But in an opinion piece for PrintWeek, Royal Mail’s managing director of consumer and network access Stephen Agar appears to have had a change of heart.
He wrote: “There have been concerns raised about the pricing proposals in the consultation. It is not our intention to generate material additional revenues from our existing customer base. Our aim is to maintain current price ranges and operating models wherever possible. After all, we want to extend use of and access to PAF, not restrict it.”
Agar added: “Royal Mail will carefully consider all responses to the consultation and continue to communicate and engage with the market. I am sure that we can create a licensing regime that simplifies licensing, retains current levels of flexibility and will work for existing customers and attract new ones.
“We are committed to a licensing approach that will meet the aims of increasing the levels of PAF usage and will allow growth without disrupting the ways current customers use the data.”
The DMA led a delegation of industry representatives for showdown talks with Royal Mail’s senior management two weeks ago, but has been unwilling to comment previously due to the sensitive nature of negotiations.
Chris Combemale, the DMA’s executive director, said: “Royal Mail’s decision is extremely positive news for the industry, which today will be collectively breathing a huge sigh of relief. We led the industry’s challenge to the proposals, which threatened to wreak terrible financial costs on our members and the 37,000 other businesses that depend on using PAF.
“We’re pleased that Royal Mail responded so quickly to addressing our concerns about the financial impact of the proposed changes, as well as the threat to data hygiene in the industry. We appreciate that PAF pricing needs to be reformed to make it even more accessible, so we look forward to working with Royal Mail towards a pricing system that is equitable to all.”
PAF is widely used throughout the DM industry, for bulk mailing and address searches for online customer form filling, and is the basis for many data companies’ address verification files.
Earlier this month, GI Solution’s deputy managing director Patrick Headley predicted “pandemonium” if the new system got the green light. He said: “We currently pay £16,000 a year for our licence, but if a company is charged 1p a record, 10m mailings would cost £100,000. This is a huge increase. This is not the way to go about promoting mail and encouraging people to use the service. The industry is up in arms and this will result in pandemonium.”