Postwatch adds weight to postal price controls censuring

Consumer watchdog Postwatch has urged Postcomm to strengthen its stance on Royal Mail’s four-year price control scheme, reinforcing the DMA (UK)’s criticism of quality of service proposals (PM last week).

Postwatch’s response to the regulator’s proposal has questioned a number of issues, including Royal Mail’s flexibility in rebalancing its prices by zones, removing products from the controls and changing its structure. It believes Royal Mail has been given too much freedom to adjust its prices.

Although Postcomm has attempted to improve quality of service, Postwatch believes that by grouping mail products together, the scheme will be weakened, and urges an alternative.

But the postal body does agree with Postcomm’s decision to restrict the rise of the cost of first-class stamps, which will now increase by 4p over the next four years, instead of by 18p, as initially suggested by Royal Mail.

It calls for Postcomm to force Royal Mail to improve its information provision, which must be a priority for the postal service during the next price control period. It says Royal Mail should not benefit from the poor quality of its information.

The DMA hit out last week at the proposed four-year price scheme, branding the regulator’s plans to measure quality of service ‘farcical’.