Sunday & Bank Holiday Collections
Postwatch has recently given its agreement to an application by Royal Mail to stop collecting mail on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Royal Mail state that collections take place from only 18,000 of the 115,000 postboxes and that only a very small amount of the usual mail flows are posted on a Sunday. Royal Mail have stated that the cost of providing the service, which includes opening mail centers to sort the post on a Sunday, is significant and not proportionate to the number of people requiring the service. A link to Royal Mail’s application can be found here:
Postwatch undertake a survey of customers views on this issue, which it did in May this year. Over two thirds of respondents said they ‘seldomly or neve’ put something in the post for collection on a Sunday which required delivery on a Monday.
Royal Mail now needs to apply to Postcomm, the regulator, for formal approval. If approved, Royal Mail has asked that collections stop on 30 September. Postboxes will of course still be able to receive mail on a Sunday, but it will not be collected until Monday (or the next working day in the case of Bank Holidays).
