Time for Post Office users to fight back
AS A concerned postman/driver of nearly 18 years service, I feel the need to inform the public of the real impact the postal regulator’s proposals will have on your publiclyowned postal service.
Postcomm has ignored the warnings given by the National Audit Office report Opening the Post.
Among other things, this report warned that:
The introduction of competition could result in a breakdown in the delivery of a universal service at a reasonable uniform price.
If competition is most pronounced for the most profitable services, the Post Office could be left with insufficient returns to cover its overhead costs and hence to finance remaining services without across-the-board price increases.
If the Post Office finds it tough to reduce costs in response to losing market share, it would be unable to finance its services at current prices, especially as its profits have vanished in the last couple of years.
This would mean that, if cherry-picking the most profitable aspects of the postal service were allowed by the regulator, the Post Office would be left with the loss-making universal service obligation for which private competitors have no desire.
Your everyday postman and postwoman who collects, sorts and delivers your mail at a reasonable price to every household and business in Britain is under threat from a regulator hell-bent on introducing competition at any cost.
I urge all users of the postal service to lobby their MPs and local councillors alike to demonstrate to the government and the regulator that another Railtrack fiasco will not be tolerated.
