Year: 2003

The Royal Mail was considering tonight whether to mount a legal challenge to plans for it to deliver letters for rival firms for 11.5p. Chairman Allan Leighton said he was “shocked” at a proposal by the industry’s regulator Postcomm to allow Royal Mail to make a 6% operating profit by 2006 by giving competitors access to its local delivery network. The proposed price of between 11.5p for letters weighing less than 60 grams – which covers most mail – to a maximum of around GBP4 for a heavy package will apply to private operator UK Mail, but the figure will also be used by any other company entering the postal market.

Royal Mail’s Chairman Allan Leighton said today he was shocked at Postcomm’s plans to give courier firms access to Royal Mail’s delivery network. “We were alarmed at the way Postcomm was moving last autumn to an access price of 14p for Royal Mail against a full price for First and Second Class basic postage of 28p and 20p,” he said. “Postcomm’s plans today propose an access price of just 11½p so the regulator has moved the access price even lower than we feared.”

Summary of Access document – this document sets out the reasons why Postcomm has proposed access terms and conditions, under which Royal Mail will deliver mail on behalf of another postal operator, UK Mail, as set out in the Notice to which this is attached.