Tag: Domestic

Challenging times for Czech Republic

Posted by | Nov 21, 2007 | |

As of 2009, Czech republic post (EP) will be transformed into a joint-stock company. This should make the company more competitive, flexible and customer-friendly, according to the government. The move could also clear the way for a future privatization, observers say. Apart from this inner change, EP must cope with outward pressures. Recent research has shown that further switching from traditional postal services to electronic communications is still ahead, said Gabriel Pleska from the EP press department. At 3,400 branches nationwide, people can order certified excerpts from the business and land registries, Pleska said. EP has also strived to fill the niche opened up by transforming consumer habits, according to Pleska. “This transformation of lifestyle is reflected by our ‘post office in a shopping mall’ strategy,” Pleska said. EP has set about establishing offices in shopping centers, and people busy during the week can redirect their package deliveries there, picking up their mail while shopping on the weekend, he said. EP will release more details about its strategic plans for the future at the end of the year, said EP spokeswoman Dita Vaclavikova. Earlier this year, the Finance Ministry approved a hike in postal fees proposed by EP, which will take effect Jan. 1. The price of delivery of a standard letter, for example, will increase from 7.5 to 10 KE and sending a priority registered letter of up to 20 grams will cost 26 KE instead of today’s 19 KE. Other postal operators were also critical. The combination of the price hike and the liberalization postponement is bad news for customers, according to Petr Dusek, marketing director of TNT Post. 1 USD = 173.021 HU

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Consultation Starts On Changes To Post Office Network – Post Office Ltd announces plans for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland

Posted by | Nov 20, 2007 | |

Post Office Ltd today opened a period of local public consultation on its Area Plan for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland. The formal period of public consultation is six weeks but this has been extended by ten calendar days for this plan to allow for the Christmas and New Year breaks. In line with the criteria and factors set by the Government in its Response document, DTI, The Post Office Network, Government response to public consultation May 2007 the Area Plan proposes future provision of Post Office® services through a network of 318 branches across the area, resulting in the closure of 52 existing branches.

Under the proposals, more than 99.2pct of the area’s population will either see no change to their nearest branch, or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.

In addition to the 311 branches which are proposed to remain in the area, Post Office Ltd is proposing to establish 7 outreach services, which would use innovative ways to continue to provide Post Office services- particularly in smaller communities – where the existing branch is proposed for closure.

Possible types of outreach service in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland could include a mobile service visiting small communities at set times, a hosted service operated within third party premises for restricted hours each week, or a partner service within the premises of a local partner (such as a pub landlord).

The detailed Area Plan proposal for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland area is now available. Consultation is due to end on 10 January 2008.

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One year old and here to stay – The PERMANENT Stamp

Posted by | Nov 20, 2007 | |

A year ago, Canada Post introduced the PERMANENT™ stamp, a domestic-rate stamp which is always worth the going rate, regardless of when it is purchased.

The PERMANENT stamp has been a big hit by Canadians. Since its introduction, Canada Post has sold some 764 million individual stamps. In fact, in the first three months, the PERMANENT stamp achieved all-time record sales. Things evened out throughout the year, but sales still surpassed the previous year’s “total” by more than 85 million stamps. Ms. Elise Beaudette, controller at Mercedes Benz Laval, a major user of PERMANENT stamps, says she loves the new product. “For us, the permanent stamp is a fantastic tool. Not only is it always worth the going rate, but it also avoids us having to purchase 1-cent stamps when there is a rate increase. We really appreciate this Canada Post initiative as it allows us to save time and money.”

“The PERMANENT stamp was created to simplify those transactions and take away the worry of having to affix extra postage.” In fact, in 2007 Canada Post only printed 20 per cent of the previous year’s print run of the penny-stamp. This decrease has reduced inventory operations at Canada Post. It also eliminated the need for consumers to stand in line to purchase penny stamps, said Robert Waite, senior vice-president, Stakeholder Relations and Brand.

The recently issued stamps for Christmas included two PERMANENT stamps and, due to its unprecedented success, two additional PERMANENT stamps will be issued in 2008: the Celebration stamp and the Christmas stamp. The United States Postal Service followed Canada Post’s lead in issuing their “Forever” stamp on April 12th of this year.

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German Federal Network Agency approves postal rates for 2008

Posted by | Nov 20, 2007 | |

The Federal Network Agency today approved the rates for 2008 for letters weighing not more than 1000g in Deutsche Post AG’s (DPAG) letter service. Approval took place under the price cap regime.

The rates for private customers remain unchanged. Rates for bulk mail, that is to say for conveyance services with a minimum of 50 letter items posted, will be subject only to ex post controls by the Agency once DPAG’s exclusive licence expires on 1 January 2008.

“Our price cap decisions have kept prices stable for private customers since 2003”, Agency President, Matthias Kurth, said. “In comparison, price levels in most European countries have increased substantially over this period, countries such as France, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal having granted the regulated postal companies scope to raise prices.”

Today’s approvals were preceded by a benchmarking decision in which the basis for postage was fixed for the next four years. The price level for the years 2008 to 2011 results from the difference between the rate of inflation and the rate of growth in productivity. In the 2008 price cap round both benchmarks were approximately the same, so that the price level remained unchanged.

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Missing Postwatch already?

Posted by | Nov 19, 2007 | |

Last week, the House of Lords published a Select Committee report on the UK economic regulators including Postcomm. In Chapter 5 of the report, there is a section entitled “How are consumer interests protected in the regulatory state?”

This looks at models of consumer representation and comparisons are made between the integrated model of the Ofcom Consumer Panel and the Financial Services Consumer Panel – where the consumer body sits in the regulator – and the alternative standalone model of Postwatch and Energywatch – where the consumer body sits outside the regulator.

The report concludes that:

– “Different consumer representation models operate in the regulatory state and all the regulators were vociferous in justifying their particular model. However, we believe that stand alone consumer representation bodies are more transparent and more effective.”

– “The new landscape for consumer representation has been created by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 [Consumer Voice]. We are sceptical that the proposed new arrangements will lead to improvements in consumer representation but we recognise that it is too early to judge whether our scepticism is justified. The new arrangements will need careful monitoring and this is a role that might be taken up by a sessional Committee on regulators.”

This is a reference to the fact that the CEAR Act will combine both Postwatch and Energywatch with the National Consumer Council so that, from October 2008, there will not be a sector-specific consumer body for postal services.

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