Tag: Domestic

Postcomm publishes criteria for approval of redress schemes for licensed postal operators (UK)

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Postcomm published its final criteria for approval of redress schemes.

Following consultation in January 2008 on approval criteria for redress schemes, Postcomm has today published its approval criteria and decision document. The document summarises the key issues raised by stakeholders in response to the consultation, suggestions from the industry working group for licensed postal operators (facilitated by Postcomm), and relevant best practice.

The key changes are:
– amendment to the scheme’s governance, monitoring and reporting criteria in relation to the governance arrangements and fee structure to ensure there is no disproportionate effect on any particular group of members;
– additional requirement for the scheme to reallocate the cost of any case to another scheme member where the fault is found to lie with it;
– amendment to the requirement for publicising the redress scheme to prevent premature referral to the scheme. The requirement now states that appropriate steps must be taken to ensure consumer awareness of the scheme;
– clarifying the complaints which the redress scheme must consider by drawing from the BERR decision document; and clarifying that the case handling will be free of charge but that a complainant may incur a cost in the form of telephone call charges etc. to contact the redress scheme (but that this should be kept to as low as reasonably practicable).

Read More

Postal regulator needs to deliver the goods (UK)

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

Postcomm is seeking a new Chief Executive for November, when Sarah Chambers, ends her four-year term.

But what sort of job will the successful applicant take over? I hear whispers of some sort of reorganisation that is under consideration to create a “super-regulator” to transfer some of Postcomm’s responsibilities across to Ofcom, which at present oversees only the Royal Mail’s broadband activities.

“This is entirely a matter for the Government,” Ofcom insists.

Postcomm says that there is no change to the job specifications as they are advertised, which call for “a forward-thinking CEO … at a time when the postal market is undergoing profound change”. My informant insists whoever gets the top Postcomm job “is not going to be head-to-head with Allan Leighton [the Royal Mail chairman].”

Read More

CWU – Postal regulation crippling Royal Mail (UK)

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

The Communication Workers Union which represents most postal workers at Royal Mail, has responded to Postcomm’s Strategy Review for further changes to the UK postal market.

The CWU, which has been a consistent critic of the liberalisation of the UK postal market, says that deregulation in the UK was too soon and that Postcomm has put the pursuit of competition ahead of safeguarding the USO.

The union said it was also strongly opposed to any ownership separation of Royal Mail’s activities. The CWU did not agree such separation has been successful in other regulated industries and did not see a need for greater accounting transparency and that moves to split Royal Mail should not be at the expense of an efficient and integrated Royal Mail.

It accused Postcomm of misjudging the postal market and that current declining mail volumes were not predicted in the last Price Control, resulting in significantly lower than anticipated profit levels. On downstream access, the CWU said that volumes had grown faster than forecast leaving Royal Mail struggling financially and calling for a reduction in the scope of the USO and an increase in stamp prices. It said that cost-reflective pricing measures had become necessary, resulting in requests for unpopular and divisive pricing structures such as zonal pricing. It called for a wider debate about the kind of postal service customers want before such measures are imposed.

The CWU was highly critical of Postcomm’s proposed erosion of the minimum standards required of new entrants under the licensing framework, saying it would leave customers with insufficient protections in place. The union called on the introduction of a mandatory publication of directly comparable performance data introduced as a licence condition for all postal operators, saying it would address the current unequal treatment of Royal Mail in terms of the monitoring of standards and enable customers to make informed choices in the market.

Read More

DX Group – Royal Mail VAT advantage stifles competition (UK)

Posted by | Apr 30, 2008 | |

The DX Group has reminded Postcomm that the VAT exemption applied to Royal Mail is, in their view, continuing to stifle competition.

In response to Postcomm’s Strategy Review, Michael MacClancy, Head of Regulation at DX said:

“Royal Mail’s VAT exemption will continue to tip the playing field against end to-end entrants for the foreseeable future. The VAT exemption extends to positive discrimination in favour of so-called access competition over end-to-end competition. If consolidators such as TNT and UK Mail use Royal Mail for final delivery then they can take advantage of the recently introduced agency agreements to minimise VAT liability for their customers. If they use another operator (such as DX) they must charge VAT.”

“The VAT exemption not only places entrants at a disadvantage in comparison with Royal Mail, it also gives TNT and UK Mail an advantage in comparison with other operators. Furthermore, as we have argued previously, access is a very limited form of competition with limited economic benefits. If Postcomm really does wish to create the right conditions to enable a further withdrawal of sector specific regulation it will have to find a way of promoting end-to-end competition that will apply pressure along the whole of Royal Mail’s value chain.”

“Postcomm should avoid further tilting of the market towards the access model. We note that there are substantial differences between the postal markets of the UK and USA, not least of which are the statutory monopoly over delivery enjoyed by USPS and a workshare pricing mechanism that appears to leave USPS with a considerably higher proportion of the revenue than the UK equivalent.”

Read More

U.S. postal authorities report run on 'forever' stamps as rate increase looms

Posted by | Apr 28, 2008 | |

A looming increase in U.S. postal rates appears to be turning Americans into penny-pinchers.
Just ask U.S. postal authorities who say there has been a run on so-called Forever stamps in advance of next month’s planned rate increase. Officials say that with the postal rate increase just two weeks away, Americans are buying 30 million Forever stamps a day.
The cost of sending a first-class letter will rise a penny to 42 cents on May 12. But the Forever stamps – currently selling for 41 cents – will remain valid after the increase.
Forever stamps were introduced in the United States last year and since then more than six billion have been sold.
Unlike the Forever stamps, other 41-cent stamps will require additional postage when the new rates take effect. Postal officials say they have printed an additional 1.5 billion one-cent stamps in anticipation of the demand.
Also, for the first time the Postal Service has stamps available at the new rate before the change takes effect.
A set of five 42-cent stamps honouring pioneering journalists went on sale last week, as did a set of four stamps featuring the American flag flying at different times of day.
Postage rates last went up in May 2007, with a first-class stamp jumping 2 cents to the current 41-cent rate.
The first-class postal rate is the one that most people notice, but other prices will also rise.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest