Tag: Europe

Regulator to let Royal Mail raise price of 2nd class stamps by 17 pct

Posted by | Aug 10, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has been given the go-ahead to increase the price of a second-class stamp to 29p by 2010 but has been told by the postal regulator it must get its act together in order to remain competitive.

Postcomm said that the ball was now firmly in Royal Mail’s court “to address urgently its very high cost base”.

The regulator said it is giving all the help it can to enable Royal Mail to “tackle its deteriorating financial situation” and said that “reining back on competition” was not the answer.

Royal Mail asked Postcomm in March to review prices as it struggles in the face of competition from TNT and UK Mail in an age when email has broadly replaced the letter for personal correspondence. Postcomm had previously said second-class stamps could rise from 24p to 26p.

TNT and UK Mail had also requested Postcomm to look at “access mail”. This is when Royal Mail delivers letters “the final mile” for operators who have already collected and sorted the letters and carried them across the country. TNT and UK Mail believe the prices they pay are too expensive while Royal Mail believes it is too generous.

Postcomm rejected requests to change the status quo and said prices are overall “set at a fair level”.

Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union have committed to reach an agreement by 4 September.

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TNT Express Germany expands its Customer Contact Center

Posted by | Aug 10, 2007 | |

The CCC inauguration TNT Express Germany has relocated its Customer Contact Center from Dansdorf to Bad Godesberg in Bonn due to a continuously growing workforce. The centre handles about 4,000 customer calls a day from across Germany.

The new Customer Contact Center (CCC) comprises 2,500 sqm which is 800 sqm more than the old location. The call centre currently has 140 employees and this number is expected to increase in 2008.

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La Poste organises a public consultation for presenting its direct marketing project

Posted by | Aug 10, 2007 | |

La Poste launched a public consultation for offering new direct marketing products.

This public consultation is organized with ARCEP (French postal regulator).

The objective of this consultation is to modernize and offer a new range of products linked to the Quality Courrier program which will be launched during the first quarter in 2008.

This public consultation is open from 20 August 2007 to 14th September 2007.

These new offers will be accompanied by an evolution of commercial conventions which govern the relations of the Post office with its large customers.
New rules will be added to the mails of more than 50 grams (The current conventions regulates the direct marketing and courier management of less than 50 grams).

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True picture is stuck in the post

Posted by | Aug 9, 2007 | |

For an organization desperate to be seen as more efficient and business-like, Royal Mail seems to be displaying a cavalier attitude to its ultimate backers – its customers and the British taxpayer. Any listed company that delayed its annual report for three months for no stated reason would be treated with impatience if not downright suspicion.

For Royal Mail, the time lag is even more egregious because it doesn’t publish its financial results separately. The annual report is the first chance to gauge the health of the company.

While the regulator PostComm says it has been given the entire document, the same courtesy has not been extended to either Parliament, customers or the media. Royal Mail won’t explain. It may just be that the GBP 4 billion refinancing of the business has injected major complications, but that should not have had any impact on the relevant reporting period.

There are two theories about the delay. One is that it is to suppress embarrassing management bonuses during the current industrial dispute, which is partly over staff pay. The other is that the bottom line is rather healthier than management would like known at a time when it is seeking to keep the annual staff pay rise this year to 2.5 per cent.

Neither is a legitimate reason for burying the news, bad or good. The series of rolling strikes is producing real pain by hitting companies’ cash flow.

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Many banks and card companies to be sympathetic over postal delays

Posted by | Aug 9, 2007 | |

A number of banks and credit card companies in the UK have stated that they intend to be sympathetic with customers who may have suffered as a result of the postal strikes in terms of payments coming in late because of the postal delays.

Although banks have suffered a fair amount of bad press lately some of the leading banks and credit card companies stated that they would take the postal strikes into account when it came to customers’ accounts.

The postal strikes were set to go on for two week in total, and this means that those paying by cheque will find that their payments may be delayed, which could result in their bank accounts exceeding the overdraft limit or their credit cards going over the credit limit due to late payment.

Banks and credit card companies are urging consumers that experience this problem to contact them, stating that they will ensure that they are sympathetic when it comes to the removal of charges that were applied as a result of late payment because of postal delays.

Consumers are warned that trying to dupe the banks into thinking that payment is late because of postal strikes will not be easy.

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