Tag: Post Office Ltd

UK Post Offices are on the move to protect rural service

Mobile post offices are going on the road to save services for six County Durham communities. Counters are being set up a few hours a week in Escomb, Toronto, Witton Park, Fir Tree, Witton-le-Wear, all in Wear Valley, and Cornsay Colliery, near Durham. Subpostmasters are due to resign in Escomb, Toronto and Witton Park and premises have already closed in the other three. Margaret McCombie, subpostmaster at Tow Law, has been appointed to provide the mobile service offering banking, bill payment, travel insurance and car tax. Rural development manager Matt Silcock said the aim was to safeguard the long-term future of services.

Read More

Postmasters’ buyout plan could split UK Royal Mail

A Postmasters’ group is attempting to mount a management buyout of the main postal network in a move that would split the Royal Mail group, The Times has learnt. The Postmasternetwork, which claims 7,500 members, this week will meet potential American investors to try to secure up to GBP150 million of funding to buy the 14,500-strong chain of loss- making sub-post offices. The group has held meetings with the Department of Trade and Industry already to press the idea. The organisation has emphasised its interest in running the network, although it would need government support for about two years, as the future of the UK’s postal service is being reviewed.

Read More

UK Postcomm calls for more innovation to create a viable rural Post Office network

The rural Post Office network should be planned using more innovative methods of service provisions such as mobile post offices and partnerships with other organisations or communities. “Some of the 8,000 rural branches throughout the UK are in busy market towns, but others may serve only five customers a week,” Nigel Stapleton, chairman of Postcomm said. “There is no single model for all these situations and Post Office Ltd needs to be flexible to sustain access to postal services – perhaps a travelling Post Office – in the smaller and more remote communities.” Post Office Ltd is due to report to the government at the end of 2005 on pilot schemes for more flexible provision of Post Office services in rural areas. Postcomm recommends that the rural network should be planned to reflect the local population and small business distribution to ensure access to cash and to help village stores and other rural businesses to survive.

Read More

UK Post Office strangling branches

Thousands of post offices face the axe because of red tape that subpostmasters say will ruin their businesses. They believe that the Post Office’s archaic curbs on how they work are stifling opportunities to thrive. But their efforts to overturn what they see as unfair terms in their contracts with the Post Office have been rebuffed. The Association of Convenience Stores, which has 10,000 post office members, lodged a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading last December over the contracts between the Post Office and subpostmasters. The association, backed by the Postmasternetwork website, claims that the contract is anti-competitive because it prevents sub-postmasters who run their own businesses from operating on equal terms with other retail outlets. But after a ten-month review, the OFT says it is closing its file unless the association can supply new evidence within the next few weeks.

Read More

UK Post Office enters credit card market with unique “two in one” offer

The Post Office today launched a credit card with a unique feature – the flexibility to make larger purchases on a discounted fixed rate. The Post Office “two in one” credit card is the first in the UK with this feature. It means that customers have the benefit of a competitive credit card along with a market-leading, fixed rate, loan-like facility for major purchases. David Mills, Chief Executive, Post Office Ltd said: “By launching this unique ‘two in one’ credit card we’re setting a challenge to all other providers. Offering customers a flexible way of paying for larger purchases at a market-leading, discounted rate is something we believe provides real financial benefits and will shake up the market, challenging other lenders who impose higher rates.”

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!



MER Magazine


The Mail & Express Review (MER) Magazine is our quarterly print publication. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, MER is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

 

News Archive

Pin It on Pinterest