Tag: Postwatch

In the first six months of 2004/05 Royal Mail have failed to achieve 14 of their 15 minimum performance targets. Compared with the same period last year services across the board have deteriorated. With only one service (Mailsort 3) showing an improvement. During the first six months of last year the all-important 1st class mail performance was above the 92.5 per cent target at 92.7 per cent delivered next day. This year the figure has slumped to 90.4 per cent. Over 200 million 1st class letters were not delivered next day. Peter Carr, Chairman of Postwatch commenting on the poor service levels said: “Customers are facing new price increases whilst service standards continue to fail the targets – yet Royal Mail profits are expected to double to GBP400 million plus.

Postwatch gave evidence to the Trade and Industry Committee earlier today.
Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services, welcomes the timely
inquiry by the Trade and Industry Committee into the future of the Crown
Office Network and looks forward to helping the Committee with its work.
Giving evidence Peter Carr, Chairman of Postwatch, said: “I am delighted the
Trade and Industry Committee is continuing its interest in the future of the
555 remaining Crown Post Offices. “These Offices are very important to customers. Whilst they represent less than 4 per cent of the post offices in the UK they transact over 25 per cent of all post office business and 7 million customers visit them each week. No Crown Office closures should be proposed until the Committee’s findings are known and a comprehensive strategy is in place.

Royal Mail outraged the consumer watchdog Postwatch yesterday by proposing to charge less for franked mail than for customers who buy stamps. Peter Carr, chairman of Postwatch, called the proposals “a bloody riot”, adding that large numbers of small businesses, as well as residential customers, would be affected by the change. “We’re not at all happy with this,” he said. “First, we do not condone any price increases until service standards improve. And we don’t agree with metered-mail customers getting a better deal. “We’ve had four years of continually higher prices and service standards have not improved.”
Royal Mail is proposing to charge customers with franking machines a penny less per item of first-class mail, while businesses with pre-paid envelopes will be charged the same rate.

Post boxes throughout Wales are to be barcoded, recording when mail is collected. The new technology, pioneered in Flintshire, is to be extended to the whole of the country. Gordon Donaldson, local representative on Postwatch Wales, said postmen would swipe a bar code inside the box each time they collect mail from the box. It means managers can check all boxes are emptied at the correct time. Mr Donaldson said: “Our survey in Wales earlier this year proved the collection times were more reliable in areas with bar coding.” Investing in the technology would significantly reduce delayed mail, caused by postmen accidentally or deliberately emptying boxes before the last advertised time.