Tag: Royal Mail

Royal Mail loses 2 million presents

Posted by | Dec 23, 2007 | |

Royal Mail faces an angry consumer backlash this weekend over more than 2 million parcels and letters lost or delayed in the Christmas post.

Customers across the country are in danger of being left without their presents as postal workers are overwhelmed by the GBP 10 billion boom in online shopping. The backlog has allegedly been compounded by postal workers deliberately failing to deliver presents to save time on their rounds.

About 1.2m letters and parcels are already estimated to have been lost in the Christmas post. Hundreds of thousands of other items are delayed or awaiting collection at depots where queues of up to two hours have formed.

Postwatch, the independent watchdog, last week wrote to Adam Crozier, chief executive of Royal Mail, to demand that the recorded mail service be improved or scrapped, because so many customers who had paid extra for recorded mail complained that postal workers were routinely failing to get a signature on delivery.

The chaos managed to disrupt the last weekend before Christmas for thousands as they were forced to queue up to collect undelivered packages.

Royal Mail will handle about 120m parcels this Christmas, more than a 20 pct increase on last year. It says the vast majority will be delivered, but admits that it is recorded as a successful delivery even if a “you were out” card is dropped through the door.

Postwatch said Royal Mail’s most recently available figures indicated that it lost about 1m items of mail a month. Royal Mail said it was no longer publishing figures on the amount of mail it lost because the information was commercially confidential.

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1000th fee-free ATM for Post Office UK

Posted by | Dec 20, 2007 | |

The Post Office has installed its 1000th free-to-use automated teller machine (ATM) at a Rotherham Post Office branch further cementing its commitment to be a universal provider of free cash access for its customers.

Customers have already withdrawn GBP 1.2 billion from Post Office fee-free ATMs across the UK this year in 20 million transactions and have potentially saved up to a huge GBP 21million in fees levied by charging ATMs.

The new ATM was installed in Thurnscoe East Post Office in Rotherham.

The Post Office and its financial services partner, Bank of Ireland, are committed to rolling out more free-to-use ATMs across the branch network. At the same time the Post Office is withdrawing from its involvement with third party fee-charging ATM suppliers.

Ian Sadler, head of banking & payments, Post Office Ltd, said: “It’s great news that customers of 1000 UK Post Office branches can now benefit from free access to their money using cash machines. This complements the free cash access service for 19 banks and building societies we offer over the counter at all UK Post Office branches.”

“More than one million free cash withdrawals are made every day at the Post Office, making us the largest, free-to-use cash network in the UK.”

Mr Surti, subpostmaster at Thurnscoe East branch, said he has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people visiting the branch because of his new cash machine.

ATM transactions have increased from 105-140 per week to 1600-1700 per week as a result of the new ATM.

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New Royal Mail postage prices for April 2008

Posted by | Dec 20, 2007 | |

Royal Mail said today the price of a First Class stamp for a standard letter weighing up to 100g would rise 2p to 36p from April 7 2008 in line with the price controls set by the regulator, Postcomm, in 2006.

A Second Class stamp for a standard letter weighing up to 100g will rise 3p from 24p to 27p.

When the new prices take effect, Royal Mail’s stamps will still be among the very lowest priced in Europe. The average household now spends 50p a week on stamps, a fraction of the amount spent on telecoms.

Stamped mail makes an average loss of around 6p per letter and packet – and it will continue to be loss-making as the increases will not be sufficient to cover the deficit. The total loss last year on stamped mail was GBP 178 million.

Business customers who use franking machines will continue to get a discount against the price of a stamp. A franked, standard First Class letter will increase by 2p from 32p to 34p in April, while a standard Second Class franked letter will rise 2p from 22p to 24p, increasing the discount for Second Class franked mail discount from 2p to 3p.

For the first time, medium-sized businesses will get discounts on volume – the more they post, the lower the postage bill.

The full details of new prices are published on Royal Mail’s web site. Prices for bulk mail will also be changing, and in some cases will fall in real terms. Some prices for heavier weight items will also be falling to improve Royal Mail’s competitiveness in the growing home-shopping market.

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DMA calls for caution over postal review

Posted by | Dec 20, 2007 | |

The DMA has warned the government not to place an “unrealistic burden” on businesses to fund a universal postal service when it publishes its review next year.

Secretary of state for business John Hutton announced the review on 17 December, outlining the government’s commitment to maintain the universal service while investigating the impact of opening the postal market to competition two years ago.

Royal Mail has introduced a range of proposals, such as pricing in proportion and zonal pricing, to help it compete more effectively in the new open market.

It has argued that its competitors have been able to cherry-pick the higher margin business sectors, while it has been hobbled with maintaining an affordable universal service for consumers and providing the final-mile delivery.

However, many of these new ideas impact more heavily on users of business mail, such as the direct marketing industry.

Walsh said he wasn’t sure how the DMA would be involved in the review, although it is a member of the Postwatch trade association forum.

However, he stressed that it is important that business users get involved, noting that the consultation would not include any direct representatives of large mail users.

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UK Post Office Cash connections – 30 per cent increase in international money gifts over festive season

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

Cash gifts to destinations across the globe are set to prove popular this year according to research from Post Office® and MoneyGram.

An estimated GBP 2.3 billion is sent overseas from the UK through international money transfer services each year, and Post Office® and MoneyGram research forecasts a 30 per cent increase in cash gifting in the run up to the 2007 Christmas period.

Cash gifts from the UK are relied upon by people in both developed and developing countries, not only to help celebrate the festive season but also for day-to-day living expenses. In many cases money is sent to friends and family overseas to cover essentials such as food, education and medical fees.

Top destinations for international money transfers over the 2007 Christmas period are set to be:

• Africa including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya
• Caribbean countries such as Jamaica
• Central and Latin America including Brazil and Columbia
• Eastern Europe in particular Poland, Romania and Bulgaria
• New Zealand and Australia

MoneyGram was previously available at around 3,500 Post Office® branches, but now all branches are equipped with the latest technology meaning MoneyGram transfers can be sent to and received from all 14,000 Post Office® branches. Unlike some other money transfer services it is not necessary to have a bank account to send or receive a MoneyGram transfer.

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