Tag: Royal Mail

Post office services may move to council buildings in Southampton

Posted by | Dec 3, 2007 | |

Threatened post office services in Southampton could be moved inside council owned buildings to save them from closure plans.

Services could be located in housing offices, leisure centres and libraries and a mobile post office could be launched if five city post office branches get the axe.

Liberal Democrat and Labour city councillors have agreed to explore whether the move would be feasible under new powers given to local councils.

Lib Dem councillor Ann Milton who floated the idea said there was “profound concern” for the impact the closures would have on communities, especially on elderly and disabled people.

However the minority Tory administration voted against her motion, saying although it was an admirable idea it wouldn’t work in practice and blamed the Labour Government for allowing too many services to leave post offices.

The move comes as Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead is calling on Post Office bosses to postpone their closure decision.

Mr Whitehead claims urban obstacles’ to alternative branches such as busy dual carriageways and dimly lit parks and underpasses have not been considered.

Mr Whitehead said: “They can act as a real impediment to customers trying to get somewhere on foot.

“The Post Office Network needs to demonstrate that they have taken into account the kinds of obstacles faced by my constituents, and they have so far fundamentally failed to do so.”

The MP is calling for a review of the plans until urban obstacles have been clarified.

Under the closure plans customers losing their local branch are supposed to be within a one-mile road distance of another post office.

A Post Office spokesman said: “In developing our proposals for an area a number of criteria are considered, including the routes to alternative Post Office branches, the availability of public transport as well as the demographics of the locality and the impact on local economies.

“It is worth noting that the four branches which are proposed to close within the Southampton Test constituency referred to by Mr Whitehead are all within a mile of an alternative branch.”

In Hampshire the Post Office plans to shut 62 of its 291 full-time sub post offices in both rural and urban areas Watchdog Postwatch has urged customers to take part in the consultation process over the closures.

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Royal Mail's Compensation Schemes for Delay and Loss and Damage

Posted by | Dec 1, 2007 | |

Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services, is consulting on Royal Mail’s current compensation schemes for loss, damage and delay which many customers are finding difficult to understand and use.

Royal Mail’s currently has four compensation schemes for loss and damage. Postcomm is proposing that Royal Mail introduces a single loss and damage scheme governed by a clear and simple framework of principles.

In December 2007, Postcomm outlined proposed changes to Royal Mail’s compensation schemes to make them fairer and more suited to customer needs. The regulator has conducted a public consultation and worked closely with Royal Mail and Postwatch to address concerns about the complexity of Royal Mail’s current compensation schemes for retail customers and some inconsistency in how they are applied.

Following this review, Postcomm is proposing to remove bulk mail from a regulated compensation scheme for delay. Competition for bulk mail customers has developed to a point where the regulator is proposing that it is more appropriate to move towards a market driven option allowing the growth of schemes which reflect the differing needs of large mailers.

Royal Mail’s retail customers should face less difficulty in pursuing their claims because, for retail mail that has been lost, damaged or delayed, the proposals aim to simplify and align the processes for making a claim, the evidence required to support a claim, and the compensation payments themselves.

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Poor postal results hit Scotland

Posted by | Nov 30, 2007 | |

Postwatch Scotland said that this summer’s strikes and widespread flooding seriously affected the quality of postal services across the UK.

Dundee, Falkirk, Kirkcaldy, Edinburgh, Perth and Motherwell were in the worst 20 performing postcodes.

Royal Mail said the low quality of service results were due to the industrial action.

Speaking after Royal Mail’s release of their half-year performance results, Alan Alexander, chair of Postwatch Scotland, said: “Given the floods and the industrial dispute, customers will not be surprised that Royal Mail’s performance has been seriously below par during the summer.

Next year, customers in Scotland should expect Royal Mail to be announcing a much improved performance

“It is particularly disappointing that six out of the worst 20 performing postcode areas for the delivery of first class mail are in Scotland.

“Industrial peace between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union means the industry, after a step backwards, can take great strides forward.

“Next year, customers in Scotland should expect Royal Mail to be announcing a much improved performance. That should help all of us to post with confidence.”

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said the low quality of service results in Scotland were due to the official and unofficial industrial action which took place during this period.

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Select Committee enquiry into post office closures

Posted by | Nov 30, 2007 | |

In a Westminster Hall debate by MPs this week on the programme of 2,500 post office closures, Peter Luff, Chairman of the relevant Select Committee, stated:

“It is a great pleasure that the swansong debate of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, now the Select Committee on Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, should be so popular. I am informed by the Speaker’s Office that this is the most popular ever Westminster Hall debate on a Select Committee report.”

“The new Select Committee will launch an inquiry early in the new year into the progress of the post office closure process. We will have hearings, probably in late January or early February, and will revisit the process then, because this matter is obviously of deep concern to many colleagues.”

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