Tag: Royal Mail

‘Thanks a million’ – Post Office Financial Services welcomes millionth customer

Posted by | May 27, 2007 | |

Post Office Financial Services – a joint venture with Bank of Ireland – today confirmed its position as the fastest growing financial services provider in the UK as it welcomed its millionth customer, just over three years since launch.

Post Office Managing Director, Alan Cook said: “Post Office Financial Services entered the market with the aim of challenging what other financial services providers were offering, across all products: from car insurance to savings accounts and credit cards. Gaining one million customers in approximately 1,000 days confirms that we were right – people want easy to understand, good value products.”

The outstanding growth of Post Office Financial Services:

• Post Office sells one in 50 of all car insurance policies in the UK
• One in every 25 credit cards issued last year was from Post Office
• GBP 2 billion has been invested in the Post Office’s savings products
• One in every 200 homes in the UK is insured with the Post Office

This success builds on the Post Office’s position as the largest independent provider of travel insurance in the UK.

Post Office Financial Services was launched as a joint venture with Bank of Ireland in March 2004.

Alan Cook continued, “This is a real achievement for the business against the backdrop of the challenges we are facing. The Post Office’s entry into financial services is vital to the bigger picture of providing products and services that will help create a sustainable Post Office network.”

All of Post Office’s financial products are available by telephone and online. Information is available at all 14,000 UK Post Office branches – more than all of the UK banks and building societies put together.

Read More

Royal Mail delays drawing on funds for modernisation

Posted by | May 26, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has yet to draw on a Pounds 1.2bn loan made available to automate its operations under a new financing framework arran-ged more than a year ago.

The investment package announced last May by Alistair Darling, trade and industry secretary, was intended to help Royal Mail compete against the new breed of private-sector postal operators after it lost its monopoly at the start of 2006.

But although big business mail users are deserting Royal Mail in droves, Britain’s dominant postal operator has failed to take advantage of the new system. HSBC and Lloyds TSB are the latest to shift their bulk mailings to UK Mail, part of the Business Post Group.

News that TNT, one of Royal Mail’s biggest rivals, has been granted the right to launch a legal challenge over the state group’s exemption from VAT will come as another blow.

The fall in business customers and the growing competition from its rivals are not the only problems for Royal Mail. The number of items of mail fell last year for the first time in decades, with most in the industry expecting further declines in the future as email and other digital messaging systems replace “snail mail”.

In addition the government has been unable to find a high-profile business executive from the private sector to be deputy chairman and succeed Allan Leighton as chairman next year. And now the postal union is balloting members on a strike over this year’s pay offer, warning of more fights ahead over changes in working practices, staff cuts and the plan to close the pension scheme to new entrants.

Read More

Postcomm statement on High Court judgement

Posted by | May 25, 2007 | |

Commenting on the judgement handed down by the High Court, Postcomm is pleased that the Judge confirmed that Postcomm had decided reasonably and properly that a financial penalty should be ordered in this matter.

However, the regulator is disappointed that the GBP 1 million penalty was quashed because of a technical difficulty in its policy for calculating financial penalties in cases where the benefit to Royal Mail and the burden on others from the licence contravention cannot be assessed. The Judge held that Postcomm could not depart from its published penalty policy in the circumstances of this case.

Following its investigation, Postcomm originally imposed the penalty on Royal Mail in July 2006 for failing to take adequate steps to ensure it could not gain an unfair commercial advantage over its competitors in the ‘access’ market.

Postcomm found that Royal Mail had not put in place adequate measures within its wholesale and retail divisions to prevent it obtaining an unfair advantage over its competitors as stipulated in Condition 10 of its licence. Postcomm’s investigation also found a failure in Compliance. These findings were not challenged in the appeal brought by Royal Mail.

Postcomm will consider appealing the decision to the Court of Appeal.

Read More

TNT cleared to challenge Royal Mail's VAT exemption

Posted by | May 25, 2007 | |

Royal Mail’s VAT exemption could be challenged by rival TNT Post after a development in the High Court this month.

The High Court has granted TNT Post permission to apply for a judicial review of the exemption and is expected to rule soon that the European Court of Justice carry out the review.

All postal services provided by Royal Mail are VAT exempt, but services provided by all other operators are not.

TNT claims this distorts the postal market. It is a particular disadvantage in the case of business with banks and charities, which cannot recover VAT charges because they themselves are VAT exempt.

Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Post, said: “The VAT distortion is subject to possible infringement proceedings by the European Commission. TNT Post is committed to providing its customers with an efficient and value-for-money service and will continue to fight for a level competitive playing field.”

If the European Court of Justice carries out a review it is not expected to finish until the summer of 2009.

Read More

World Mail Award winners celebrated

Posted by | May 24, 2007 | |

The 2007 World Mail Awards, presented on Monday night at a top London hotel, brought out the very best from postal services around the globe. More than 350 senior executives from the industry gathered to hear yachtsman, hero & adventurer, Pete Goss, present the coveted trophies for best practice and excellence.

This was the 8th year the Awards have been run by Triangle and they continue to grow in both prestige and breadth of coverage, with two new awards and four new sponsors for 2007. The distinguished panel of judges met only hours before the presentation to select the eventual winners of the awards from the 38 finalists.

The twelve winners competed against a broad geographical diversity of applicants and a wide variety of products and services submitted by operators and suppliers to the mail industry.

This year’s World Mail Award winners are as follows:

• Corporate Social Responsibility (sponsored by DHL Global Mail)
– Brazil Post for its Postal Bank project

• Customer Service (sponsored by Western Union)
– Canada Post Corporation for its Customer Value Management program

• e-Commerce (sponsored by Saudi Post)
– Deutsche Post AG for its ADDRESSDIALOG project

• Growth (sponsored by Q-Post)
– DHL Global Mail for its global letter-writing club LetterNet

• Industry Leadership (sponsored by Pitney Bowes)
– Jean-Paul Bailly, Chairman and CEO, La Poste

• Innovation (sponsored by Emirates Post)
– ampm for its delivery tracking solution eyeTrack

• People Management (sponsored by Australia Post)
– Masterlink Express for its ”Talents Maker” management academy training program

• Quality (sponsored by Magyar Posta)
– Singapore Post for SingPost Quality Excellence

• Retail Project (sponsored by Triangle)
– Aramex International for its SHOP&SHIP mailbox system

• Security (sponsored by Royal Mail)
– Royal Mail for its Mail Integrity Programme

• Technology (sponsored by Intermec)
– Denmark Post for its GIS route planning system

• Transformation (sponsored by IBM)
– Saudi Post for the creation of NAQEL

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!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest