Tag: Royal Mail

'Post and a pinta' scheme attacked

Posted by | Aug 19, 2002 | |

A scheme for milkmen and women to deliver mail in Liverpool is “worrying and unnecessary”, a union has warned.
Express Dairies started to deliver parcels on Monday after winning a 12-month licence.
The licence limits the number of deliveries over the year to 4.6m, but there are plans to extend it to Manchester and Nottingham.
The Postal Services Commission (Postcomm) says the scheme is not designed to take work away from postal workers.
However, a spokesman for the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) said: “The people who are best placed to deliver mail in this country are the postmen and women.
“We see this development as a worrying and unnecessary development.”
However, the spokesman acknowledged that with Consignia – owners of the Post Office and Royal Mail – facing major financial problems, the granting of licences such as the one in Liverpool was inevitable.

Read More

Post Office staff caught fixing tests on first-class deliveries

Posted by | Aug 16, 2002 | |

Royal Mail staff at a London sorting office are said to have been ordered to search bags of mail by hand to find “test” letters and ensure they arrive at their destination on time.
It is not clear whether post chiefs know delivery figures could be being manipulated, but if the Royal Mail were shown to be unaware of such a problem, it would raise serious questions over managers’ ability to do their jobs.
It could also raise concerns about the credibility of a Post Office report, due out this month, which deliveries’
will claim deliveries in London have improved dramatically. Today, postal regulator PostComm and consumer watchdog PostWatch said they would look into the allegations of a fiddle.
The Royal Mail employs a company called Research International to send out test letters from firms and postboxes across Britain to see how long they take to get to their destination. Local depots are not supposed to know when and where these letters are sent.
The research shows how close the Post Office is to meeting its targets, set by PostComm, to ensure that 92.5 per cent of letters arrive on time.
But the Standard has been told that at one London sorting office, staff are being ordered to find these letters and speed them on their way.

Read More

3,000 UK urban post offices facing axe

Posted by | Aug 15, 2002 | |

A THIRD of Britain’s urban post offices face being shut down, it was revealed yesterday.
Royal Mail chiefs want to axe 3,000 branches to save money -including 54 in Birmingham, 34 in Leeds, 28 in Liverpool, 24 in Manchester and 23 in Newcastle.
Sixty per cent of towns and cities will lose at least five POs.
The main branches and sub offices are casualties of the debt-ridden Royal Mail’s efforts to protect rural offices.
The cuts from a total of 17,500 POs follow losses of Pounds 100million and the closure of 547 branches last year.
A Pounds 200million Government compensation fund will help axed offices.

Read More

Royal Mail will stamp out lost post

Posted by | Aug 14, 2002 | |

The moves have been proposed to cut the number of letters that go astray each year.
The Royal Mail is drawing up an action plan in the wake of revelations that nationally 500,000 letters are lost each week. Regional statistics are not available. The figures were released in Royal Mail’s report to consumer watchdog Postwatch. Royal Mail spokesman Dan Panes said: “We’re committed to improving significantly to ensure customers get the best service possible.
“Every letter is very important to us but there’s always going to be a certain amount lost.
“You’re never going to get rid of the problem completely because human error means they’ll go to 24a instead of 24b.”
He said of the 500,000 lost letters, 100,000 are due to “exterior influences” such as theft for which staff cannot be held responsible.

Read More

500,000 letters a week go astray

Posted by | Aug 13, 2002 | |

THE Royal Mail admitted yesterday that an estimated 500,000 letters or parcels are lost or delayed every week.
Thousands of letters are delivered to the wrong house by mistake, its research shows. Thousands more go astray because they are badly addressed. The figures follow an announcement by the company’s parent, Consignia, that there will be fewer deliveries. It plans to merge the first and second class services and charge customers up to pounds 14 a week for pre-9am deliveries – although take-up of the scheme has so far been scant.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

How ready do you feel for the de minimis changes coming in July?

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