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Rain Stops Play !
Royal Mail refuses to deliver to street on rainy days on 'elf and safety.
Published 14 June 2012 by Mail Online.
Rain Stops Play !
If you sign up to be a postman in Britain, trudging through rain, sleet and whatever else the weather throws at you is pretty much the job description.
Unless, it seems, you work in Doncaster where Royal Mail is refusing to deliver letters to businesses in wet weather.
Two firms of accountants and a computer business in the towns South Parade have been told to collect their post from the main sorting office when it rains, after a postman slipped on a wet mossy pavement and broke his shoulder.
Fadcode - TNT etc will enjoy this article !
Published 14 June 2012 by Mail Online.
£1m Compensation - Royal Mail
Royal Mail pays £1m compensation over damaged and missing post
Published 13 June 2012 by The Scotsman.
£1m Compensation - Royal Mail
THE Royal Mail has been forced to pay out almost £1 million in compensation to Scottish customers in the past year, it emerged yesterday.
Figures show that homeowners and businesses in Scotland made a total of 79,620 complaints about lost, mis-delivered and damaged mail between January 2010 and January 2011.
The figures, disclosed in a freedom of information request, will anger customers who learned in April that the Royal Mail is planning to increase its delivery charges.
Last yea payout by the Royal Mail of £971,150 was £163,289 higher than the previous year. Compensation was paid to 40,025 customers, which worked out at a rate of 218 payouts a day.
Colin Borland, Scottish public affairs manager at the Federation of Small Businesses, said yesterday that the loss of important mail can have a crippling effect on small business owners in Scotland.
He said: This can be a great inconvenience and annoyance for private individuals when cheques, orders and invoices go missing. It can cause a lot of difficulties, especially in a time where cash-flow is tight. You can only run out of cash once.
If youve done work, and your payments are late or disappear, it can cause real problems. There can be issues with paying HMRC and also paying staffs wages. The rise in compensation being paid is concerning and questions need to be asked about why these volumes of items continue to go missing.
With these figures getting larger, people will obviously start to mistrust the post office and royal mail workers.
Annie McGovern from Consumer Focus Scotland said that lost or missing mail could cause considerable inconvenience to customers and urged the Royal Mail to strive to minimise the number of times it happens.
Its vital that Royal Mail has robust procedures in place to reduce the risk of lost mail and customers are adequately compensated when things go wrong,she said.
For peace of mind, we would also encourage people to ask for proof of postage where appropriate and to keep hold of this and if its a valuable item use special delivery.
The Royal Mail said its largest payouts were in the Kirkcaldy area, where compensation of £333,189 was paid out, £326,679 of it for lost items.
Customers in Glasgow made the highest number of complaints 19,964 – compared with 17,036 in Edinburgh.
The Royal Mail received 37,124 complaints in total about lost post, 7,853 complaints about items being delayed and 1,197 complaints about damaged post.
There were 4,756 complaints made about goods being misdelivered, while delivery procedure errors were given as the reason of complaint by 5,613 consumers.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: We take every complaint seriously and continuously strive to improve our customer service. If we do not deliver to our usual high standard, we seek to rectify the situation as soon as possible.
The overwhelming majority of all mail arrives safely, on time and at the right destination
Published 13 June 2012 by The Scotsman.
Contactless Payment
Post Office to introduce contactless payment
Published 31 May 2012 by The Guardian.
Contactless Payment
Good to see. !
Roll out begins on 6 June across 11,500 branches, making Post Office the biggest user of contactless technology in Europe.
People buying goods and services through any Post Office branch will soon be able to use contactless credit and debit cards and payment-enabled mobile phones.
Post Office will start to roll out contactless payment terminals across its 11,500 branches network from 6 June in a move that will make it the biggest user of contactless acceptance technology in Europe. The roll out will be complete by the end of October.
"Contactless will bring huge benefits to our customers by increasing choice and reducing transaction times," said Lesley Sewell, chief information officer at Post Office Ltd.
Contactless technology allows customers to pay for goods by waving their card over a specially designed sales terminal without the need to input a pin.
Once installed, holders of MasterCard PayPass or Visa payWave cards will be able to use the readers, along with the limited number of people with Near Field Communication (NFC) equipped mobile phones. Payments using the technology will be limited to up to £20.
HSBC recently became the latest bank to begin arming its customers with contactless cards. In May, it started a gradual roll out of such cards to customers as their current cards expire.
Barclays/Barclaycard has been the undisputed leader in contactless card provision, with almost all its credit and debit cards now contactless. Royal Bank of Scotland, which includes NatWest, has some contactless debit and credit cards in issue, while Lloyds has issued 1.5m contactless cards (including those held by Halifax customers), which will rise to 2m by the summer.
Post Office's announcement comes on the same day that internet payments giant Paypal announced it had teamed up with the clothing chain that owns Warehouse, Oasis, Coast and Karen Millen to allow its customers to pay instore using their mobile phones
From Thursday, all the four women's clothing stores owned by the Aurora Fashions Group will be equipped with scanners that can read a unique barcode generated by the Paypal inStore mobile phone app.
The app will be linked to the mobile phone owner's PayPal account and accessed through a unique Pin. Once the barcode is scanned, payment is taken from the PayPal account. The system works whether or not there is a phone signal in the stores.
"Today marks the start of a quiet revolution in the way we shop on the high street. We've created a simple, secure way to use a mobile phone to pay in your favourite stores," said Cameron McLean, managing director of PayPal UK.
Paypal has been trialing its technology in a similar tie-up with Pizza Express over the last year but it said the Aurora deal was the beginning of a bigger push on to the high street that will see it team up with more stores throughout 2012. The PayPal inStore app is available for Android and Apple iOS (iPhone and iPad) devices.
Global analysts Gartner predict worldwide mobile payment transactions will grow dramatically from $105.9bn (£68bn) in 2011 to $171.5bn this year.
 Website | http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/30/p... |
Published 31 May 2012 by The Guardian.
Post Office - Credit union
Credit union and Post Office link-up could plug 'credit gap'.
Published 25 May 2012 by Press Association.
Post Office - Credit union
A consumer group has called for credit union services to be offered through Post Offices to provide a long-term alternative to High Street banks, especially for people on low incomes.
Consumer Focus said one in three people would be interested in joining a credit union, but most did not think there was one nearby. The move would help plug a "credit gap" for low income consumers who turn to high interest, short-term loans, such as payday loans, as they cannot access affordable credit through banks, it was argued.
Andy Burrows of Consumer Focus said: "The Government has suggested that a million people on low incomes could benefit from greater access to banking and affordable credit."
He continued: "Credit unions would only be one part of this picture but our research shows Post Office access would really allow credit unions to deliver on their potential.
"Credit unions could never afford a branch network in their own right so tying up with Post Offices is a logical step. Marrying credit unions and Post Offices creates a situation where everybody wins.
"Credit unions would benefit from greater access and awareness, customers would get more convenience and alternatives to high street banking, and it would also give a shot in the arm for the Post Office network."
Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers union, said: "Bringing credit unions and the Post Office together makes great business sense and would build on the strong trust of each institution. This new research reinforces the case for trusted banking services to be available in communities across the country.
"We think a Post Bank would meet these needs and be well placed to bring a comprehensive range of banking services to local businesses and customers in their communities.
"The Post Office network is an ideal retail outlet for banking services as the postmasters who run them are well trained business people with strong community ties.
"We believe that credit unions and a Post Bank could help to move vulnerable households away from dependence on loan sharks and payday loans which attract high interest, instead giving them access to regulated and trusted banking services. At the same time, such a link-up would secure jobs in the Post Office and help to maintain the country-wide Post Office network."
| Website | http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/05/24/credit-unio... |
Published 25 May 2012 by Press Association.
New Post Office Model
Two-thirds of customers over-charged at new wave of post offices
Published 11 May 2012 by The Telegraph.
New Post Office Model
Two-thirds of customers are being overcharged for sending simple letters at a new wave of local post offices, a postal watchdog has warned.
Consumer Focus found that new PO Locals are providing poor service, charge incorrectly for stamps and are seeking to limit cash withdrawals.
The Post Office is planning to replace one in five post offices with new PO Locals in nearby shops and garages from this summer.
The new branches will stay open for longer than conventional sub-post offices, and cost less to run.
However a Ëœmystery shopping study of the PO Locals, which have been so far opened at 105 locations across the country, painted a picture of poor customer service.
Consumer Focus found widespread evidence of inconsistent and often inaccurate product and pricing advice
Customers were sold incorrect second class postage for a non-urgent large flat A4 envelope, when they should have been charged 58p for a second class stamp.
Two-thirds of customers were advised to buy more expensive postage than they needed and five per cent were charged less than they should have been.
In other instances, most customers were sold special delivery stamps even though they were not asked if it was the most suitable and well priced product.
A significant number of customers found that the range of services they needed were not available at the PO Local branches.
A third of the customers in the survey also found that privacy in the branches was and 41 per cent said it was worse than in existing sub-post offices.
This survey also confirmed fears that the PO Locals, which do not have the security of existing sub-post offices, might run out of money.
Consumer Focus found some PO Locals were capping the cash or benefits a customer can withdraw, or were unable to make any cash payments
It added: This poses a potential risk for older and vulnerable customers, who rely on post offices to access their cash.
Consumer Focus called on the Post Office to overhaul staff training at the new PO Locals and be clearer about the limited services they can offer.
It also suggested that people should be able to pick up parcels from the PO Locals outside normal office hours.
Mike Connor, chief executive of Consumer Focus, said: We want Post Office Locals to work well. Our concern is that Post Office Limited will be missing a golden opportunity if it does not get the PO Local model right and we hope our findings will help them in this respect.
We dont want to see shortcomings weve picked up in pilot branches being replicated across two thousand PO Locals in the future. We do however want to see the advantages and benefits such as convenience and longer opening hours that our research has also identified.
Last night a Post Office spokesman said:Post Office Limited welcomes research that helps it further develop Local style branches for the benefit of its customers.
With the Local pilot ongoing, there are some improvements we can make but as the Report highlights, we are already addressing some of these issues.
The Local format remains an important part of a significant overall investment programme to sustain and modernise the Post Office network and to grow the business.
It is encouraging that Consumer Focus recognises that Network Transformation stands to deliver improvement and investment in the Post Office network.
| Website | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/925803... |
Published 11 May 2012 by The Telegraph.
Stamp Prices - The Effects
Opticians face effects of Price Rise.
Published 06 May 2012 by opticianonline.net.
Stamp Prices - The Effects
Practice reacts to stamp price increase
Independents are likely to be the biggest losers following big increases in postal prices this week, but RD McFarlane Opticians in Scotland was one step ahead.
It stood to save £1,400 by bulk-buying 9,500 second class stamps to send out reminder letters.
From May 1 the cost of a first class stamp rose from 46p to 60p (30 per cent), and second class from 36p to 50p (38 per cent).
Optometrist Richard Spruce said the group has three practices which meant a franking machine was not cost effective and he was not keen to outsource reminders because the practices would lose control.
He conceded that practices would end up having to absorb the extra costs of postage but took the opportunity to buy in bulk. The managing director of practice software company See20/20 estimated the full cost of reminder letters to be between 80p and £1.
Launching an online service for reminders, he said recall letters were the lifeline of independent practices.
| Website | http://www.opticianonline.net/Articles/2012/0... |
Published 06 May 2012 by opticianonline.net.
Royal Mail running scared ?
Royal Mail chief executive says rivals need tough conditions imposed.
Published 26 April 2012 by The Guardian.
Royal Mail running scared ?
Fadcode - How could this effect you ?
Royal Mail faces a "spiral of decline" unless extra conditions are imposed on competitors seeking to muscle in on the postal delivery market, the company's chief executive warned on Wednesday.
Moya Greene said unregulated competition poses a risk to the six-day-a-week universal service obligation that is a cornerstone of the Royal Mail's business. Greene spoke in the wake of a new trial launched this month by rival TNT Post UK, which is taking on the traditional postie by delivering direct to doorsteps in west London.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Communication Workers union in Bournemouth, Greene warned that competition for so-called end-to-end deliveries is an "immediate threat". She said: "I am fearful that competition, if it does not have conditions imposed, will soon begin a spiral of decline in Royal Mail that will be very difficult to staunch."
Royal Mail is concerned that TNT UK will cherry-pick the most profitable parts of the country, like London and other cities, thus reducing revenues that Royal Mail needs in order to fund deliveries to rural areas. Greene added that Royal Mail faced "hard years" ahead, because if it is unable to compete in profitable areas of the business, other parts would become more expensive to service.
A spokesman for TNT UK said: "There is independent research that has been concluded that where competition takes place in end-to-end delivery it has improved the overall performance of the universal service provider." The government is hoping to sell off all or part of Royal Mail next year or in 2014 and has backed next week's increase in stamp prices, which the Royal Mail says will make its business more financially robust.
Greene defended price rises - up from 46p to 60p for first class and 36p to 50p for second class - saying they would still be "incredible" value for money and half the cost of posting letters in France.
Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "TNT's end to end deliveries
are the obvious next step in postal competition, but we fear this could lead
to downgrading of services and jobs across the industry. We share many of
Royal Mail's concerns about how this will affect the universal service and
deliveries for everyone."
| Website | http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/25/roya... |
Published 26 April 2012 by The Guardian.
TNT Attracting Attention.
Royal Mail's lazy, postmen have had a monopoly long enough. Bring on TNT!
Published 23 April 2012 by The Telegraph.
TNT Attracting Attention.
The Telegraph - I blame Postman Pat: kind and cuddly, animal-loving and child-friendly. It gave everyone the impression that posties were the best public servants, a beloved feature of the neighbourhood.
Yeah, right. Viz magazine's Postman Plod (see above) is nearer the mark. Postmen (postwomen are no better) have got away with sloppy delivery and lazy attitudes for years now. Thank goodness that, as of today, TNT Post UK is challenging Royal Mail by unveiling its first major UK trial of delivering post in the west London area.
Until today, the Royal Mail posties have got away with the kind of work ethic that would get them fired within minutes in the private sector. UK residents have to wait until midday for their post; post office hours are so unfriendly that only the unemployed can pick up a delivery before it is sent back to sender. Walk down a street in west London as I do daily, and you'll catch sight of the postman pushing his red trolley lackadaisically with one hand, while he is chitchatting away on his mobile, and even (in the case of one postwoman) enjoying a leisurely cigarette. Sometimes they stop off to deliver a "sorry you were out" card, often while you're still in.
| Website | http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/cristinaodo... |
Published 23 April 2012 by The Telegraph.
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