Royal Mail criticised for competition focus

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f2867cd4-fc50 ... ck_check=1

By John Willman, Business Editor

Published: March 28 2008 02:36 | Last updated: March 28 2008 02:36

Royal Mail was spending too much time trying to keep competitors out of the postal market and not enough on meeting the needs of users, the postal regulator warned on Thursday.

Postcomm said Royal Mail’s performance in rising to meet the challenges of competition had been disappointing. The former monopoly’s recent focus had been on heading off competition, rather than adapting to compete with new forms of communication such as e-mail and messaging.

The comments came in the regulator’s submission to a government inquiry into the impact of competition on the requirement for a daily collection of post and delivery to every home and business.

Royal Mail reacted angrily to the accusations, saying it was operating in the most competitive postal market in Europe, with one in five letters now handled by private sector operators.

It said competitors had unfair advantages in the market that were undermining its ability to finance the delivery of post to the country’s 28m addresses six days a week.

“The issue is how to maintain the universal service when it’s now loss-making,â€

[DGP1]

FFS take away RM VAT exemption on the sole proviso that every other mail provider sets up an end to end service within a year and then we'll see who really is in it for the money.

[pinstripe]

What would happen if Tesco was forced to sell Sainsbury's and Morrisons products along side their own, at a reduced rate, to even out the playing field? Then to listen to Sainsbury's moaning that they're not making enough money, so Tesco should reduce the amount of items they stock! It wouldn't happen. The competition (ha bloody ha) are only interested in their profits, why should we care that they want to make more cash off our backs. They should take the advice of the Telegraph / Daily Mail readers, if they don't like it, get another job.

[plodsie]

Oh F+*k it, let's just give up. We are peeing in the wind if we think we have any chance with these fly-by-nights. We should tell PostComm to shove their USO where the sun don't shine, If we are so bad, give it to TNT or Business Post. In 6 years these parasites have not even attempted an end to end. Yes we are more concerned with blocking competition because that is what Businesses do for feck sakes. PostCon's meddling, has made Britain's one great postal service a joke.

[Darren Bent]

What happens if we suddenly refuse to provide USO ?

If we get big fine, and refuse to pay.

Can postcomm do anything ?

Just asking.

[Night Tonic]

It has - today. Go look at all the Google headlines.

[F0zziebear]

RM have consistently stifled competition in the last 7 years. Ask anyone who has worked in the central of RM towers and they will confirm this (unofficially). The DSA prices are designed to be cheap enough to only make DSA make sense and not provide and E2E service.
RM has made it very difficult for competitors to gain access to mail centres, for exmaple giving them very small windows in which to get the mail in.
Rm re-aligned it's Sales force to look at the top100 customers and specifically downgraded its service to small and medium customers.

From a commercial point of view RM has actually done some fantastic things. Yes they have lost business, but that's what Postcomm are there to ensure. This has happened and Crozier and Leighton knew they needed to lose approx. 20% of total volumes. This is hsare disproportionately between business mail (over 40%) and social mail, very small fractions.

The USO is one the great UK traditions, which could be under threat. At the moment this matter is preventing many of the private companies from competing E2E across the country Why? RM have introduced zonal pricing. They take your mailing profile and if it is rurally based they will charge far more to deliver it than if you gave them urban mail to deliver. That is not a USO service, but a pricing scheme based on the true costs of mail.

Now as a postie you may criticise your pay masters in many a different way. However, I think you should take off your caps and bow low and be humble for their ability to have stemmed the tidal flow of competition. I am confident that it could have been much worse than it is at the moment.

I shall await the mass of indignation in response

[BB brother]

Thought we got knocked back on Zonal Pricing !


Not trying to undermine your argument,couldnt agree more actually !

Just wish the board would keep there sights on the competion more and on us less .

CMA.....welcome to the Jungle lol

.

[F0zziebear]

This zonal pricing applied to DSA (Mailsort), but not to residential mail (social)