Small firms bemoan Royal Mail charges

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.launchlab.co.uk/article/Star ... harges/402

Small businesses are protesting at Royal Mail-imposed price rises for letter and parcel collections and the decline of Post Office branches in Britain.

The facts:

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) says Royal Mail is pushing up prices for collecting post from small businesses but at the same time reducing the UK’s stock of Post Office branches by 2,500 as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

Until April 2008, small businesses could opt to pay £280 a year for morning collections. Now there is a standard collection priced at £450. Businesses needing post to be collected at a specific time must pay a further annual fee of £750 for the privilege.

The Post Office is selecting branches for closure using the government's ‘National Access Criteria', which stipulates that 95% of a postcode district's population is within six miles of a branch.

They said:

John Foley of Kent-based Britsales Business Supplies, who spends and £12,000 per month on postal costs in addition to the collection charge, said: "The alternative to paying these elevated prices is to use the branch that is now nearest to us, which is the best part of two miles away.

“This is an additional cost when I can least afford it. Royal Mail has small businesses over a barrel. We can cope, but I don't want us to just cope, I want us to be able to grow the business, and these charges, imposed suddenly like this, don't help."

We say:

Small businesses are feeling the pinch with costs rising across the board. Transport, utilities and even food prices are going up while trading conditions are as bad as any time since the dotcom bust.

It’s an even more bitter blow giving dropping levels of service from organisations such as Royal Mail.

[trythat]

Isn't this what they want? For us to make a profit and come out of state ownership, as usual, British business what to make a profit, charge as much as they can, and then get any service for nothing. They should know better!