Forming a co-op?

[britwrit]

Admidst all the blather I heard last week about being sold off, one thing actually struck me as interesting. Some MP - I can't remember who - said that in the future, posties will be able to form their own co-ops to deliver the mail in their area.

That got me thinking. Well, why can't we do it now? Is it against our contracts? Why can't a group of mail carriers decide that they'll get contracts delivering, say, leaflets to SW7 and work themselves up from there?

I'm just idily speculating here. Has this been done before?

[TeeferTiger]

I know there are companies who deliver to just specific areas. Doesn't a council in the North East use an independant carrier to deliver all their local mail?

I'm sure I read something about it...

[Wessex]

Nothing to stop ex -posties setting up their own mini postal companies.They could then do a mutual agreement along the lines of a postal union where they deliver their neighbour co-op s mail and vice versa.Could catch on if lots of us get vr.Dont think the regulator would like it though.The possibilities are endless for a spar or mace type postal system !

[POSTMAN]

Any organisation or individual can apply to Postcomm for a licence to collect and deliver mail, although a licence is not required in all cases. Our licensing framework aims to balance our responsibility to protect users’ interests with the need to encourage small and medium sized operators into the market.

Because of its unique position in the market, Royal Mail's licence includes provisions that do not apply to other operators.

Get stuck in...
http://www.psc.gov.uk/postallicencesandoperators" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[britwrit]

Wow. This is great. Thanks.

I've only just started reading but this sounds interesting. A mere £50 and I'm well on my way to a postal empire...