very important please read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sadlersbitch]

Death of the morning post for 60pc of Britain
By SEAN POULTER - More by this author »

Last updated at 09:18am on 11th August 2007

Comments (28)

Almost two-thirds of homes and businesses will be condemned to afternoon deliveries under fiercely contentious Royal Mail plans.


The proposal, hidden away in a consultation paper, signals yet another downgrading of a once first-class postal service.


It will infuriate consumer groups and small firms who see morning deliveries as their lifeblood.

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The Post Office has been accused of 'attempting to charge first class prices while delivering a second class service'


Currently, 94.4 per cent of homes and businesses receive their mail before noon, with deliveries as early as 7am for many.


Under the new plan, no one would receive anything before 10.30am, while 60 per cent would have to wait until after midday.


The industry regulator Postcomm has indicated it supports the move, but there is still time for the public to make its voice heard before the consultation ends on August 28.


Royal Mail says the change, bizarrely named "Delivery Best Practice", is driven by a European directive that will limit heavy lorries, including mail trucks, to 56mph. It claims this will slow down deliveries to sorting offices.

However, while the company is planning to phase in the changes before the Christmas rush, the directive does not come into force until January.


The Communication Workers Union says it is all part of a savaging of services that will cost 40,000 jobs.


It would certainly leave the service looking a sorry shadow of what it once was. In 1908 the Royal Mail made 12 deliveries a day in central London, starting at 7am and running through to 9pm.


More recent reductions in service include the scrapping of the daily second delivery in 2004, cuts in the number of collections from post boxes, and the bringing forward of last-collection times at many boxes.


Royal Mail is under no legal obligation to ensure deliveries are made before noon even though research shows the overwhelming majority of consumers values such a target.


The consultation document says the plan would be to "shift the peak in residential deliveries between 10.30am and 2pm".


An accompanying graph shows there will be no deliveries before 10.30am. Ten per cent would be delivered by 11am, a further 10 per cent by 11.30am and a further 20 per cent by noon. The graph suggests the rest would arrive by 2.15pm.

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Under the propsal 60 per cent of home would not get a delivery until the afternoon


Many of those receiving post in the last wave could find themselves unable to reply overnight because they have already missed the last collection from their post box, many thousands of which have had their final pick-up times brought forward to before noon.


The British Chambers of Commerce condemned the proposals and accused Royal Mail of attempting to charge first class prices while delivering a second class service.


Senior policy adviser Narinder Gill said: "A 2pm delivery time is no use to businesses, especially those whose office closes at 5pm. A three-hour window is not sufficient to respond to urgent correspondence."

She said the company should cut its prices if it plans to offer a poorer service.


Royal Mail claims that maintaining the current scale of deliveries will cost £280million by 2009/10 and require an increase in the cost of stamps to pay for it.


Apparently, it would have to spend extra money on flying mail around the country to escape the speed restrictions on lorries.


The consumer body, Postwatch, is not convinced that this is the case.


A spokesman said: "Our own research shows the public value daily deliveries before 12. The Royal Mail has made various claims about the cost of maintaining the current system, but we would like to see the figures to back this up."

Postcomm's consultation document makes clear the changes "would be likely to meet widespread opposition".


But it believes that maintaining the current level of service would be too expensive and hamstring the company's efforts to modernise.


"The costs of ensuring that all deliveries are no later than midday would be disproportionate to the level of customer need for this service at this time," says the regulator.


Royal Mail and the CWU are currently locked in a dispute over pay and conditions and have agreed not to give any briefings on working practices during their talks.

• Industrial action by postal workers over the last six weeks has created a backlog of 80million items.

This means the Royal Mail is set to miss all its delivery targets and could be fined up to £350million.

PostWatch has listed some of the consequences of the problem:

- Hospital appointment letters lost
- House sales held up
- Delays in orders for small businesses
- Credit cards and PINs arriving together
- Charges for late credit card payments
- Birthday cards and gifts delayed or lost
- Concert and theatre tickets arriving after the event

[sadlersbitch]

WITH REGARDS TO THE ABOVE POST,
ALL OF YOU GET ON POSTCOMMS WEBSITE AND JOIN THE CONSULTATION PROCESS!
LETS MAKE THIS THE BIGGEST RESPONCE THEY HAVE HAD!
THESE PROPOSALS WILL SIGNAL THE END FOR MANY OF US!
SO GET OFFC YOUR ARSESA AND DO SOMETHING
THE LINK IS_ http://www.psc.gov.uk/policy-and-consul ... times.html

[doveston]

the link is dead

[sadlersbitch]

just go to the postcomm site its under consultations

[JAMESMARSH1980]

http://www.psc.gov.uk/policy-and-consul ... /2007.html

[The Sarge]

You have to delete the 'www.royalmailchat' bit from the link. Then it will work.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

WITH REGARDS TO THE ABOVE POST,
ALL OF YOU GET ON POSTCOMMS WEBSITE AND JOIN THE CONSULTATION PROCESS!
LETS MAKE THIS THE BIGGEST RESPONCE THEY HAVE HAD!
THESE PROPOSALS WILL SIGNAL THE END FOR MANY OF US!
SO GET OFFC YOUR ARSESA AND DO SOMETHING
THE LINK IS_ http://www.psc.gov.uk/policy-and-consul ... times.html

Link amended it will work

[DGP1]

Link amended it will work

The government/postconn won't listen because it's all about MONEY. I'd better not continue otherwise I'll get into trouble

[jafferpants]

IF YOU NEED ANY PROOF THAT THIS JOB IS RUN BY f***ing MADMEN YOU NOW HAVE IT. LOOK IN THIS MONTHS COURIER AND YOU WILL SEE AN ARTICLE WARNING YOU ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE SUN. SO WHATS RMs ANSWER START YOU LATER SO AS YOU WILL BE OUT IN THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY!!, AND RMs ADVICE- PLAN YOUR WALK SO AS YOU WALK ROUND IN THE SHADE. f***ing PRICELESS. THIER ALL MAD I TELL YOU MAD.

[bristolchris]

IF YOU NEED ANY PROOF THAT THIS JOB IS RUN BY f***ing MADMEN YOU NOW HAVE IT. LOOK IN THIS MONTHS COURIER AND YOU WILL SEE AN ARTICLE WARNING YOU ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE SUN. SO WHATS RMs ANSWER START YOU LATER SO AS YOU WILL BE OUT IN THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY!!, AND RMs ADVICE- PLAN YOUR WALK SO AS YOU WALK ROUND IN THE SHADE. f***ing PRICELESS. THIER ALL MAD I TELL YOU MAD.

It would indicate a lack of reasoned thought I grant you or put in a similar fashion what a load of To*****`s. But its worth keeping the article and asking your DOM to do a new `Risk Assessment`with these guidelines, please let us know whether he concurs with them?

[shelanda]

mad dogs and englishmen spring to mind.

[POSTMAN]

IF YOU NEED ANY PROOF THAT THIS JOB IS RUN BY f***ing MADMEN YOU NOW HAVE IT. LOOK IN THIS MONTHS COURIER AND YOU WILL SEE AN ARTICLE WARNING YOU ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE SUN. SO WHATS RMs ANSWER START YOU LATER SO AS YOU WILL BE OUT IN THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY!!, AND RMs ADVICE- PLAN YOUR WALK SO AS YOU WALK ROUND IN THE SHADE. f***ing PRICELESS. THIER ALL MAD I TELL YOU MAD.

It would indicate a lack of reasoned thought I grant you or put in a similar fashion what a load of To*****`s. But its worth keeping the article and asking your DOM to do a new `Risk Assessment`with these guidelines, please let us know whether he concurs with them?

That's good for me,thank you Courier,aint recieved mine yet tho.
Gonna keep this piece of s**t,as some of the 5 i do have flats (in the shade) so seems i'll juggle them about and then,oops,won't be able to complete the walk,that's a f***ing shame aint it.
Own goal comes to mind here

[F0zziebear]

PostWatch has listed some of the consequences of the problem:

- Hospital appointment letters lost
Why would they get lost any more than today?

- House sales held up
Nonsense. Mail will arrive the following day, ok during the day. Early mail will get there if the company pays for an extra service

- Delays in orders for small businesses
This does not make sense, many orders are done over the phone or via the internet

- Credit cards and PINs arriving together
Banks would send it out, and then the pin is sent out, why would they now arrive at the same time? The gap would be the same
- Charges for late credit card payments
Next day arrival is next day arrival
- Birthday cards and gifts delayed or lost
Why would they get lost? Gifts would arrive the next day?

- Concert and theatre tickets arriving after the event
Why would they arrive after the event?

Sorry to argue but all of these arguement do not make sense. People said that with SDD people wouldn't get their post until the afternoon, yet I see people getting their mail between 7:30-8:00 around where I live. This erosion of the service doesn't add up either. Larger business mail volume at DO level goes out on vans, with many getting their mail before 10am anyway, which does not impact on the business.

RM would not put a consultation paper together unless they could back up their claims with market research. They do exstensive research with customers. It ios a consultation paper, which means consult and get feedback. This is not RM saying this exactly what we will do.

RM management would love to urn a successdul business with high revenues and where they can employ loads more people etc... Times are tough, the industry and medium of post has changed. People need to accept this. The internet has brough more parcels etc....The company is currently too large to be able to do this, like BT was, like British Gas was etc...

Open ytour eyes please!

[Loyalblue]

WITH REGARDS TO THE ABOVE POST,
ALL OF YOU GET ON POSTCOMMS WEBSITE AND JOIN THE CONSULTATION PROCESS!
LETS MAKE THIS THE BIGGEST RESPONCE THEY HAVE HAD!
THESE PROPOSALS WILL SIGNAL THE END FOR MANY OF US!
SO GET OFFC YOUR ARSESA AND DO SOMETHING
THE LINK IS_ http://www.psc.gov.uk/policy-and-consul ... times.html

Link amended it will work

Yes it works OK
Done the deed.

[Big Daz]

Looking at the survey/consultation it seems that Mondays are the most IMPORTANT day for collection and delivery of mail and Saturdays are the LEAST important day for collection and delivery of mail.


The CWU needs to get over its hang up of job losses meaning less members and get us on Monday to Friday with a skelton service provided on saturdays paid at SA rate!