Post Office loses benefit contract

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 31109.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Subpostmasters today expressed "bitter disappointment" over a Government decision to move a lucrative contract for processing benefit cheques from the Post Office.

Citibank will provide a new service from 2012, using Paypoint outlets, in a contract worth around £20 million a year, affecting more than 250,000 people.

Payments by cheque will be phased out after ministers said there had been a "dramatic" fall in their use over the past few years, with less than 2% of welfare payments now made by cheque.

It costs the taxpayer around £30 million to process cheque payments and they were easily open to fraud, said the Government.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said: "This new contract represents value for money for the taxpayer. The facts are payment by cheque is now too costly and too open to abuse and we want our payment system to be as cost-effective as possible.

"We will make sure that everyone who receives their payments by cheque has all the help they need for the changeover and we can assist in choosing another method of payment that better suits their needs."

The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) said the decision had raised fears among subpostmasters on the future of other benefits payment services such as the Post Office Card Account (POCA), used by almost four million customers every week.

General secretary George Thomson said: "This is a bitterly disappointing decision from the Government. Benefits cheque customers rely on their local post office to provide this important service, with subpostmasters and trained Post Office staff providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable customers each week.

"Many of these customers will be unwilling or unable to travel to a Paypoint outlet such as an off-licence or garage forecourt to claim their weekly pension or benefit allowance."

"Furthermore, we are unconvinced that Paypoint will be able to deliver this important and complex service. The company hasn't consulted with its agents on their ability or willingness to provide the service. Instead Paypoint continues to force a race to the bottom, making below-cost bids for contracts by driving down rates paid to their agents ever further.

"If we are to maintain a network of 12,000 Post Office outlets, subpostmasters need significant volumes of work in order to survive, including regular repeat transactions such as benefits payments. Ministers have to deliver new government work to post offices, not more broken promises."

The federation said the Government's plans to privatise Royal Mail made it imperative that post offices were given more work.

"I warn the Government that neither subpostmasters nor Post Office customers will tolerate any further moves to withdraw vital services from our counters, including the POCA."

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Citibank - What one of the major causes of the sub prime mortage mess in the US. Which lead to the crisis we now face. A bit mad rewarding the company that caused people to be out of work, by giving them the contract to pay them.

[Stormproof]

Is there any reason to go in the post office anymore? I thought the government wanted to keep PO's, they have a funny way of showing it.

[fishtank]

Government betrays Post Office by cutting contract, says CWU

http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/governm ... s-cwu.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

3rd March 2011

The government's u-turn on channelling business through the Post Office spells disaster for the future of the post office network and is a "betrayal of Britain's most vulnerable", says the Communication Workers Union.

The Department for Work and Pensions has today (Thursday) announced that the government is taking the contract for benefit payments away from the Post Office and giving it to private company PayPoint. The contract was worth £15 million a year to the Post Office and brought vital footfall into the network. The government promised to make the Post Office the "front office for government" in November, but is now cutting even existing services.

Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: "This is a cut too far. Taking government business away from the Post Office on top of privatising Royal Mail and taking that business away will cause the biggest closure programme we've ever seen. What they take away in revenue, the government will either have to give back through subsidy or promote mass closures.

"The government can't be trusted with our public services, our post offices or the care of the most vulnerable. This cabinet of millionaires has no idea what it's like running a small business where the loss of one or two revenue streams can make the difference between profit and loss. Post offices are a lifeline to many communities across the country.

"The government has lied to voters about safeguarding the post office network. Instead of increasing work they're taking it away. Instead of promoting trusted government-owned brands which are accessible to everyone, they've chosen a private company which many vulnerable people on benefits will not be able to access. It's a betrayal of Britain's most vulnerable and a despicable act of vandalism on our post office network."

On the 9th November 2010, Minister for Postal Affairs Ed Davey said in a Ministerial Statement that the government would find: "New opportunities for Post Office as the 'Front Office for Government', including examples of new pilots the Post Office is conducting in conjunction with Government Departments and closer working with local authorities."

The Postal Services Bill (which is currently in the House of Lords) proposes to split the Post Office away from Royal Mail and provides no inter-business agreement to guarantee work and revenue for the Post Office. This is worth a third of the Post Office's income.

[Straight4ward]

Surely this can't be true?

Why only the other day Lynne Featherstone, Lib-Dem MP for Hornsey & Wood Green was telling us of the fantastic plans our wonderful coalition government had ensuring the survival of the Post Office:

Enter the Coalition last May. The Coalition government’s plans for the Post Office are excellent – and will save the Post Office and Royal Mail. Hurrah! Indeed – there are exciting plans afoot for new sorts of arrangements for post offices – working with local councils and others.

In the new model – the Coalition wants to see the Post Office expand its financial services and become a real front office for local and Government business. There are a lot of pilot projects on the table and lots of new things being developed. The Coalition believes that the Post Office could do more of the verifying of documents for the pension service, offer an end- to-end Criminal Records Bureau application service. Maybe it could support JobCentre Plus and the work on National Insurance application processes. All good stuff!

There's bollocks and then there's double bollocks.

[DGP1]

Is anyone really surprised, there'll be none left in a few years................and the Limp Dems will have to take a lot of the blame.

[billyhayes]

We counters folk are also running a thread here;

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 19&t=32495" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pop over, do.