Unauthorised and Illegal Use of Private Cars on Delivery

[fishtank]

21 March 2011
LTB 263/11 - Unauthorised and Illegal Use of Private Cars on Delivery - Warning

No. 263/11
Ref: V1
Date: 21 March 2011



To: All Postal Branches


Dear Colleagues


Unauthorised and Illegal Use of Private Cars on Delivery - Warning
It has been brought to the attention of the CWU/HQ Health, Safety & Environment Department that following a number of Health and Safety Inspections, carried out by CWU Area Safety Representatives, in various parts of the country, significant numbers of delivery staff were found to be using their private cars on delivery unauthorised and illegally. We would like to thank those ASRs who have been carrying out detailed investigations and vigorously pursuing a resolution of this serious matter. The matter has also been raised with Royal Mail Letters HQ.

What seems to be common in many cases is that CWU members do not realise the seriousness of the situation they are placing themselves in and some Delivery Office Managers treat the issue with an apparent blasé attitude and 'turn a blind eye' to staff casually using their private cars. The findings of the reports received from ASRs in some cases are frankly appalling. If these reports were put to the Police, heads would roll at a senior level and front line staff would face prosecution.

It is illegal to drive a vehicle without appropriate insurance. From 2011 it will also be illegal to keep a vehicle without appropriate insurance unless it is declared as 'off road'. Uninsured drivers injure 23,000 people and kill 160 each year with a total cost to honest motorists of £500 million paid for through their insurance premiums. Under the new updated law introduced earlier this year uninsured vehicles can be clamped, seized and disposed of. The Registered keeper of the uninsured vehicle can face a prosecution with a maximum fine of £1000.

The CWU/HQ Health, Safety & Environment Department has been made aware of 4 separate cases of Postmen who have in recent times been stopped by the Police whilst using their private car on delivery and had subsequently been prosecuted and had their car seized and impounded whilst out on their delivery round. They all received 6 penalty points on their Drivers License, a £200 Fixed Penalty Fine for No Commercial/Business Use Insurance, a £105 Recovery/Tow Away Fee plus £15 per day secure storage charges.

Royal Mail Managers need to understand that the Police and DVLA are getting fed up with the number of Cars on the road without Insurance and are clamping down. Managers in situations like the ones reported to us can also be charged and prosecuted for permitting the use of a vehicle without insurance, permitting use of a vehicle while in a dangerous condition if it doesn't have an MOT and is faulty and the Manager never checked it and could possibly be charged with aiding and abetting a person to drive without adequate motor insurance etc. Sooner or later this is going to happen.
An example of one case is as follows:-

An Essex Postman was using his private car on delivery and was subsequently stopped in an Essex Police road safety spot check. Although he thought he was an authorised user and believed he was covered the Police were not happy with his motor insurance cover and so they seized and impounded his car. He got it his car back some time later after upgrading his motor insurance to include 'business use' at a cost of a further £70 before the car was released by the Police. The Postman paid a £200 Fixed Penalty Fine and also got 6 points put on his Driver's Licence. He had to pay the cost of kerbside recovery of £105 and the cost of secure storage at £15 a day. He faces a substantial increased premium when he renews his Insurance Policy as a result of the no insurance conviction and penalty points on his licence.

All Postman or Woman need to realise that the use of the Royal Mail business insurance cover is only effective if an employee has completed the declaration form and received authorisation from Royal Mail. Individuals will first have to send the appropriate letter, provided by Royal Mail to their insurers and received clearance from their Insurers (some Insurance Companies may not allow it. They do not all have the same attitude towards 'double indemnity' or dual cover arrangements). Following this, individuals will need to have their appropriate documents checked by Management, had the vehicle checked for road worthiness by Management and then received authorisation to use the vehicle by the Delivery Office Manager, preferably in writing.

If an individual has not purchased Commercial/Business Use Insurance specifically for Mail Delivery work and has not gone through the proper Royal Mail authorisation process - THEY ARE UNISURED if they use their private car on delivery. In the above mentioned Essex case the individual thought he was authorised but the process was incomplete.

Consequently Postmen and Women who have not received completed authorisation, should not use private cars on Royal Mail business unless their own insurance policies cover business use - most do not unless this has been specifically requested, informing their own Motor Insurer what they will be using the Car for, paying the additional premium and receiving confirmation in writing and having it specified on the Motor Insurance Certificate. Driving without insurance is a very serious matter that could lead to prosecution, a heavy fine, points on the individual's driving licence and a possible driving ban in some cases.

An additional 'sting in the tail' is that once convicted of driving without or with inadequate Motor Insurance the individual will face a substantial increased cost of Motor Insurance when the Policy comes up for renewal. Most insurers will send the premiums through the roof if you have serious motoring convictions, such as driving uninsured recorded against you. Some companies will not insure you at all.

Another risk to individuals with inadequate Motor Insurance is the significant personal liabilities, should the individual Postman or Woman be involved in a Road Traffic Accident. If an individual is unfortunate enough to be involved in a collision and they are held to be at fault then they will be responsible for the total cost of all personal injury and property losses out of their own pocket. For example if their own Car is written off and another car involved in the accident is also written off with the other driver and passengers injured then depending on the value of the cars involved and the extent of the injuries to the third party driver and passengers, the individual Postman or Woman could be facing a bill for tens of thousands of pounds or even hundreds of thousands of pounds. In these cases the 'Motor Insurers' Bureau' will settle the other party's claim and then take action against the 'at fault' driver to recover all the costs. Additionally, Royal Mail Managers should be aware that if the individual can't pay up then the third party lawyers will sue Royal Mail as was recently proved in a Parcelforce case.

Postmen and Women who do get Royal Mail authorisation and decide to rely on the cover provided by the Business, should realise that it is for Third Party cover only. This means that Royal Mail's insurance will not meet the cost of any damage to the Postmen and Women's vehicles even if another road user causes an accident. If the Postman or woman causes, or are deemed to have caused the accident then their vehicle will not be covered for the cost of the repairs. Royal Mail will only cover the cost of repairs to the third party (even if the Postman or Woman's private policy is fully comprehensive). Therefore if a Postman has a car worth say £10,000 and it is written off in an accident they could lose the £10,000 value in total. Where individuals have extended their private insurance policy to include business use their insurer should handle the claim for damage to their own vehicle.

Remember, driving without motor insurance is illegal and is a criminal offence. Hundreds of thousands of people are convicted every year for taking to the road without a valid insurance policy. The police, DVLA, Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) and the insurance industry are redoubling efforts, working together on behalf of lawful motorists to remove uninsured drivers from our roads. Police Traffic Officers are out to target drivers through roadside checks in various locations, including the minor roads. The Police vehicles now have ANPR technology fitted (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) that can actually check up to 3,000 vehicles an hour against the Motor Insurance Database (MID). The Police can stop and seize vehicles they reasonably believe to be uninsured or are being driven without proper adequate insurance. The driver will have the car seized on the spot and could face a fine of £5,000 if the case goes to court or a £200 Fixed Penalty if offered and six penalty points.

The Motor Insurance Database (MID) is the central database of motor insurance in the UK. It holds the insurance records of over 34 million vehicles and is used by the police and DVLA to enforce the law. Members can check their own vehicle is correctly recorded on the MID by going to http://www.askmid.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Royal Mail in its policy states that it is concerned that both it and its employees do not offend against the requirement to have proper Motor Insurance.

Under the Royal Mail/CWU 'Business Transformation 2010 and Beyond National Agreement - All delivery revisions will be planned on the basis of no use of private cars. Private cars on delivery will cease upon the deployment of a New Delivery Methods revision in a unit.

We trust this information will be helpful and can be used to concentrate people's minds and remind members of the serious considerations that need to be made before they decide to use their private car on delivery, in the time left before it is banned as part of a New Delivery Methods Revision. The Union does not support the use of private cars on delivery would advise members against it for many good reasons, not least of all that which is explained above.

Stay legal, Stay Insured & Stay Safe

See attached copy of Royal Mail Policy on Private Cars on Delivery

Yours Sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health & Safety Officer

[red1968]

Does it included managers who use thier own cars to deliver mail..

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Does it included managers who use thier own cars to deliver mail..

Yes - there is no difference what you job is when the law is involved. If Moya was delivering mail and had not follwed the correct procedure and lacked correct insurance she would get the same treatment.

[fishtank]

If these reports were put to the Police, heads would roll at a senior level and front line staff would face prosecution.

So.....

[POSTMAN]

Pile of f***ing tosh you fuckwits!
What a joke,what are the reps doing,bit like my place,f**k all...
http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... =1&t=19411" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[POSTMAN]

Also,RM don't even know...

This process is managed locally across Royal Mail and there is no central listing of the
Delivery Offices where employees have voluntarily chosen to use their own vehicle. To
compile this information would require us to contact each individual Delivery Office in the
United Kingdom in order to confirm the local arrangements.

Due to the number of Delivery Offices in the UK, this activity would significantly exceed the
appropriate cost limit set out under section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/5 ... I.pdf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[viking]

Does it also apply to our union rep using HIS car to do his overtime, the same rep who tells everyone else not to help out the managers by doing overtime for them then claims as much as he can for himself

[andy2007]

It applies to EVERYONE who uses their car for anything related to their job!

[spoodoo]

car users, come in early dafties ,take households home folks,,,,,,youve all ruined the job.

[philsdeals19]

car users, come in early dafties ,take households home folks,,,,,,youve all ruined the job.

............Comment deleted by Mod - Read the rules and yes IMHO that was breaking them.

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