How can RM compete when it has a USO to comply with?

Spedley · Post by **Spedley** » 11 Oct 2018, 21:34

If you comply with the USO you don't have to pay VAT and so RM get 20% more money than the equivalent item from a courier.

Post by **Murdoch** » 12 Oct 2018, 11:24

There are many areas where the USO hemorrhages money, the rural situation especially is far too much of a burden on RM for us to remain competitive.

Traveling 6 minutes down a farm track to deliver a piece of junk mail is a crazily inefficient business practice.

Similarly, traveling up and down farm tracks with signed for parcels when people aren't at home, only to return a few days later with a redelivery.

I don't see how the USO for rural areas can be preserved for much longer, it requires significant changes, probably a 3 days service (or priority mail service), or the absolute insistence on road end secure boxes.

If I were Royal Mail, I'd go into partnership with a manufacturer of secure lock boxes. That could also be used as a safeplace even for Signed for items. They need to start thinking creatively and compete on a technological level too, else the likes of Amazon are gonna roll out their own systems that will destroy our business.

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 12 Oct 2018, 15:00

Given that in some instances you need to post a letter by 9 am for it to go first class, the USO is already being downgraded.

Post by **Navalron** » 12 Oct 2018, 21:49

RM deliver over 50% of all parcels posted in Britain. If you can't even send YOUR personal parcels by the company that employs you then it's a sad state of affairs. The reason that RM are a bit more expensive is due to paying half decent salaries, sick pay, shift allowance ect ect. Go try working as a self employed driver at YODEL or some other cowboy delivery company and you will be self employed. Even the few staff that they do employ are on £8.16 per hour with a 81l shift allowance between 10pm to 6am. Most of the other companies are EXACTLY the same. That's why you SHOULD send through RM even though a slightly more expensive service.

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 13 Oct 2018, 14:00

not only the USO obligation to deliver to every house but more importantly the obligation to accept other companies mail collections and deliver them at a fraction of the profit with these other companies raking it in by taking the low cost part of the delivery process and dumping it on RMs doorstep to actually deliver it. If RM could refuse to accept this mail im sure they would as TNT etc would soon be out of the collections market if they actually had to deliver it themselves too.

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 15 Oct 2018, 20:50

Postie45 wrote:not only the USO obligation to deliver to every house but more importantly the obligation to accept other companies mail collections and deliver them at a fraction of the profit with these other companies raking it in by taking the low cost part of the delivery process and dumping it on RMs doorstep to actually deliver it. If RM could refuse to accept this mail im sure they would as TNT etc would soon be out of the collections market if they actually had to deliver it themselves too.

If the UK eventually leaves the EU we should be able to cancel the DSA, remove ourselves from EU anti-competitive regulations, & reduce our prices by a significant percentage. It is highly likely though that the Brexit process will either be cancelled or at the very least postponed until there is a UK government with a majority and a mandate to get the job done.

Post by **wacko74** » 16 Oct 2018, 04:32

So our current obligation to handle DSA (at a loss) is due to EU anti-competition regs and nothing to do with the USO ?

I didn't realise that.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 16 Oct 2018, 11:09

If the UK eventually leaves the EU we should be able to cancel the DSA, remove ourselves from EU anti-competitive regulations, & reduce our prices by a significant percentage.

All EU directives that do not include an opt out clause are written into UK law. It would require a change in UK legislation to affect the changes you propose.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 16 Oct 2018, 16:43

wacko74 wrote:So our current obligation to handle DSA (at a loss) is due to EU anti-competition regs and nothing to do with the USO ?

I didn't realise that.

Celgar wrote: If the UK eventually leaves the EU we should be able to cancel the DSA, remove ourselves from EU anti-competitive regulations, & reduce our prices by a significant percentage. It is highly likely though that the Brexit process will either be cancelled or at the very least postponed until there is a UK government with a majority and a mandate to get the job done.

They won't be able to cancel the DSA even when we leave the EU. The legislation that needs to change or be repeal is UK law. Unless of course Corbyn becomes PM and Nationalises us and de-liberates the market.

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 16 Oct 2018, 17:03

Just because something is enshrined into UK statutes doesn't mean they cannot be changed, altered, or dropped entirely. This is why some MPs get their knickers in a twist and say our government will sell us all out if we left the EU. It's unlikely they would do something really bad such as drop the minimum wage etc. Some EU regulation implemented over years has specifically favoured other member countries over our own though or has just been damaging so these could be amended or dropped. A notable recent regulation would be the GDPR which appears to have given the RM a real kicking.

toomuchcoke · Post by **toomuchcoke** » 16 Oct 2018, 17:51

Murdoch wrote:If I were Royal Mail, I'd go into partnership with a manufacturer of secure lock boxes. That could also be used as a safeplace even for Signed for items. They need to start thinking creatively and compete on a technological level too, else the likes of Amazon are gonna roll out their own systems that will destroy our business.

Given the saving in time, fuel and van repairs it might even be worth the Royal Mail paying for the boxes and their installation! Also something like the Amazon lockers could be installed at RM sites meaning that people could get their parcels whenever they wanted rather than during the restricted hours of opening for enquiry offices.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 17 Oct 2018, 10:32

Just because something is enshrined into UK statutes doesn't mean they cannot be changed, altered, or dropped entirely.

That's a different question and nothing to do with Brexit.
You're asking if a Tory government will change legislation to re-instate a monopoly for Royal Mail. It's really a question that doesn't need answering.

2Shedz · Post by **2Shedz** » 17 Oct 2018, 12:06

One would have thought if RM can make a profit of £697m then they obviously
have no problem competing and complying with the USO at all..

Smiffy

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 17 Oct 2018, 15:14

2Shedz wrote:One would have thought if RM can make a profit of £697m then they obviously
have no problem competing and complying with the USO at all..

Smiffy

How much of that profit is made in Europe?

Post by **wacko74** » 17 Oct 2018, 18:42

2Shedz wrote:One would have thought if RM can make a profit of £697m then they obviously
have no problem competing and complying with the USO at all..

Smiffy

As I've said elsewhere, I think this profit warning was possibly the start of a propaganda campaign to get the USO revised.