ANNOUNCEMENT : ALL OF ROYAL MAIL'S EMPLOYMENT POLICIES (AGREEMENTS) AT A GLANCE (Updated 2021)... HERE

ANNOUNCEMENT : PLEASE BE AWARE WE ARE NOT ON FACEBOOK AT ALL!

Change how we charge for letters

Postal workers discussion forum. Discuss the day to day life in a Blue Shirt.
2yearpostie
Posts: 1839
Joined: 03 Mar 2020, 15:36
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by 2yearpostie »

Couldnt we go to mr regulator and ask if we could put a letters deliver surcharge on each addresses council tax bill? That would guarantee us an income and still be a universal price.

Stamps could be dispensed with and parcels could be charged like normal couriers do?
TrueBlueTerrier
FORUM ADMINISTRATOR
Posts: 72738
Joined: 30 Dec 2006, 10:29
Gender: Male
Location: On my couch

Change how we charge for letters

Post by TrueBlueTerrier »

2yearpostie wrote:Couldnt we go to mr regulator and ask if we could put a letters deliver surcharge on each addresses council tax bill? That would guarantee us an income and still be a universal price.

Stamps could be dispensed with and parcels could be charged like normal couriers do?
We could, but it wouldn't be politically acceptable and the law would have to be changed to allow it.
All post by me in Green are Admin Posts.
Any post in any other colour is my own responsibility.
If you like a news story I posted please click the link to show support Any news stories you can't post - PM me with a link
My sharing of news articles should not be interpreted as an endorsement or condemnation of any particular viewpoint or the issues presented. I share them solely for informational purposes.
hans solo
Posts: 3289
Joined: 06 Feb 2011, 18:08
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by hans solo »

why not just charge the dsa leeches the proper postage rates like we charge the public if the letters are going down whats to lose
Woody Guthrie
Posts: 5166
Joined: 29 Sep 2018, 20:47
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by Woody Guthrie »

hans solo wrote:why not just charge the dsa leeches the proper postage rates like we charge the public if the letters are going down whats to lose

You would be fined for using your position as a monopoly to force a competitor out of business.

The reason DSA companies don't pay full postage rates is because they enter the pipeline at a different stage than the average customer.

Hence the name.. Downstream Access.
Only dead fish follow the current
Celgar
Posts: 2795
Joined: 01 Nov 2017, 17:11
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by Celgar »

Woody Guthrie wrote:
hans solo wrote:why not just charge the dsa leeches the proper postage rates like we charge the public if the letters are going down whats to lose

You would be fined for using your position as a monopoly to force a competitor out of business.

The reason DSA companies don't pay full postage rates is because they enter the pipeline at a different stage than the average customer.

Hence the name.. Downstream Access.
It is starting to look like, in the event of a no deal Brexit , that the UK will be able to intervene when business get into trouble such as when China was dumping poor quality steel into the market to lower prices. DSA was always a method of unfair competition and there is little difference in how they introduce their product into our mainstream leaving us to do the majority of the labour.
The views I express here are mine alone and do not represent the views of Royal Mail Group.
sindba
Posts: 1456
Joined: 05 Feb 2012, 20:27
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by sindba »

Celgar wrote:
Woody Guthrie wrote:
hans solo wrote:why not just charge the dsa leeches the proper postage rates like we charge the public if the letters are going down whats to lose

You would be fined for using your position as a monopoly to force a competitor out of business.

The reason DSA companies don't pay full postage rates is because they enter the pipeline at a different stage than the average customer.

Hence the name.. Downstream Access.
It is starting to look like, in the event of a no deal Brexit , that the UK will be able to intervene when business get into trouble such as when China was dumping poor quality steel into the market to lower prices. DSA was always a method of unfair competition and there is little difference in how they introduce their product into our mainstream leaving us to do the majority of the labour.
Nothing to do with Brexit. The state has always been able to intervene when businesess get into trouble.

Remember the bank bailouts?
Woody Guthrie
Posts: 5166
Joined: 29 Sep 2018, 20:47
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by Woody Guthrie »

Celgar wrote:
Woody Guthrie wrote:
hans solo wrote:why not just charge the dsa leeches the proper postage rates like we charge the public if the letters are going down whats to lose

You would be fined for using your position as a monopoly to force a competitor out of business.

The reason DSA companies don't pay full postage rates is because they enter the pipeline at a different stage than the average customer.

Hence the name.. Downstream Access.
It is starting to look like, in the event of a no deal Brexit , that the UK will be able to intervene when business get into trouble such as when China was dumping poor quality steel into the market to lower prices. DSA was always a method of unfair competition and there is little difference in how they introduce their product into our mainstream leaving us to do the majority of the labour.
It's unlikely that Brexit would be a factor.
Abusing a position of monopoly to drive out competition has always been part of UK law overseen by what was the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and is now the Competition Commission.
Only dead fish follow the current
Celgar
Posts: 2795
Joined: 01 Nov 2017, 17:11
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by Celgar »

The ability to intervene and help businesses is currently one of the main sticking points in the Brexit talks along with fishing quotas and the power of the EU courts over UK law.
The views I express here are mine alone and do not represent the views of Royal Mail Group.
sindba
Posts: 1456
Joined: 05 Feb 2012, 20:27
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by sindba »

Celgar wrote:The ability to intervene and help businesses is currently one of the main sticking points in the Brexit talks along with fishing quotas and the power of the EU courts over UK law.
It's not. Boris Johnson already agreed to all this in the Withdrawal Agreement he signed and put through Parliament. It's legally binding as Johnson's Parliament ratified it.

The UK Govt just needs to decide if it agrees with it's own agreement.

Fishing yes, that's part of the trade talks, even though it's a miniscule part of the UK economy.
Woody Guthrie
Posts: 5166
Joined: 29 Sep 2018, 20:47
Gender: Male

Change how we charge for letters

Post by Woody Guthrie »

Celgar wrote:The ability to intervene and help businesses is currently one of the main sticking points in the Brexit talks along with fishing quotas and the power of the EU courts over UK law.
How exactly could you intervene and help Royal Mail with regards to DSA without simultaneously screwing over the DSA companies?
They're all companies,some of the DSA companies are UK owned, we're not really when you think about it. That would be an interesting dilemma for Government.

The headroom (the difference between what DSA companies pay and commercial rates) is fixed by the regulator. It is a reflection of the cost (with profit) DSA companies incur while entering the pipeline.

It is not as far as I'm aware something that RM has too much of a problem with as it has allowed the business to remove some of its own cost base in the shape of distribution, real estate and people costs.
Only dead fish follow the current