Views on the future of post

[Postcomm]

Postcomm, the independent regulator for postal services in the UK, is interested in hearing your views on the future of postal services. Senior representatives of Postcomm will visit Caithness in mid September to meet with customers and postal representatives. In addition, Postcomm is interested in hearing the views of members of this forum. In particular, we would welcome your comments about the existing service offered by Royal Mail and your thoughts on what the long term future (2010 and beyond) of post might hold. Postcomm will use your comments to help inform its thinking but may not be able to respond to individual correspondence received. Further information is available from www.psc.gov.uk (http://www.psc.gov.uk/) Thank you.

[Dreadnought]

Stop putting junk mail through my door. I don't read it. It goes straight from the doormat to the bin. It is a massive waste of paper and the Post Office/Royal Mail is actively aiding and abetting this waste by insisting on delivering it.
Also the new method of pricing postage based on the size of a letter is confusing and a complete ripoff. I now have no idea what postage will be until I take my letters/packages to the counter. I used to know in advance and could calculate my costs accordingly. Not any more.
As soon as another company starts a rival service using the old method of price by weight I will switch to their service.

[henry20]

Stop putting junk mail through my door. I don't read it. It goes straight from the doormat to the bin. It is a massive waste of paper and the Post Office/Royal Mail is actively aiding and abetting this waste by insisting on delivering it.
Also the new method of pricing postage based on the size of a letter is confusing and a complete ripoff. I now have no idea what postage will be until I take my letters/packages to the counter. I used to know in advance and could calculate my costs accordingly. Not any more.
As soon as another company starts a rival service using the old method of price by weight I will switch to their service.


While I find junk mail annoying, the revenue received from these firms helps keep our postal rates so amazingly low!! Where else can we get something delivered for 32p within a 24hour period? Surely you could recycle the junk mail - then it would be less of a waste :)

While the new structure may take a bit of getting used to, I must point out that some of the things I have been posting actually cost me less than they used to. Yes, some may cost more, but they are still cheaper than any courier service I know!!

Sorry, but Royal mail never cease to amaze me! Yes, I know some things go missing and I am glad to say this has never happened to me, but with such vast quantities of mail, this is almost inevitable - and they offer a special delivery service which would eliminate the risk, except people opt for the cheaper option.
(Please do not opt for recorded delivery thinking this is a higher priority service - this is still mainstream mail, but a signiture is obtained on delivery.)

[henry20]

Sorry, I should have also pointed out:

Without people supporting royal mail & the post office, we will be lucky to have any post offices left in the county. Too many services are being removed as it is! Wherever possible, we should try and keep the post office running - it really is an invaluable service. I know I hope to be able to use it in my old age, but with TV licensing removing itself from the post office and DVLA offering car tax on the internet, the future of the local post office is more doomed than ever!

[carlominno]

I think that the postal service provided by the Royal Mail is great and that our posties do a fantastic job especially in the more rural areas where they can often be the only regular visitor someone gets. They deliver not only the post but bring newspapers and the occassional bit of shopping to people who, for whatever reason, cannot get to the nearest village on a daily basis.

Also our posties are out in all weathers, come rain or shine the post has to get through! Because they are usually part of the local community the service they provide means more to them and they are usually cheerily going about their business and quite happy to stop and chat for a couple of minutes. (but obviously not all of the time - we all have bad days at work!). Think of the service provided by some of the Courier companies and then think about your postie - who would you rather have!

I have been unfortunate enough to have items go missing in the post and the service I have received has been great. I have received the compensation due to me in what I would call a reasonable amount of time (albeit less than what it was worth once but that was my fault as I didn't send it registered post) and most of the people I have dealt with either at the post office/delivery office or over the telephone have been helpful.

Overall I would say that the service provided by Royal Mail, although not perfect, is great and a service well worth keeping in its current format. As the old saying goes "if it ain't broke........"

[dragonfly]

Stop putting junk mail through my door. I don't read it. It goes straight from the doormat to the bin.

For mail that comes through your door addressed to "the Householder" etc you can Opt Out (http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/breakingnews?pageId=bn_article&articleId=13220001) of receiving by writing to Door to Door opt out.

Also for those items of junk which are addressed, you can join MPS (http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/mps_choosetype.html) and this will remove some, not all, of the direct mails sent.

but as stated earlier, these junk mails keep the cost down and we can do our bit by recycling them as soon as they come in the door

[Piglet]

I for one support the Royal Mail whole heartedly.

Our local post office is a god send as well as our postie, no matter what the weather of how busy they are, they always have a cheery smile.

I agree the new pricing structure took a bit of getting used to but you can still roughly calculate how much your post is going to cost by using your guide & checking the prices on www.royalmail.com (http://www.royalmail.com).

[Whitewater]

Have had a quick glance at this thread, glad to see the support for the Royal mail. We may gripe, but the service in this country is good compared to many other places. Also countries which have followed our system, or have a similar one in place such as Australia & New Zealand have excellent systems.

[oldmarine]

For mail that comes through your door addressed to "the Householder" etc you can Opt Out (http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/breakingnews?pageId=bn_article&articleId=13220001) of receiving by writing to Door to Door opt out.

Also for those items of junk which are addressed, you can join MPS (http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/mps_choosetype.html) and this will remove some, not all, of the direct mails sent.

but as stated earlier, these junk mails keep the cost down and we can do our bit by recycling them as soon as they come in the door


Good point. Turn a nuisance into something worthwhile.

[golach]

but as stated earlier, these junk mails keep the cost down and we can do our bit by recycling them as soon as they come in the door

Envelopes are not good items for recycling as the adhesive and especially the plastic in the windows of window envelopes are not recommended for recycling, far better to join the MPS and then the paper is not used at all or so often

[henry20]

Envelopes are not good items for recycling as the adhesive and especially the plastic in the windows of window envelopes are not recommended for recycling, far better to join the MPS and then the paper is not used at all or so often


Very true, but the contents are recyclable, so was still a valid point. I doubt you'll find anyone that enjoys receiving junk mail, but I'll happily recycle what I can if it means my postal rates stay low :D

[Dreadnought]

Dreadnought's anti-Junk Mail game.

Use any reply paid envelope that comes with your junk mail to send their rubbish back to them.
The fun part? Send company A's junk mail in company B's reply paid envelope and company B's junk mail in company A's envelope. In fact stick any junk maail you have received in any reply paid envelope received with junk mail. I have sent envelopes so full they were near cylindrical! :lol: The best one is readers digest.
That way they have to pay to receive their rubbish back, and your local postie keeps his job.

[changilass]

Love that one Dreadnought, I will be playing a new game asap:lol: