MPs slam ‘chronically poor’ postal services
The postal service provided by Royal Mail is “chronically poor” in some areas and the regulator must take action, MPs warn today.
The public accounts select committee says that despite improvements in the past few years, Royal Mail’s delivery record in urban areas and particularly London is lacking.
More than 15 million letters or parcels were lost, stolen or damaged last year, and the MPs said it was “pretty clear that the interests of ordinary users of the post are not an absolute priority”.
The committee also says Royal Mail’s compensation scheme for these items, which include 7.5 million misdelivered items of post, “do not offer adequate protection for consumers”.
However, the firm is not the only guilty party – postal regulator Postcomm is urged to monitor more closely delivery problems and the issue of lost mail, which the MPs say is an important issue for consumers.
In April, Royal Mail was fined £271,000 for the late delivery of letters in three areas of London, but today’s report warns Postcomm failed to look into the wider reasons of why certain postcode areas “consistently receive lower levels of service” than others.
It also criticises the way Postcomm investigates Royal Mail actions, saying its imposition of fines “has lacked clarity and consistency”. It cites the failure to impose any fines in 2003-04, but the charging of £7.5 million for failing two targets last year.
This is despite the introduction of a new regulatory regime for postal services in April which, among other things, allowed Royal Mail to raise the price of first and second class stamps by 6p and 5p respectively over the next four years.
Edward Leigh, chairman of the public accounts committee, said: “You would expect that a new regime for the quality of postal services would aim to improve collection and delivery times and reduce the number of pieces of mail lost by Royal Mail.
“If so, you would be mistaken. Neither of these aspects of performance is targeted under the current regime introduced in April of this year.
“Given that people are now receiving their mail later in the day and that over 15 million letters and parcels are being lost, stolen or damaged in a year, it is pretty clear that the interests of ordinary users of the post are not an absolute priority.”
However, both Postcomm and Royal Mail rejected the criticism, with a spokesman for the postal firm saying it was “absolute nonsense” to suggest its quality of service was anything other than at record high levels.
Its performance was “among the very best in Europe and its prices are among the very lowest”, he said, adding that in London, some postcodes were showing the best performance nationwide.
A Postcomm spokesman added that it had launched a consultation on the issue to ensure any changes to delivery targets were “based on evidence of customers’ need”, and was also reviewing Royal Mail’s compensation schemes for loss, damage and delay of mail.
