People who bring out the argument 50p to deliver a letter from one end of the country to the other is good value are forgetting one thing, we also paid to create royal mails entire delivery network.
They also don't use a single van to deliver each letter individually for 50p, they tend to do it in bulk...
The problem is that the GPO have a monopoly over mail delivery .......... if a company like TNT were given the right to collect and deliver mail , we would see a very different picture and stamps a lot cheaper than 50 p
There is massive waste at the GPO we are paying more and more for less and less.
Letters used to be delivered by 8 am , now you are lucky to see the mail by 12 noon...... bad for businesses.
Saturday collections have been restricted, the late afternoon collection has been stopped in many areas so businesses cant get their mail away for delivery on Monday,
they have to lose time and wait for the Monday collection.
Of course it is union power that is behind all this decline in service and relentless rise in price.
The posties are no doubt living more leisurely lives but the service is going down the pan.
Posties in the 50s and 60s were up at 5 am without fail,
today I bet they dont turn in till 9 pm...... thats union power for you !
A friend of mine noticed that the stamps on many of the Xmas card envelopes he received hadn't been franked so he peeled them all off gently and is re-using them.
People who bring out the argument 50p to deliver a letter from one end of the country to the other is good value are forgetting one thing, we also paid to create royal mails entire delivery network.
They also don't use a single van to deliver each letter individually for 50p, they tend to do it in bulk...
Look at businesses that outsource to cheap sweat-shops and yet charge a fortune when it hits the shops etc. It's a business after all.
People who bring out the argument 50p to deliver a letter from one end of the country to the other is good value are forgetting one thing, we also paid to create royal mails entire delivery network.
They also don't use a single van to deliver each letter individually for 50p, they tend to do it in bulk...
I'm pretty sure there would be plenty moaning about that if they did.
The problem is that the GPO have a monopoly over mail delivery .......... if a company like TNT were given the right to collect and deliver mail , we would see a very different picture and stamps a lot cheaper than 50 p
TNT *do* have the right, along with any other courier company to collect and deliver your mail. You just need to set up an account with them.
If you think they will be cheaper than Royal Mail (GPO haven't existed for many decades), then go ahead!
The problem is that the GPO have a monopoly over mail delivery .......... if a company like TNT were given the right to collect and deliver mail , we would see a very different picture and stamps a lot cheaper than 50 p
Sorry but you are very mistaken if you think that would happen!
Do you think a private company like TNT would bother about rural parts of the country, both for collections and deliveries? I'm sure they'd do you a deal on a letter from London to say Leeds but if you wanted somewhere more remote like the Highlands or Scilly Isles, they probably wouldn't be interested. Imagine if you had family living in remote parts of Wales or the Westcountry - that birthday present will be sent at a premium rate.
It would no doubt drive up Royal Mail prices too, as they are left to pick up the pieces the private companies don't want.
I'm very pleased to say that I stocked up with both first and second class stamps before they rocketed in price last year.
Last Christmas I sent every card I possibly could send by hand or via friends or relatives who I knew would be seeing the people I was sending the cards to. Previously, they would all have just gone in the post.
First class post is now a first class rip-off! They no longer guarantee next day delivery and, from my own experience, this is rarely achieved, anyway.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no difference whatsoever at Christmas time between first and second class post. Everything is handled just the same, and, once again, I've proved this myself. Cards posted second class and arriving the next day! Also, as others have pointed out, many items arrive during this period with stamps that haven't been franked. These can, with care, be reused, though they've now included a removable panel in the latest stamps to try to discourage this practice. However, with care, it still can be done.
Why the hell would people in rural communities have to drive to get their post? What about the elderly and infirm, or people without cars? What a selfish idea. We all pay equally for stamps and we all get our post in return. Any its only 50p, this isn't 1970, 50p doesn't go a very long way these days. If you don't like the price then don't send the letter via Royal Mail.
TNT *do* have the right, along with any other courier company to collect and deliver your mail. You just need to set up an account with them.
If you think they will be cheaper than Royal Mail (GPO haven't existed for many decades), then go ahead!
Let taxpayers pay for TNT or any other couriers entire network from the ground up and then yes they probably will deliver for cheaper.
Royal Mail have no other competitors because it would be impossible to create such an equivalent private network without any government intervention. As such Royal Mail have never had any competition so never concerned themselves with keeping costs down.
Let taxpayers pay for TNT or any other couriers entire network from the ground up and then yes they probably will deliver for cheaper.
Royal Mail have no other competitors because it would be impossible to create such an equivalent private network without any government intervention. As such Royal Mail have never had any competition so never concerned themselves with keeping costs down.
So, the Royal Mail are cheaper than the competition, but we are complaining that they fail to keep their costs down?
Of course, RM used to make a lot of money from commercial operations (Parcel Force, etc.), which would subsidise the universal domestic postal service. Since those parts of the company were made subject to deregulation/privatisation, the US has to become self-supporting, and whilst it's true that capital for some of the infrastructure has come from Government, it hasn't done for some time, and the current operating costs must be covered by income from stamps.
PIB: Royal Mail are already trying to get this brought in, although I think it's some sort of reduced delivery thing as well so they don't have to drive out every day. The other problem they'd come up against is 1st class mail and guaranteed delivery. It's been mentioned before and they're the usual stumbling blocks.
When you think about it 50p (or even first class prices) to send a letter someone at the other end of the country that will be hand delivered to an address a few days later is a decent price to pay. Mind you the fact that most people now how e-mail accounts and prefer to e-mail or Facebook one another means that Royal Mail is dying a long and painful death, and the only stuff it will be delivering is snail mail spam for credit cards (which you have to apply online for) and the supermarket mail shots (for online delivery).
Companies are partly to blame for this as well. All the bills my wife and I have are e-bills, all the bank statements are viewed online, most of the places we buy from have online catalogues now and they use a courier company to deliver. Not one penny has passed through Royal Mail. I prefer it because I'm not having to constantly shred old bills and bank statements for recycling in my niece's hamster cage, and these days the hamster has to put up with shredded credit card offers and Tesco spam.
Sorry but this is nonsense. The demand is going up, not down. Even if less letters are sent, more items are being sent overall.
Let taxpayers pay for TNT or any other couriers entire network from the ground up and then yes they probably will deliver for cheaper.
Royal Mail have no other competitors because it would be impossible to create such an equivalent private network without any government intervention[/B]. As such Royal Mail have never had any competition so never concerned themselves with keeping costs down.
I don't think Royal Mail has been subsidised by the tax payer for at least 30 years and in fact during the 80's was a cash cow for the Government who creamed off 90% of all profits that Royal Mail made (and increased stamp prices to generate more profit). The mail network has been significantly rebuilt in recent years and this has been funded by Royal Mail borrowing from the Government with interest paid at commercial rates.
With regard to barriers to entry, the regulator gets round this by forcing Royal Mail to let competitors use its network at a price less than the cost of operating it. Competitors are also able to set up operations completely unrestricted by any USO requirements.So for example TNT could offer a delivery service 3 days a week and only in profitable city centres. They are currently running a full delivery service in West Central London. Royal Mail is making representations to the regulator that the requirements are unfair and that any competitor should have to cover at least 80% of the country for a minimum of 4 days a week.
I'm very pleased to say that I stocked up with both first and second class stamps before they rocketed in price last year.
Last Christmas I sent every card I possibly could send by hand or via friends or relatives who I knew would be seeing the people I was sending the cards to. Previously, they would all have just gone in the post.
First class post is now a first class rip-off! They no longer guarantee next day delivery and, from my own experience, this is rarely achieved, anyway.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no difference whatsoever at Christmas time between first and second class post. Everything is handled just the same, and, once again, I've proved this myself. Cards posted second class and arriving the next day! Also, as others have pointed out, many items arrive during this period with stamps that haven't been franked. These can, with care, be reused, though they've now included a removable panel in the latest stamps to try to discourage this practice. However, with care, it still can be done.
Next day delivery never was guaranteed. The target set by the regulator is 93% and the last published figures showed that 92.6% was achieved.
It's quite likely that you won't notice much difference between first and second class service at Christmas. The volume of mail is so high that there is a continual stream of mail passing through the system. Second class isn't purposley delayed to make it slower than first class and in any case the second class mail service is to deliver within 3 days. The reason that stamps aren't franked is that so many cards have to be hand sorted because the envelopes won't go through the sorting equipment or the addresses are incomplete, without postcodes or cannot be read by machines. In theory you are supposed to use a pen to put a line through the stamp but you could never keep on top of the workload if you did that.
Sorry but this is nonsense. The demand is going up, not down. Even if less letters are sent, more items are being sent overall.
That's not right. The total volume of mail - UK letters, parcels and international mail was down in the half year to September 2012 compared with the previous year.
(source RM Half Year Interim Report 2012-13)
A friend of mine noticed that the stamps on many of the Xmas card envelopes he received hadn't been franked so he peeled them all off gently and is re-using them.
It is illegal to use re-use a stamp
Stamps may not be franked but that does not mean that they can be detected as having used before.
Do your friend really want to commit an illegal act and have their name on it?
why did nt someone tip me off to go buy a ton of stamps before they shot up to 50 p ?
I got to the check out in Tesco and said, can I have 12 second class stamps, she said we dont sell them on the tills you will have to go to the kiosk and queque up all over again !
brilliant !
why did nt someone tip me off to go buy a ton of stamps before they shot up to 50 p ?
I got to the check out in Tesco and said, can I have 12 second class stamps, she said we dont sell them on the tills you will have to go to the kiosk and queque up all over again !
brilliant !
I don't think Royal Mail has been subsidised by the tax payer for at least 30 years and in fact during the 80's was a cash cow for the Government who creamed off 90% of all profits that Royal Mail made (and increased stamp prices to generate more profit). The mail network has been significantly rebuilt in recent years and this has been funded by Royal Mail borrowing from the Government with interest paid at commercial rates.
I know much less than you so I stand corrected! Perhaps if postage hadn't been so cheap previously then current prices wouldn't seem so expensive.
Comments
For the time being 50p is cheap enough
They also don't use a single van to deliver each letter individually for 50p, they tend to do it in bulk...
There is massive waste at the GPO we are paying more and more for less and less.
Letters used to be delivered by 8 am , now you are lucky to see the mail by 12 noon...... bad for businesses.
Saturday collections have been restricted, the late afternoon collection has been stopped in many areas so businesses cant get their mail away for delivery on Monday,
they have to lose time and wait for the Monday collection.
Of course it is union power that is behind all this decline in service and relentless rise in price.
The posties are no doubt living more leisurely lives but the service is going down the pan.
Posties in the 50s and 60s were up at 5 am without fail,
today I bet they dont turn in till 9 pm...... thats union power for you !
Look at businesses that outsource to cheap sweat-shops and yet charge a fortune when it hits the shops etc. It's a business after all.
I'm pretty sure there would be plenty moaning about that if they did.
I saw a regular sized Mars bar on sale for 80p the other day, so yes I totally agree with you
TNT *do* have the right, along with any other courier company to collect and deliver your mail. You just need to set up an account with them.
If you think they will be cheaper than Royal Mail (GPO haven't existed for many decades), then go ahead!
Sorry but you are very mistaken if you think that would happen!
Do you think a private company like TNT would bother about rural parts of the country, both for collections and deliveries? I'm sure they'd do you a deal on a letter from London to say Leeds but if you wanted somewhere more remote like the Highlands or Scilly Isles, they probably wouldn't be interested. Imagine if you had family living in remote parts of Wales or the Westcountry - that birthday present will be sent at a premium rate.
It would no doubt drive up Royal Mail prices too, as they are left to pick up the pieces the private companies don't want.
Last Christmas I sent every card I possibly could send by hand or via friends or relatives who I knew would be seeing the people I was sending the cards to. Previously, they would all have just gone in the post.
First class post is now a first class rip-off! They no longer guarantee next day delivery and, from my own experience, this is rarely achieved, anyway.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no difference whatsoever at Christmas time between first and second class post. Everything is handled just the same, and, once again, I've proved this myself. Cards posted second class and arriving the next day! Also, as others have pointed out, many items arrive during this period with stamps that haven't been franked. These can, with care, be reused, though they've now included a removable panel in the latest stamps to try to discourage this practice. However, with care, it still can be done.
exactly. i sent a letter to scotland from dorset. it got there next day. i may have used a first class stamp but even so, that is a very good service.
Let taxpayers pay for TNT or any other couriers entire network from the ground up and then yes they probably will deliver for cheaper.
Royal Mail have no other competitors because it would be impossible to create such an equivalent private network without any government intervention. As such Royal Mail have never had any competition so never concerned themselves with keeping costs down.
So, the Royal Mail are cheaper than the competition, but we are complaining that they fail to keep their costs down?
Of course, RM used to make a lot of money from commercial operations (Parcel Force, etc.), which would subsidise the universal domestic postal service. Since those parts of the company were made subject to deregulation/privatisation, the US has to become self-supporting, and whilst it's true that capital for some of the infrastructure has come from Government, it hasn't done for some time, and the current operating costs must be covered by income from stamps.
Sorry but this is nonsense. The demand is going up, not down. Even if less letters are sent, more items are being sent overall.
I don't think Royal Mail has been subsidised by the tax payer for at least 30 years and in fact during the 80's was a cash cow for the Government who creamed off 90% of all profits that Royal Mail made (and increased stamp prices to generate more profit). The mail network has been significantly rebuilt in recent years and this has been funded by Royal Mail borrowing from the Government with interest paid at commercial rates.
With regard to barriers to entry, the regulator gets round this by forcing Royal Mail to let competitors use its network at a price less than the cost of operating it. Competitors are also able to set up operations completely unrestricted by any USO requirements.So for example TNT could offer a delivery service 3 days a week and only in profitable city centres. They are currently running a full delivery service in West Central London. Royal Mail is making representations to the regulator that the requirements are unfair and that any competitor should have to cover at least 80% of the country for a minimum of 4 days a week.
Next day delivery never was guaranteed. The target set by the regulator is 93% and the last published figures showed that 92.6% was achieved.
It's quite likely that you won't notice much difference between first and second class service at Christmas. The volume of mail is so high that there is a continual stream of mail passing through the system. Second class isn't purposley delayed to make it slower than first class and in any case the second class mail service is to deliver within 3 days. The reason that stamps aren't franked is that so many cards have to be hand sorted because the envelopes won't go through the sorting equipment or the addresses are incomplete, without postcodes or cannot be read by machines. In theory you are supposed to use a pen to put a line through the stamp but you could never keep on top of the workload if you did that.
That's not right. The total volume of mail - UK letters, parcels and international mail was down in the half year to September 2012 compared with the previous year.
(source RM Half Year Interim Report 2012-13)
Ditto - got enough stamps for a century of Christmas's and birthdays
It is illegal to use re-use a stamp
Stamps may not be franked but that does not mean that they can be detected as having used before.
Do your friend really want to commit an illegal act and have their name on it?
I got to the check out in Tesco and said, can I have 12 second class stamps, she said we dont sell them on the tills you will have to go to the kiosk and queque up all over again !
brilliant !
You were tipped off if you were on DS. See here
I know much less than you so I stand corrected! Perhaps if postage hadn't been so cheap previously then current prices wouldn't seem so expensive.