It has come to our attention that there is a proposal to change the time of the last post collection from the Kington Post Office.
The present 5:30pm collection is to be brought forward to 4:00pm. We can therefore assume that the time for ’special delivery’ etc will be bought forward to 3:45pm. Obviously this change is going to effect many businesses in town and those working in the Kington catchment area who rely on the post and the present 5:30pm collection.
As this change is proposed to start within the next two weeks, any comments and complaints need to be made asap.
Royal Mail Complaints
Phone: 08457740740
Web: www.royalmail.com/customerservice
Email: contactus@royalmail.com
Post: Royal Mail Customer Service Centre,
FREEPOST, 20 Turner Road, St Rollox Retail and Business Park, Glasgow G21 1AA
Postcomm
Phone: 02075932100
Fax: 02075932142
Email: info@psc.gov.uk
Post: Postcomm, Hercules House, 6 Hercules Road, London, SE1 7DB
Bob that is quite a revelation you have stumbled across and one well worth a campaign.
I will certainly put ‘pen-to-paper’ and contact both addresses you have supplied.
The point you make regarding working from home is a very important area to concentrate upon. Whilst I do not discount anything that resembles silliness in industry today I still cannot believe that the Royal Mail would deliver post in the morning to the industrial estates close to you, then go back to the sorting office and return later in the day with your post. What is more likely to happen is you are all serviced at one time and the industrial units get their post at the same time as you.
Oh Lawd! I feel a nostalgia moment coming on – In our heyday when everything in the garden was rosy we had a wonderful system called the Mail Train – (Sir John Betjeman and all that) where staff were on the move from one end of the country to the other and able to ‘sort’ at the same time. Can’t do that on the back of a lorry! Finally I am going to give you an example of Royal mail silliness. Five years ago the Credit Union was being run from the shop in Bridge Street (now the ‘Orange’ shop) and at Christmas I placed into the Post Office main mail box a Christmas Card, with a stamp on, addressed to all of the Staff who work in the Post Office. (mmmm yes I know I am crazy – I just have a thing about my friends receiving a card at Christmas through the post, OK!)
It arrived at Kington PO counter two days later because it was taken to Worcester first to be sorted!!!!!
I would like to ask others reading this blog to comment upon my idea of a solution –
Scrap the two tier postal system and replace it with one. (i.e. no first and second class post). I would even be prepared to see the second class service eliminated in order to keep the Post Office British owned and the Royal Mail in business. I am sure we could all organise ourselves to send an item of post at a suitable time to reach the recipient. Any urgent post can utilise the existing special services.
The Royal Mail, in return, must then offer a firm fixed delivery package. I would be prepared to accept that a standard stamp ensures a delivery BEFORE, and possibly well before, 12 noon the next day. Also the Royal Mail must also offer the latest possible collection times from pillar boxes during the day.
A lot of businesses I have been involved with organise themselves to ‘pop-the-post in the box on the way home. 4pm is far to early a final collection time.
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Yet another example of increased ‘efficiency’ and the benefits of competition! Couple of points. Market towns traditionally provided a ‘close of business’ posting time. By moving last posting to 4 pm this tradition is ended.
Secondly when do people get their incoming post? I work from home. Often our post does not arrive until early afternoon so we may have less than two hours to receive and reply to meet the 4pm last posting.
Our own post box in Victoria Road used to be emptied at 5 pm and this was then changed to 10.30 am. So a letter posted to us on Monday arrives on Tuesday. A reply is posted on Tuesday but not collected until Wednesday and therefore not delivered until Thursday. As an aside, many of us can remember a time when a local letter could be posted and delivered on the same day!
This is a postal service being run for the convenience of the Post Office rather than its customers.
Postcomm. the postal service regulator says that its job is to ‘ make sure that postal operators, including Royal Mail, meet the needs of their customers throughout the UK’. Seems its not doing its job very well.
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