Industry | 2009.09.19
Rivals gain from Royal Mail strikes
Private sector benefits as cheques, wedding presents and lifesaving drugs are delayed in post
Lifesaving drugs have been delayed, wedding presents lost and late payment fees will soon be slapped on for delayed settlement of credit card debts. Companies are complaining that orders and supplies are not getting through and nor are cheques.
The Communication Workers\' Union began balloting members for a national postal strike yesterday, but regional stoppages have already disrupted services for hundreds of businesses and thousands of customers. Some firms have begun turning to the Royal Mail\'s private sector rivals as the regional action has spread across the country, from East Anglia to Bristol and London to the Midlands.
Andrew Hawkins, chief executive of ComRes, a Westminster-based market research organisation, said postal disruption had already lasted months. His company specialises in contacting hard-to-reach respondents, including MPs, many of whom prefer to answer surveys by mail.
"We have already had discussions with private sector alternatives," he said. "I Googled postal strikes yesterday and what do you think came up straight away? An advert for DHL with the strapline \'We are not on strike\'. I am sure plenty of other companies have seen that too."
Nicko Williamson, 25, managing director of Climate Cars, which operates a fleet of Prius hire cars in central London, was waiting for £20,000 in cheques to be delivered last week. "We\'re getting about two days of post a week at present," he said.
"We have got suppliers, like the car-wash firm that looks after our cars pressing for payment and customers who prefer to pay by cheque, who have already been delaying paying us because of the economic situation. We are encouraging other forms of payment but some customers don\'t want to do that – their accounts departments still send out cheques. The post is just so unreliable these days.
"Postal strikes are an unwanted hindrance to UK businesses already fighting hard to ensure they survive."
Roger Shelley, who runs Vitamin Service Ltd, a small company providing food supplements – vitamins, minerals and herbs – by post to hospitals and other customers, said: "We don\'t know how many packages we have sent out have actually arrived and how many are stuck in transit: it may be £1,000 worth, or much more than that. There is no knowing how much has gone missing and you are left in a quandary – do you send them again, or hope that they have got through. If this continues or escalates, we\'ll be in deep doo-doo."
He added: "There are people who rely on receiving supplies. Last week we had a young woman who can only eat if she has a particular digestive enzyme which we could not get to her. Many of our customers rely on receiving supplies through the mail and we rely on receiving supplies by post too.
"We have looked into private delivery firms, but many of our products are sent post-free and they are five times more expensive than the Royal Mail – we can\'t afford it. I have sympathy with the postal workers. Our own are friendly and helpful and I understand that they are under-paid, but it is a shame that this cannot be resolved without disruption."
The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that 70% of companies still use the Royal Mail to post invoices and send more than half their payments by cheque through the post. A spokeswoman, Sophie Kummer, said: "Continued disruption may see contracts failing to be exchanged, good orders going to waste as they lie in sorting offices and ultimately the wrath of bank managers if cheques can\'t be banked. These are tough times and it is no time for businesses to be left waiting for bills to be paid and money to get through to their suppliers."
Royal Mail estimates 5m items have been held up in the post, but the union says the figure is more than 20m.
Banks appear to be in no mood to be lenient towards late payers. A spokeswoman for UK Payments, the trade body, said most charges were generated automatically.
"There is no special dispensation because there is industrial action in the postal system. Most people know when their statement is due. If it does not arrive they should contact their company to find the balance and how much should be paid."
Robert Hammond, of the watchdog body Consumer Focus, said: "Given the situation, banks, utilities and other service providers should give their customers some flexibility if payments are delayed in the post. To avoid additional charges, customers could also use alternative ways to pay, such as by phone, online or at a bank or post office.
"It is in both the union\'s and management\'s interest to resolve the dispute as soon as possible to give customers an incentive not to turn to alternative delivery methods permanently."
In its tips to consumers, the organisation recommends sending payments and urgent papers, including tickets and legal documents, by courier or special delivery. Its sister organisation Consumer Direct has guidance online for suppliers whose goods arrive late or damaged, and customers whose documents are delayed in the post.
Compensation is not much: the delay of a first-class letter by more than three working days could be compensated with six first-class stamps. Suppliers are warned that they are responsible for replacing goods lost in transit, or supplying a full refund and that they cannot charge customers who cancel orders that have been delayed in the post.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/18/postal-strikes-royal-mail-rivals
