Poor-performing Postie let off £8m

THE Royal Mail has escaped an £8m penalty for failing to hit its targets after the watchdog ruled the fine would be ineffective.

Postcomm said it was concerned about the poor standards of delivery to certain post codes, particularly in London, and that Mail owner Consignia 'had not tried hard enough' to achieve targets for its first and second class response business services.

But a financial penalty would not have benefited customers. Postcomm was working to improve services with the company, which had been losing £1.5m a day. Overall standards had improved in the last financial year and it was keen to see standards maintained and bettered in the next, the watchdog added.

'Postcomm will review the detail of Consignia's current action plan for 2002/2003 for improving its quality of service to see whether it is adequate,' it added. 'If not, Consignia will face enforcement action to ensure customers receive the agreed standards of service.'

Mick Linsell, Royal Mail's managing director for service delivery, said there had been improvements. Increases in basic pay for staff to £300 a week and moves from a six to a five-day week would help in the coming year. 'If employees feel better about their jobs then that will feed through into better service to customers. Service comes from the heart,' he added.