The Editor,
The Daily Mail
Dear Sir,
Well done to the Daily Mail and your consumer affairs editor Sean Poulter, for persistence, in the face of Royal Mail obstruction, in obtaining the figures on penalty fees charged to customers.
The confusing system combining weight and size imposed on us 4 years ago must have deterred many people from using the post - it certainly has me - and boosted the shift to email for those who have it.
The other deterrent has of course been the closure of many post offices, and the absurdity of the remaining ones only being open on Saturday mornings at weekends. While most shops now have long and accessible opening hours, post offices are hopelessly stuck in the past.
We constantly hear laments about the Royal Mail losing business and making losses. But our postal service has entirely failed to rise to the challenge of modern consumer needs including increased internet shopping. My conclusion is that they are really only interested in bulk mail by businesses.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Ludford
(This letter was sent to the Daily Mail on 15 July 2010 but was not published.)
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