Residents criticise council's private mail service

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/20 ... il-service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A PRIVATE postal service being used by Camden Council instead of the Royal Mail has been criticised by residents.

TNT has been delivering some of the Town Hall departments’ mail to thousands of residents across the borough.

Albert Beale, who lives in Bloomsbury, said his experience of the service – also used by hospitals, banks and other organisations – was of “utter disaster” and that he had started returning council letters delivered by TNT to the Town Hall, unopened.

A council spokesman said: “We regularly monitor and review all of our contracts to ensure high standards are constantly met.”

A TNT spokesman said in an emailed statement: “We have received a warm response from local residents since we began our deliveries and have been in discussion with this residents group in Bloomsberry [sic] on several occasions over the past year to discuss their specific delivery requirements and will continue to work hard to ensure we do this to a satisfactory level.”

[Chitchat]

A TNT spokesman said in an emailed statement: “We have received a warm response from local residents since we began our deliveries and have been in discussion with this residents group in Bloomsberry [sic] on several occasions over the past year to discuss their specific delivery requirements and will continue to work hard to ensure we do this to a satisfactory level.”

I would imagine there requirements are to receive there post six days a week! Why companies would chose tnt now they deliver there own post to such a poor standard is beyond comprehension.

[Sidley]

Cos they're cheaper.

[Chitchat]

So are all the other dsa companies and they still use Royalmail, so there mail would be delivered six days a week.

[Sidley]

Are they cheaper than TNT delivering their own, what would have been, DSA? I can imagine that a lot of the TNT post would have been local, printed locally and delivered locally so transport costs would have been negligible, maybe they pass that on to the customer. Being quite a new service they'd have to offer some kind of introductory offer to bait their hook with too. As to their 'customers' are they the people paying them to deliver or the addressee? I'm sure the businesses care not a jot how often the post is delivered as long as theirs is delivered within the time frame needed.

[Chitchat]

Problem is in alot of cases there not being delivered in the time frame needed and when its hospital apps then its a real problem. This is why the residents of the above location are unhappy with the service.

[Sidley]

I'm sure if the sort of balls ups mentioned continue that TNT will lose the business but in the meantime a reduction in price here and a promise of improvement there, will keep the businesses sweet. There must be reasons why institutions use TNT and I reckon price is the main one. Whether or not TNT come to represent VFM or if the volume of complaints will outweigh the money saved, only time will tell.

[raikky]

our manager spoke to us last week about tnt. how does it work. they deliver 6 days a week but only to the same street every other day. on the day they dont deliver to that street do they just keep the mail inside the office or do trhey send it to royalmail? if there just hoarding mail then srely this is a breah of the uso. there cherry picking and thats bad enough, but if they cant even afford to deliver 6 days a week to the same address then thats just a disgrace. they obviously couldnt care less about customers needs. but that depends on what happens with the mail on the days they dont deliver?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

our manager spoke to us last week about tnt. how does it work. they deliver 6 days a week but only to the same street every other day. on the day they dont deliver to that street do they just keep the mail inside the office or do trhey send it to royalmail? if there just hoarding mail then srely this is a breah of the uso. there cherry picking and thats bad enough, but if they cant even afford to deliver 6 days a week to the same address then thats just a disgrace. they obviously couldnt care less about customers needs. but that depends on what happens with the mail on the days they dont deliver?

TNT have no obligations under the USO.

The only provisions they must meet are those in their licence conditions and any that apply to them in the various Postal Acts.

As long as their contract conditions with the senders are met then TNT can do what they like with the undelivered letters, including returning them to the office for the next time they are in that area, or introducing it into Royal Mails systems.

[turlough1798]

I happen to be a resident and committee member of the South Bloomsbury Tenants and Residents Association, referred to in the Camden New Journal. I personally have been in communication with TNT management since January 2013, and we have been promised on numerous occasions that they would resolve the situation........ as yet, they haven't.

Mail is regularly left in communal areas and rarely delivered to individual flats. Whilst up to 50% of the mail might be classed as "junk" a lot of it comes from Banks, the NHS and the Local Authority and therefore contains private and sensitive information.

The Residents association has decided to try and persuade those companies using TNT to go back to Royal Mail, in particular Camden Council. After all they claim to be a responsible employer paying LLW , unionisation etc... This surely conflicts with TNT employment practices.

Can anyone tell me what is the position of TNT employees in relation to Living Wage, union membership, contracts etc?

Incidentally, Royal Mail deliver through the letterbox to all of us around here 99% of the time .... well no one is perfect!

Thanks

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Unions.

They have a Union called the Community Union. http://www.community-tu.org/who-we-repr ... -post.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wages

It differs depending on where in the UK, but the vast majority seem to be on zero hour contracts and between Minimum wage and £7.50 an hour.

[Budfrog]

TNT have no obligations under the USO.

Precisely ... there is nothing stopping a delivery firm from offering a restricted service in terms of delivery days and area covered, just because RM deliver 6 days/week why should they ??? RM are obligated under the USO and it's down to OFCOM to ensure that it is commercially viable for RM to achieve it and that is where the problem lies.