We must defend Royal Mail

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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IT is absolutely essential that we all do whatever we can to prevent the selling-off of Royal Mail ("Clarion call to safeguard six-day post pledge from privatisation", The Herald, June 5).

It is bad enough that remote (north of the Highland Line at best) areas will inevitably lose their daily deliveries and be surcharged for being remote, but we will all suffer from what is already seriously inferior service from the private companies.

I was following the progress of an urgent package destined for my company located in the main industrial estate in Perth, at the tip of the M90 from Edinburgh. For several days the website of a major courier company showed it at Edinburgh Airport, with the caption "remote location, irregular deliveries".

I hate to think how many hours we have wasted in the last few weeks alone, chasing up lost, misrouted or otherwise delayed deliveries - we process every order or inquiry the day it is received, but we cannot tell our customers when they will receive their goods because the courier companies are so unreliable.

A colleague handed a package into the local depot of one of these companies for onward delivery. That was the last that was seen of it. We sent a trial half-dozen consignments by another of the large names, three were never seen again.

Trying to get information through their automated systems is pretty well impossible, and it is totally impossible to get to speak to anyone in authority.

To add insult to injury, any compensation paid has to be hard fought for and is pitiful compared with the value of the loss.

There is no "best", just the "least worse".

Royal Mail is not perfect, but the number of problems caused is infinitesimal compared with any of the private companies. We know, we have tried most of them.

Jim Clark,