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The Royal Mail has rejected concerns expressed in the Western Isles over higher prices for parcel postage in rural areas.
A spokesperson said that an earlier article on welovestornoway.com “incorrectly suggests in the opening line that that there is a ‘loss of the universal postage rate’. First and Second Class post is a Universal Service and there has been no suggestion of a ‘loss’ of this as it is protected by law and overseen by the regulator Ofcom.
A Royal Mail Spokesperson also said: “We already have different delivery zones for tracked services and we’ve made some changes to these which include some of the harder-to-reach parts of Scotland covering less than 1% of all UK delivery points. Universal Service products such as First and Second Class post remain unchanged.
“Royal Mail is proud to be the UK’s sole provider of the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service for post. It is valued by customers and is a key means of communication still used and relied on by millions of people and businesses, particularly in rural, remote areas and islands.”
The organisation said these adjustments have been communicated to customers and are available on the website.
Isles MSP Alasdair Allan had earlier called for assurances that the proposed new delivery zones were not opening the way to poorer and more expensive levels of service in the Highlands and Islands.
Dr Allan wrote to the Royal Mail and the UK Government after reports came of the Royal Mail updating their delivery ‘zones’, which they say is to “better reflect the cost of servicing certain areas”.
This has sparked fears that this is the first step toward zonal pricing, charging customers higher fees for posting to the Highlands and Islands (as well as parts of Aberdeenshire, Perthshire and Falkirk).
Commented Dr Allan: “Zonal pricing for Royal Mail services must be fought at all costs. Islanders already struggle to get items delivered without facing outrageous surcharges from courier companies – something the UK government could legislate on to prevent, but refuses to do.
“It is vital that Royal Mail continue in the spirit of the universal service obligation, and don’t discriminate financially against rural and island areas (or even urban areas, like Inverness) based on their perceived ‘remoteness’.”
He points out that though the Royal Mail was privatised over a decade ago – and is now owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský – the UK government remains responsible for ensuring the company meets its Universal Service Obligation (USO) requirements.
“I hope that customers in the islands receive meaningful reassurances that the new delivery zones are not opening the way to a poorer level of service in the Highlands and Islands.”
The earlier article on welovestornoway.com stated that: “While Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligation protects 1st and 2nd class post price setting, the company recently introduced its “Tracked 24/48” parcel service, which resembles 1st and 2nd class postage in all but name. These services are not price-protected in the same way as 1st and 2nd class postage. “
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