An Post looking to increase the price of posting a letter

M three

An Post wants to raise the price of a standard letter from 55c to 65c, an increase of 18 per cent.

http://www.thejournal.ie/an-post-wants-18pc-stamp-increase-724951-Dec2012/

Given that we are being taxed to hell and beyond so we can remain "competitive", why should An Post be allowed to increase the cost of sending a small letter.
Interesting also that this An Post are seeking permission to do this from Comreg in the run up to Christmas, when they think nobody will notice.

If you think increasing the cost of sending a letter is not a good idea, you can outline your reasons why, by emailing here;
marketframeworkconsult@comreg.ie

Submissions to Comreg will be accepted up until January 31st 2012. The full detail around this available here;
http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg12138.pdf

If you would like to make your submission in writing, see page 60 of the consultation document

Dicky Pride

Nobody is using your product. I know what we should do...increase the price of it!!

littlejp

Dicky Pride wrote: »

Nobody is using your product. I know what we should do...increase the price of it!!

I believe they learned that from Dublin Bus.

M three

Dicky Pride wrote: »

Nobody is using your product. I know what we should do...increase the price of it!!

Well when you are a black hole like An Post you hardly think they'll become more efficient just to remain competitive do you?
Nope, just increase the price of the service.

What gobsh*ite crony runs An Post again?

Yawns

Well they need to make up that 1.75mil from the gambling debt somehow...

Wils110

^^^ just before me

sandin

M three wrote: »

Interesting also that this An Post are seeking permission to do this from Comreg in the run up to Christmas, when they think nobody will notice.

eh, no. An Post applied for this increase last March. Comreg have now decided to ask for public comment on it.

In Britain, where most of the posters here seem to like to compare to, the price is 60p (75c) to post a standard letter. International charges in Britain are even worse - a very light 20g letter is 87p (€1.10) whereas a letter containing about 5 pages would cost £1.66 (about €2.10)

falabo

I critisize a lot of things in Ireland but ONE thing I CANNOT fault is An Post

€ 0.55 for a letter, received the next day in 95% of cases is in my opinion very reasonable.

I have never had any issues with An Post, it runs much much better than in most countries . . . .

Padraig Mor

falabo wrote: »

I critisize a lot of things in Ireland but ONE thing I CANNOT fault is An Post

€ 0.55 for a letter, received the next day in 95% of cases is in my opinion very reasonable.

I have never had any issues with An Post, it runs much much better than in most countries . . . .

But the actual meaning of "next day" keeps changing! Not too long ago last collection from the Cork sorting office for Monday delivery was Monday morning at 2am. Then it was Sunday. Then Saturday. Now it's Friday at 7pm. Anything posted after 7 Friday and delivered Tuesday is regarded as having been delivered "next day".

falabo

Padraig Mor wrote: »

But the actual meaning of "next day" keeps changing! Not too long ago last collection from the Cork sorting office for Monday delivery was Monday morning at 2am. Then it was Sunday. Then Saturday. Now it's Friday at 7pm. Anything posted after 7 Friday and delivered Tuesday is regarded as having been delivered "next day".

Next "working day"

Weekeknds are not workign days. this doesnt apply to An Post only but to all businesses

chris2008x

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/martina-devlin-watchdog-without-teeth-wont-be-able-to-deliver-3180538.html

Interesting article I read in the indo few months ago.

A parcel from Roscrea was sent to me (live just outside Thurles) on the 3rd Dec. Didn't arrive until the 6th. I know letters here are sent to Portlaoise and brought back to Thurles but 3 days is disgraceful. If I wasn't struck down with flu that day I would have collected it myself. When they build the new sorting office outside Thurles next year hopefully delivery times will improve.

Padraig Mor

falabo wrote: »

Next "working day"

Weekeknds are not workign days. this doesnt apply to An Post only but to all businesses

Perhaps you missed the first 75% of my post?

Xzen

Hmm, this massive increase must mean An Post are finally allowing Post Codes in Ireland now right?...right? :rolleyes:

If we had a post code system, imagine how much couriers would save on fuel, phone calls to customers with miss-deliveries and lost drivers.

I imagine a typical courier call goes like:

courier: "I'm in Someplace, Co.Cork on your address label - which house are you"

customer: "Oh Someplace, Co.Cork is a long windy lane with 10 other lanes off it and down Someothereplace street about 40km from someplace"

courier: "Em so where to"

customer: "drive 20km down blahblah road, take a left at the un-signposted unknown road, then another right at that other place that has a rusted sign post that for now says '....road 20km' then ...."

etc etc

Though I guess that's another subject/forum.

Still, if An Post wants to get any business in this the 21st century, the need a better service for business and consumer - particularly online.

For example, I could go online to Parcel2go, GLS, UPS, etc etc and request a parcel collection from my home or work, have it paid for online and track it live online.

An Post - nope you have to come into our office and be greeted with "Nope that's too big (round, blue shiny etc) to send from here, you need to go to the other postoffice KMs away".

/rant

edit: I haven't anything to complain about the An Post workers themselves. They always do a fantastic job here in Cork, maybe less so when I was living in Dublin, but still pretty good (and always better than the infamous Royal Mail ).

b4nd1t

Cost me a small fortune to post anything using AnPost.

they need to be privatised and fend for themselves.

and they are so lazy to not bother knocking on my door to deliver parcels - i ALWAYS have to collect.

ted1

I always think the post service is amazing. For 55c a man will come and take the envelope from the green box at the end of the road. He will then take this across the country to the far side of Ireland and walk up a long windie country road and deliver it to the receipent. All in 24 hours. Amazing I wouldn't go next door for 55c

keithclancy

falabo wrote: »

I critisize a lot of things in Ireland but ONE thing I CANNOT fault is An Post

€ 0.55 for a letter, received the next day in 95% of cases is in my opinion very reasonable.

I have never had any issues with An Post, it runs much much better than in most countries . . . .

+1 I'd put then on par with Deutsche Post and above the Dutch TNT Post.

Especially with the mess of addresses in Ireland, people giving their house their own name and so on.

Something like

Vincent O'Reily
Glenamoody Shaunassy House
Packybooly
Boreen Road
Cark

Special Instructions: Close the gate after you or the bull will get out.

b4nd1t

ted1 wrote: »

I always think the post service is amazing. For 55c a man will come and take the envelope from the green box at the end of the road. He will then take this across the country to the far side of Ireland and walk up a long windie country road and deliver it to the receipent. All in 24 hours. Amazing I wouldn't go next door for 55c

Exactly Ted, it costs 10e to post a book 100metres away the same as 100 miles.

The service is a farce.

PizzamanIRL

55c, 65c, whatever it is, its a great price for the sercice they provide

You just put your letter into a box and don't see where it goes and what is done.

Stop complaining about a little 10c increase

b4nd1t

No one is complaining about a 10c increase Pizzaman, perhaps you haven't seen the prices charged by An Post to post anything larger than a postcard - it is a total rip and VERY expensive.

Bebo stunnah

Padraig Mor wrote: »

But the actual meaning of "next day" keeps changing! Not too long ago last collection from the Cork sorting office for Monday delivery was Monday morning at 2am. Then it was Sunday. Then Saturday. Now it's Friday at 7pm. Anything posted after 7 Friday and delivered Tuesday is regarded as having been delivered "next day".

Like falabo was saying, working day is exclusive of weekends. Most places around the country finish collections around 6pm on Friday. As far as I'm aware, they're trying to decrease the amount of work at the weekend to reduce cost such as allowances.

b4nd1t wrote: »

Cost me a small fortune to post anything using AnPost.

they need to be privatised and fend for themselves.

I personally wouldn't call 55c a small fortune, but that's just me. And if that's how you feel, than the part i quoted you in bold would be a massively stupid idea to suggest. The reason that the cost of a letter is 55c in the first place is because they are the Universal Service Provider for the country. That's the only thing allowing ComReg to prevent An Post from increasing the price.

And if you're finding that the postman isn't calling for parcels, then call customer services, that's what they're there for!

b4nd1t

Bebo - perhaps you should take a look at the An Post financials - they are an utter disaster!!!

average of over 28,000 written complaints by customers.

consistent losses of over €25M

If you take account of the very generous pension arrangements for the staff - An Post is actually bankrupt.

Therefore it is quite obvious that An Post is run for the benefit of lazy employee's to milk it for all they can... >60% of their expenses are on staff wages which shows they are paying too high wages.

utter disgrace - shut them down now

ted1

b4nd1t wrote: »

Exactly Ted, it costs 10e to post a book 100metres away the same as 100 miles.

The service is a farce.

They have competition if you want to use them. Personally for packages I find them the best value amd I ran an online shop.

Bebo stunnah

b4nd1t wrote: »

Bebo - perhaps you should take a look at the An Post financials - they are an utter disaster!!!.

I'm well aware of their financial woes. But for years they were state owned, and like every single other state owned business, thy knew how to squander money. What you were suggesting was that it shouldn't cost the same for some person living 20 miles from a sorting office sending a letter, as to the person living next door to one?

b4nd1t wrote: »

If you take account of the very generous pension arrangements for the staff

But sure that's the same as every politician/bank worker in this country. Which I might add, would be substantially higher. I've never seen a single one of those have to walk through the sh!tty Irish weather to bring your 55c up mrs soaps driveway.

b4nd1t wrote: »

utter disgrace - shut them down now

If you feel so strongly, perhaps you should set up a business and compete with them? After all "Anyone can set up a postal business to handle any form of mail"

OU812

One way they could cut costs is to allow people print their own postage.

I worked on a project over ten years ago which was for the Italian postal service.

You bought a dymo label printer, had to buy security labels direct from them.

Load up your account & print your own postage. Prices were dictated by distance bands (internal by 50km increments, external by 100km) & weight.

Very simple system. You couldn't print postage unless you had prepaid credit & they wouldn't accept it unless it was on their security label.

The US have a similiar system.

mathepac

OU812 wrote: »

One way they could cut costs is to allow people print their own postage. ...

Their project to become a bank failed in the 80's, their courier company failed, their last attempt at banking in the noughties also failed and they have failed (bankrupt) as the sole mail-carrier, their core business where revenues are declining fast (2011 Annual Report). I'd hesitate before giving them another challenge and an opportunity to mess up again and lose even more money.

AIB have my admiration as their partners in this new AIB/An Post joint venture or are they all as mad as a box of frogs? A failed bank and a failed post office business joining up to be even bigger failures? If this goes tits up I wonder who'll foot the bill ... ?

Bebo stunnah

mathepac wrote: »

their last attempt at banking in the noughties also failed

And the worst part, the 2 that set it up were given 2 million when it went tits up!!

Xzen

OU812 wrote: »

One way they could cut costs is to allow people print their own postage.

I worked on a project over ten years ago which was for the Italian postal service.

You bought a dymo label printer, had to buy security labels direct from them.

Load up your account & print your own postage. Prices were dictated by distance bands (internal by 50km increments, external by 100km) & weight.

Very simple system. You couldn't print postage unless you had prepaid credit & they wouldn't accept it unless it was on their security label.

The US have a similiar system.

They've always had a franking system similar to this for a long time.

Though by the looks of the new "live" printed stamps in post-offices these days, I suspect the system you mention above will be in use soon.

***

On another note, I'm curious - Why has An Post declined so, if they have at all. Is it bad management decisions? Is it really the lack of people posting letters? Surely the huge increase of internet bought parcels would has substituted the letter business some bit.

And what new things could An Post do to improve their business?

In my opinion, postcodes are needed. Even if they introduced them and licensed them out for a few years to eek some monies. But what do I know

Our man in Havana

And if you're finding that the postman isn't calling for parcels, then call customer services, that's what they're there for!

You would be better off howling at the moon.

L1011

OU812 wrote: »

One way they could cut costs is to allow people print their own postage.

Except for the slight problem that, erm, they already do.


http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent/Business+Customers/Postage+Options/Stamp+Printer/?utm_source=businessHome&utm_medium=textlink&utm_campaign=EasyPost

http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent/Business+Customers/Postage+Options/Meter/

They only offer this for users where it will actually save them money. If you introduce it for low level users it becomes a cost - someone who spends a tenner a year but spends three hours on the phone moaning about his printer jamming.