Attack on 'Dad’s Army' deliveries

Royal Mail’s trial of a service which allows neighbours to sign for postal deliveries has been branded a “Dad’s Army” solution to wide-scale cutbacks.
The trials – approved last week in the last act of outgoing regulator Postcomm – come at a time when the postal operator is implementing a major building rationalisation programme.
In the past month alone at least ten delivery offices in the UK have been earmarked for closure, including those at Reading, Dundee, Hull, Holbeach, Fishguard, Droitwich, Guisborough, Malmesbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay.
The most high-profile closure is that of the central London delivery office in Rathbone Place, serving W1, WC1 and WC2, which has just been sold for £120m. And, according to Royal Mail’s annual report 2010-2011, 19 delivery offices closed last year.
Until now, Royal Mail was the only postal company not allowed to leave undelivered mail with neighbours. Instead a card is left and the items returned to the local delivery office for collection.
Sources claim that, by allowing posties to deliver mail to neighbours, Royal Mail will be able to avoid a major backlash from customers forced to travel even further to out-of-town sites to pick up their mail.
The scheme has not been without its critics already. A survey by Consumer Focus claimed most people were opposed to letting their neighbours anywhere near their post and Royal Mail was forced to add in an opt-out element.
One industry source said: “The days of the local delivery office are over. Customers will soon have to travel miles to get their undelivered mail, so this is a way of appeasing them. But it will be interesting to see how it will work in reality. If you believe the Consumer Focus findings, take up could be pretty poor.”
Another insider said: “It’s all a bit Dads’ Army – drafting in locals to do the job. Even if the trials are successful, the opt-out scheme will probably cost so much to run that it will cancel out any savings made.”