Postcomm acts to enforce business mail improvements

23 December 2002

Postcomm today imposed an enforcement order on Royal Mail which requires it to improve the way in which it processes two mail services for businesses – 1st Class Response Service and 1st Class Postage Paid Impression (PPI) – or face the possibility of monetary penalties.

Today’s order follows an enforcement notice issued by Postcomm in October. This was served after information from Royal Mail indicated that its 1st Class Response Service and 1st Class PPI were likely to miss their performance targets in March 2003 -- the end of the current financial year.

Since then Royal Mail has put in place processes specified by Postcomm in the notice. But despite delaying the order, at Royal Mail’s request, to allow time for the processes to be introduced, Royal Mail has been unable to demonstrate that these are being fully complied with across the business.

The order requires Royal Mail to take specific steps to improve these services, to provide evidence to Postcomm that it is doing so, and to issue monthly progress reports.