Private British Stamps

A watchdog was set up to gauge the effect these businesses were having on Royal Mail, but it is the consensus that it has had “some noticeable effects” on the postal system as a whole.

New proposals have been drafted, which will soon be public record, which indicate that a private company wants to widen its services to all main areas of the country, and interestingly, produce stamps for payment.

The scheme is geared around central collection points, and the report highlights several ways this could be achieved. A shop would be designated to sell the stamps and provide a collection point, similar to a post box. For example in a small village, the local supermarket could provide a suitable outlet and collection point.

At this time, there is little information on how the mail would be delivered, although the concept has been introduced that the same supermarket could be used as a collection point. The introduction of “mail tags” has also been suggested, which could be incorporated into store reward cards that have become very common.

The concept has won praise for the simplicity of the scheme, and it is suggested that it could produce a lifeline for villages who have lost their post offices.

At this time there is no plan for introducing other services, so parcels and recorded deliveries, etc, would not be available. Indications show that if a collection and distribution point method was used, then the cost could be a fraction of the current Royal Mail prices.

The other benefit to private companies is there will be no restrictions imposed upon them, so they will not have to comply with the same rules Royal Mail does. They could for example charge more for delivering to remote locations, or could in fact refuse to deliver to certain parts of the country. This would all need to be thrashed out in the final proposal, but at this time it is clear that there would be no international services available.

The interesting part is the idea that a company other than Royal Mail may be producing stamps that would be used nationwide. No mention has been given to them, and it is unclear if they will be simply functional or decorative. It is clear that they will not carry the Queens image, and would possibly have to display “GB” or “UK” as set out by the Postal Union Congress.

Much still has to be decided, and the facts are still very unclear. A full article will cover all the details as soon as the report is officially published. Information contained within this article is taken from the report which was leaked to the press earlier this month.

Mark Steele

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