Royal Mail think their monopoly is more important than their service

[FlyingJesus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27514531

The Royal Mail are claiming that competition in the mail services is a bad thing - because it might threaten how well they perform. Never mind that people choose alternatives because they can promise better service or a better price or whatever other reasons there might be, clearly the profits of the Royal Mail (which have increased to £671,000,000 this year anyway) are more important than competitive business keeping service at maximum quality for the consumer

[Chippiewill]

Thanks for the editorialised title.

Royal Mail is concerned that because they're required to provide a mail service to the whole of the UK that it is impossible for them to remain competitive for urban areas. They aren't saying they should be given a monopoly per se but instead warning that this could cause issues, which is quite right, it probably will.

[FlyingJesus]

Why would there be issues? If they lose out on urban trade they can/will have more focus on delivering to the more countrified areas and will have ample resources to do so while still being quite able to do whatever amount of city work that does come their way. If their profits decrease (ie: the opposite of what's happened) then it'll only be because they have less work to do, which makes perfect sense and will be of no issue except for their bosses who want to have the biggest share of everything. It's really quite simple, if you have less to do then you require less profit to do it

[Chippiewill]

The issue is that they're legally required to provide an unprofitable service (Daily deliveries to rural areas). The way they have to make up for this is to charge more for the urban areas making them uncompetitive.

[The Don]

Even if they do lose out on Urban areas, if their profit this year was £671,000,000 then surely they can afford the losses at other areas?

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The issue is that they're legally required to provide an unprofitable service (Daily deliveries to rural areas). The way they have to make up for this is to charge more for the urban areas making them uncompetitive.

Surely this was known to those relevant before they took it on?

[Chippiewill]

Surely this was known to those relevant before they took it on?

Well precisely. They're not exactly making demands right now, they're just making the issue known.

[FlyingJesus]

And if they can't keep up with their duties then why do we need them anyway? No business is owed an existence

[Chippiewill]

And if they can't keep up with their duties then why do we need them anyway? No business is owed an existence

Royal mail's requirement to deliver to the entirety of the UK for a flat rate could probably be removed which would allow them to remain competitive. They're certainly not owed an existence but they are owed a level playing field.