Gary Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 No wonder the country is in such a mess when we have to rely on national institutions like the Royal Mail! (Price increases due again!!!) I have been coming into work during the festive period and we have not had any mail delivered since December 29th. We have just experienced three "working days" with no mail delivered which means we have had no money coming in! It will be now another three days (if we are lucky as the mail rarely arrives before lunch time) before we have any mail delivered during office hours, which means it will be another four-five working days for any cheques to be cleared. I am sure some smaller business could end up going under having to rely on this kind of situation. When you ring up to complain you go through an automated process whereby you have to listen to long winded press 1 for this and 2. for that and three for this and so on. Then you are left hanging on because they are "busy"" (e.g not prepared to pay for enough staff to be in) and then when you do get to a human being they refer you to the "business service" and you go through the whole procedure again!! Any way the up shot of it is they apparently sent us (and other businesses) a postcard before Christmas asking us what our office hours would be. If you didn't respond they presumed you didn't want any deliveries over the festive holiday period - the problem is we never got the post card!!! The country is in safe hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Gary, Get your customers to pay by BACS and email you the remittance. Cuts the post office out all together. We still get a lot of cheques from schools which always seem to take forever to arrive but that is compensated by those who pay online The Royal mail is rubbish though; and they had the cheek to threaten strike action before christmas..... would anyone have noticed I wonder! Baz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RENT-A-GOAT Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Perhaps their delivery wagons got snarled up at the ASDA traffic lights!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kennedy Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 When it is good, it is very good. But when it goes wrong it can be a real shocker. There is talk that it will be part privatised by forming a partnership with a major carrier such as DHL TNT etc. My eldest Son is waiting for a very important letter that is being posted out today and should arrive tomorrow...we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Gary, Get your customers to pay by BACS and email you the remittance. Cuts the post office out all together. Baz Some customers pay by standing order and BACS and while that is helpful they all tend to go through towards the end of the month which doesn't help the cash flow. A lot of smaller traders also still like to pay by cheque and old habits die hard. At the ends of the day my point is the way the Royal Mail is run is totally unacceptable and Mr Crozier is making the same mess of the postal system as he did at the F.A but I suppose he will continue to be well rewarded financially while the rest of us suffer. No doubt if he ever gets the boot it will be with a golden handshake like all the financial fat cats who have made a mess of the economy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeway56 Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 In the electronic age why do banks take days to clear a cheque ? It's a throwback to the days of clerks sat atop tall stools, eyeshades and dusty ledgers. Could it be that having everybody's cash for a few extra days earns some considerable interest ? Surely not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 .but S56, everyone has to make a profit! holding on to customers money for a day or so makes them money which pays for "free" banking for personal customers. I don't see why the banks don't just charge everyone for their personal banking; that way the more you use it the more you pay and then maybe they can reduce the overall costs such as overdraft charges and letters from the banks and maybe even reduce the costs to business customers as another incentive to keep trading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kennedy Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 [quote="GaryAt the ends of the day my point is the way the Royal Mail is run is totally unacceptable and Mr Crozier is making the same mess of the postal system as he did at the F.A but I suppose he will continue to be well rewarded financially while the rest of us suffer. No doubt if he ever gets the boot it will be with a golden handshake like all the financial fat cats who have made a mess of the economy! ] ?1.242 million a year Gary, in 2007 he was the highest paid "civil servant", lost that title by ?2000 this year to the boss of Network Rail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeway56 Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 Isn't Network Rail a non-government organisation ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 When it is good, it is very good. I agree with Paul. On the whole there is no problem. However, my company shuts down for the Christmas period so I don't rely on postal deliveries. If I had to rely on the odd cheque not turning up for a week or two it would be time to shut the business down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 .but S56, everyone has to make a profit! holding on to customers money for a day or so makes them money which pays for "free" banking for personal customers. I don't see why the banks don't just charge everyone for their personal banking; that way the more you use it the more you pay and then maybe they can reduce the overall costs such as overdraft charges and letters from the banks and maybe even reduce the costs to business customers as another incentive to keep trading! A lot of people would draw all their cash out each month and then the banks would suffer. The only reason they don't do it now is convenience. Start charging and people will behave differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milly Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 You want to try running a junior rugby team. Getting the kids registered is all done by post and is a nightmare, taking anything from a 10 day turn around to 8 weeks! They have 'lost' so many of my forms I know duplicate everything from the start so if I haven't received in back in two weeks I send a second lot in the hope that one will run through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 A lot of people would draw all their cash out each month and then the banks would suffer.The only reason they don't do it now is convenience. Start charging and people will behave differently. Not necessarily Peter. As a business customer I am charged for every withdrawal and for every deposit and so even taking money out will have a charge. It is also done on a percentage basis too so it doesn't pay to take it all out at once! I doubt that most would even consider doing that (or wouldn't do it twice anyway!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 I don't believe that all of the banks will ever go over to charging for personal banking, there'll always be banks willing to extend free current account facilities for good customers as a way of trying to sell them other products. If the banks did try charging me for the privilege of making profit from investing the money I put in, then I'd insist on getting my salary paid in cash. I'd then be able to pay all my bills in cash and run a positive balance on a charges free credit card for convenience spending. Then all those businesses that I deal with could do the worrying about having to pay the charges for banking. There are plenty of banks out there doing free banking for businesses, but most companies seem to be even more reluctant to switch banks than private customers are. If they choose to stay put and pay the charges then good luck to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 I have been coming into work during the festive period and we have not had any mail delivered since December 29th.We have just experienced three "working days" with no mail delivered which means we have had no money coming in! Maybe Gary you have simply fallen for the old saying 'The cheques in the post' by those who could not, or more likely decided not to, pay up just before Christmas. All too easy for some to put the blame onto others:? ....but saying that we never got the postcard you mentioned from Royal Mail asking when we were open over the festive period either but who cares cos no-one would have paid us anyway and we'd have only got bills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 I'm sorry to say that any mail I send that is more than normal I send special delivery. Over the last couple of years I've had loads of incoming mail go missing, but Royal Mail's explanation is that it was posted using one of their rivals eg TNT, Deutchpost etc. No accountability whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 If the banks did try charging me for the privilege of making profit from investing the money I put in, then I'd insist on getting my salary paid in cash. Pete, most companies now will not pay you in cash. Robberies from cash vans delivering wages on a set day of the month helped to scupper that one (Did you never watch the Sweeney??) It is more expensive now for a company to pay you in cash too so that would be another no no. I wouldn't like to pay our staff in cash; for a start the inland revenue would be crawling all over the books if they see large quantities of cash leaving the business. However, if my lads want to be paid in cash, I'm sure there are plenty of companys out there who will do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 I have been coming into work during the festive period and we have not had any mail delivered since December 29th.We have just experienced three "working days" with no mail delivered which means we have had no money coming in! Maybe Gary you have simply fallen for the old saying 'The cheques in the post' by those who could not, or more likely decided not to, pay up just before Christmas. All too easy for some to put the blame onto others:? ....but saying that we never got the postcard you mentioned from Royal Mail asking when we were open over the festive period either but who cares cos no-one would have paid us anyway and we'd have only got bills Not had any mail whatsoever - not even a bill!!! So I can't even pay my suppliers!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 For what we pay, I think the Royal Mail does an excellent job under the circumstances. I dread to think how things are going to work out when private business is allowed to scrape off the more lucrative and moneymaking parts of the business. I think your wasting your time trying to call HQ, your far better getting to know your regular postie and making sure he knows your open for business over the holiday period and that way you would get your mail. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kennedy Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Further to my previous post, my Son's letter was posted yesterday and did arrive today...so no complaints about Royal Mail in this instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Maybe Gary's postie is a United supporter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 I have been coming into work during the festive period and we have not had any mail delivered since December 29th.We have just experienced three "working days" with no mail delivered which means we have had no money coming in! Maybe Gary you have simply fallen for the old saying 'The cheques in the post' by those who could not, or more likely decided not to, pay up just before Christmas. All too easy for some to put the blame onto others:? ....but saying that we never got the postcard you mentioned from Royal Mail asking when we were open over the festive period either but who cares cos no-one would have paid us anyway and we'd have only got bills Not had any mail whatsoever - not even a bill!!! So I can't even pay my suppliers!! And you are complaining If you've not received your customers payments OR any of your supplier bills then I'm sure you'll survive for a bit longer as you're no worse off than if you had received them all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 If the banks did try charging me for the privilege of making profit from investing the money I put in, then I'd insist on getting my salary paid in cash. Pete, most companies now will not pay you in cash. Robberies from cash vans delivering wages on a set day of the month helped to scupper that one (Did you never watch the Sweeney??) It is more expensive now for a company to pay you in cash too so that would be another no no. I wouldn't like to pay our staff in cash; for a start the inland revenue would be crawling all over the books if they see large quantities of cash leaving the business. However, if my lads want to be paid in cash, I'm sure there are plenty of companys out there who will do it! I know that it's more expensive and less convenient for employers to pay wages is cash - but I believe that it is still an employees legal right to be paid in negotiable currency if they insist upon it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 The way that an employee's wages are paid will depend solely on what their contract of employment says about how their wages should be paid. If an employee has always been paid in cash the employer must get an aggreement to change it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 I would have thought with the threat of job losses being as they are at the moment most employees will be grateful to their receive wages in any form whatsoever Have we got two seperate topics running here though .... thought this was about Royal Mail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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