Yesterday’s ‘Courier’ covered my concerns about the deterimental effect on queuing at the GPO following the closure of 4 Dundee Post Offices, including those at Lochee Road and Nethergate. See http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2008/11/01/newsstory12183144t0.asp to view.
Early yesterday morning, I got a call from a lady in the Paton’s Lane area to complain that she had had to wait 45 minutes in the queue at Perth Road Post Office last week. You are not trying to tell me that Post Office Limited properly researched the effects of their Post Office closures on adjacent Post Offices!
Here’s the news release I issued about the issue :
NEWS RELEASE : Councillor slams Post Office Limited over erroneous claims about Post Offices
Dundee City Councillor for the West End, Cllr Fraser Macpherson, today said he has written to Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, criticising ‘completely misleading assurances’ that the Dundee’s General Post Office had the capacity to deal with increased customers as a result of Post Office Limited’s recent closure of four other Dundee Post Offices and calling for the Post Office’s evidence that customer waiting times would not be detrimentally affected to be made public.
Cllr Macpherson was reacting to constituents’ complaints about the length of waiting time in the GPO during peak hours. Cllr Macpherson said, “The staff at the GPO do an excellent job but the bottom line is that the Post Office’s assurances that closing Post Offices in Nethergate and Lochee Road would not result in longer waiting times at Ward Road has been shown to be false. It appears that increased staffing at peak times has not been provided – no-one should have to wait the length of time constituents are rightly complaining about.
“Dundee City Council has recently been advised by Consumer Focus, the successor to Post Office watchdog Postwatch, that Post Office Limited “submitted a detailed action plan … demonstrating how the alternative branches would cope with an influx in custom” and I think its about time that this so-called ‘evidence’ was publicly available, because it is clear from what has actually happened since the Post Office closures, that there are increased waiting times at the GPO. Post Office Limited gave us assurances that this wouldn’t happen but the reality is that it has. I want to know what the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited is going to do to ensure that customer waiting times at peak hours are improved. Constituents have complained about 25-35 minutes waiting time, which is completely unacceptable.”
Cllr Macpherson said that the City Council had written to Postwatch to attempt to stop the Post Office closures, as Postwatch had powers in terms of a Memorandum of Understanding with Post Office Limited allowing it to request a suspension of closures where Post Office Limited had not fully considered all evidence presented against a proposed closure. The City Council had made clear that there had not been transparency from Post Office Limited on whether or not it fully considered the information on potential for customer growth at one Post Office – Nethergate -and in light of that, a suspension of the closure should have been sought by Postwatch.
Cllr Macpherson continued, “The City Council sought a review of the consultation exercise and also a fuller statement of reasons from Post Office Limited that properly addressed the substance of the relevant and material issues raised by the Council’s representation. Unfortunately, Consumer Focus, the successor to Postwatch, has been unwilling to do this because it says ‘We are reassured that with appropriate staffing … the alternative post offices can accommodate the anticipated additional customers.’ The assurances given to Consumer Focus have proved to be pretty worthless – the lengthy waiting times are proof of this – and it is extremely disappointing that the so-called “Post Office Watchdog” has proved to be so toothless in reality.
“By being unwilling to act to suspend Post Office closures, Consumer Focus is failing to protect customers from increased waiting times.”
Cllr Macpherson said that, following the feedback from Consumer Focus received by the City Council, he has met with Council legal officers to see if separate legal action by the Council should be pursued, but, having reviewed the legal position, the Council’s solicitors have advised that this would be unlikely to bear fruit, in part because of the lack of supportiveness by the watchdog but also, specifically, given the situation that the Post Office, once part of the public sector, has been recreated by Government as a limited company, rendering it highly unlikely that any judicial review of its closure decisions would succeed.
Cllr Macpherson continued, “The Council’s legal officers have reviewed other legal attempts to stop Post Office closures, including an attempt by the Greater London Authority and the London Mayor, and concluded that there were no reasonable prospects of successfully challenging these decisions. The whole consultation process lacked transparency and Post Office Limited has given assurances to Postwatch’s successor that have been shown to be inaccurate.
“I have therefore contacted the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited asking what steps he will be taking to ensure waiting times at the GPO are cut to be satisfactory at all times of opening. I think that is the least we can reasonably expect from Post Office Limited, especially given the complaints from the Dundee public about waiting for around half an hour to be served.”
