Deliveries could be reduced to three a week for Jersey Post to stay in business
SCORES more jobs will be lost, mail deliveries could be slashed to three a week and Jersey Post will be ‘plunged into loss’ as a result of facing full competition as early as this summer, it was announced yesterday.
Managers at the States-owned utility told 250 stunned staff that Jersey Post would immediately embark upon a radical overhaul of its business as it faces losing its most profitable customers from the fulfilment industry.
The first high-profile casualty of the effects of impending competition is Gary Whipp, the man behind Ship2me and mobile phone business me:mo. Jersey Post said that it could not afford to spend money on new ventures and to concentrate resources on saving its core postal business. Jersey Post chairman Mike Liston said that Mr Whipp had left on good terms.
Staff members were told that the company faced insolvency within two and a half years
unless it carried out radical surgery.
Article posted on 25th May, 2010 - 3.00pm
62 Article Comments
I see in the paper tonight Mr Liston says that “no regulator anywhere else in the world would be allowed to take such sudden action”
Competition has been on the cards since 1998 and the first consultation regarding this started in 2004 so is 6 years to quick for him? I am disgusted by the way a man running a states monopoly can say this in the paper surely a JEP journalist should pull him up on this!
And he should also note that the Royal mail has had competition for years now so for him to say Jersey Post is being treated badly is just nonsense.
Surely if Jersey Post keep their prices down their customers won’t leave them. He must know he is over charging his most important customers no wonder they need to bring in competition. Only about 6 years late!
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Great news! No more monopoly! Better prices and a quicker more reliable service for the people of Jersey!
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It is truly a shame that people must lose their jobs. Nobody wants to make anybody jobless. But looking beyond that im this will be for the good of the island as a whole and even possibly open up new empolyment oppertunities.
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So what?
Every business needs to adapt to competition.
Scores of people will lose their jobs – that’s life, get on with it
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“…mail deliveries could be slashed to three a week and Jersey Post will be ‘plunged into loss’…”
Ooooh, the drama and the scare tactics of it all.
Lost jobs will simply go elsewhere – most liekly to the competition. People complain about postage prices all the time – now this is an opportunity to do something about it!
Competition is business sense, and, although it may not seem like it now, it will be to everybody’s advantage in the end.
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How is it an improvement for postage to be slightly cheaper, if you only get three deliveries a week?
The post office is an essential public service. This is its primary duty, so it should not have to put up with competitors cherry picking the best contracts.
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To all the people saying they want cheap post.
Are the forgetting that the will pay with tax as I do not think Citipost and HubEurope will pay any profit or tax to the States.
Are we being run by idiots
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Wake up regulators ….. this is another telecoms fiasco. You will send Jersey down the pan, and turn us into another UK high street, but without the income you recieve from local businesses
Think twice buy local extends to giving licences for stupid amounts of competition in an island with 90K inhabitants
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There are more people employed in Telecom companies in Jersey now that when Jersey Telecom had a monopoly.
The same will probably happen with postal services.
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What good is the fulfillment industry to Jersey when you consider the following;
If not locally owned, no tax paid.
Not using local postal service, so no profit for Gov’t agency or decent employment for postal workers in the future.
Import lots of labour on low wages with little tax paid and big drain on island resources.
Oh and the UK resents the use of a VAT loophole giving the impression we are a bunch of tax evading spivs.
Time for Ozouf to think again, or scrutiny to review.
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Max – actually to get a postal licence via the JCRA Citipost and HubEurope will both have to register as a Utility Company and they are subject to 20% taxation, irrespective of who owns them.
That is more than can be said for Argos selling items into Jersey via ShiptoMe that Jersey Post were running!
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Well about time too, people are always telling me ….Mr Khan! you know where the harbour is ….and there is a boat every day.
Well! perhaps it will be full of Jersey people as they find they have no jobs. Ah! land of hope and glory!!
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If home deliveries were opened to competition then maybe a new compeditor would welcome the opportunity to deliver mail to homes 6 days a week.
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I am sorry for those that might lose their jobs, but is this Jersey Posts way of throwing the toys out the pram because they can’t get their own way?
In all honesty, will it bother me, no, why because I use a faster, efficient, cheaper way of dealing with my mail, I’m using it right now to write this!!!!
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Max and Wake Up you are both wrong .To get a postal licence you are classed as a utility and since both Citipost and Hub Europe are registered as local businesses by the JFSC they will pay 20% tax – the maximum.This competition is a Win Win for everyone .
Ship 2 Me and MeMo have been disasters for Jersey Post so dont blame the competition.
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In response to previous comments, how many 1.1K residents pay the amount of income tax they should, the Island as we know it, is going to hell in a basket ! ! !
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well done terry well done phil and the rest of the idiots running this rock, dont worry if there not from here they will get ss assistance, sod the locals
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A big thanks to ‘Lord’ Gary Whipp for his visionary contribution!
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must admit its nice to see the back of mr whipp This guy only thinks £££ everything hes gots a bit tacky even is club on the esplanade its horrid remember support the JCRA dont use jersey post please use email
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I would like to point out that I am the 100% owner of HubEurope and have been I’m Jersey since 1969…. All of our proposed staff will be local .. We will pay local income tax and social security as well as invest in local infrastructure.
Please do not confuse us with amy attempt to raid Jersey for profit… We are here to help local business and keep ALL of the money in the local economy … Not divert it to the UK or elsewhere….. HubEurope… As local as the cows
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Think of it this way.
We have a relative fixed and shrinking postal demand.
We currently pay towards one management structure and one main sorting office (plus other sub post offices).
If competition arrives in the form of Citipost and HubEurope that same size postal demand will have to pay for three management structures, three sorting offices and sub post offices. (assuming that the same number of delivery / collection staff are spread amongst the three companies)
How does that make sense?
And don’t forget that as the States of Jersey are the only shareholder in Jersey Post they are entitled to some the profits.
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We had goods posted from Jersey to Australia using Jersey Post. Many items were broken and smashed on arrival. The response from Jersey Post was – not legally liable. No compensation for damaged goods.
Seems a little competition is not only only beneficial, but necessary.
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Gary Whipp, your crazy tax payer funded schemes have failed, so don’t let the door hit your backside on the way out! If you thought that ME:MO and Ship2Me were such great ideas, then you should have financed them, taking the risk of setting them up and being profitable. As for Mike Liston, well I could have been successful as head of a monopoly, and you become chairman of another, and complain against competition. As head of the JEC, you launched JET to compete with Jersey Telecom, the JEC become shareholders of Newtel, again to compete with Jersey Telecom and all the time the JEC sit pretty as a fat monopoly, protected due to having high reaching people as shareholders.
Jersey Post then try and muscle in on the telecom market (failing miserably) and yet still think they should retain their own monopoly. I think it would be brilliant if JT could somehow diversify into the postal industry, they couldn’t fail anymore than ME:MO did in their market.
The sad thing is this affects the posties, not the failed executives.
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Jersey Post’s service has been truly horrific this year that is what will turn people to ther companies – a search for reliability!
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Well said Mr Bee, about time Jersey Post Office stopped ripping people off!
I understand you are local and employ over 100 staff in both Jersey and Guernsey, and no doubt this will increase significantly in the coming year/s??
This is only good for Jersey, i am fed up of being ripped off by Jersey post, anyhow they only deliver to me 3 times a week at the moment!!!
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Are Mr Whipps ideas he introduced going to continue trading?
have they been profitable so far?
Did he get a “pay off”?
Journalists should be asking these questions not readers.
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To Christopher Bee I am sorry if I got the ownership of your company wrong.
I have no problem if you are paying Jersey tax and employing jersey people.
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Mr Christopher Bee can you confirm that your HubEurope based in Jersey has nothing to do with the HubEurope based in Swindon UK? It’s just that both businesses seem to use http://www.hubeurope.com which could confuse some people (myself included).
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Chris Bonney #22 Assuming the items were packed properly didn’t the insurers pay out? Since JP would have been involved in only the first 200 miles of a 12,000 mile trip (1/60th) I imagine your compensation request was a bit tongue in cheek!
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I am glad that slowly people are beginning to understand that we are a local company (www.hubeurope.com) – Jersey owned with Jersey premises and intend to employ Jersey people. Our application and intent is very different from Citipost DSA (www.citipost.com) who are a UK company who stated in their application that they had no intent to have premises in Jersey.
I quote:- “1.4 For overseas applicants only
Address in Jersey for service of process or other notices.
It is not the intention to have premises or an address in Jersey, however if this becomes necessary then Citipost DSA would make arrangements with a Customer or Customers for provision of premises and Jersey Address.”
I do not condone money ‘leaking’ out of Jersey’s economy – but I believe that local competition to a monopoly that has just become greedy in inefficient is fair and good for the consumer. In addition I hope it will support the E-commerce industry that is here and stop it moving to another jurisdiction where postal products are more competitive.
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Compare these prices and you will see why competition is needed, Royal Mails price for a Special delivery item under 500gm delivered next day by 13.00 £5.20 and Jersey Post Special delivery item under 500gm £9.68, does it really cost that much to get it over the water and have Royal Mail deliver it anyway?
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I am I sorry for what’s happening to Jersey Post – NO.
You send items recorded delivery, they go missing and it takes a month of Sundays to be compensated having to fill out form after form with god knows how many calls.
I have had numerous items go missing, tracked all the way to Jersey, items just left on my door step, some been electronic and left to the elements, delivered damaged, last week receiving an empty box – contents god knows where.
And when you use them for letter delivery recently, your lucky to have the letter delivered in the same week, if it gets there at all.
You contact JP, their attitude of we don’t give a damn.
So do I care if JP go down the drain, no. I am sure those made redundant will get a big fat payoff (fairplay to them) and start a new job the following day. There will be plenty of jobs with the new operators as they will have vacancies to fill, with competition, win win.
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@ Natural Born Cynic
Both you and I are confused by this! No they have NOTHING to do with us and never have, neither have they ever owned the domain. I have complained to http://www.iwiltshire.co.uk and they have removed the link http://www.google.com/search?q=hubeurope&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Thanks
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Christopher Bee qoutes the Citipost Licence application that was published in April 2009 although Citipost have been talking to the JCRA for over two years . Hub Europe only applied in late 2009 .
Since It’s original application Citipost has a Jersey registered company , that will pay 20% tax , and has Jersey staff and Jersey premises .
WE are as much a Jersey company as the JEP, Channel 103 , Channel Television and BBC Jersey .AS well as most of the banks in Jersey .It just so happens all of the above have a UK parent company.
R.Jones , MD , Citipost Jersey .
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@Bob
As you say Bob – a UK parent company…
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At Christopher Bee
How come you say you want Jersey post to have competition but you then say try to imply Citipost shouldn’t be allowed even though they already have Jersey employees and will pay exactly the same tax on profits as you will at 20% as a utility. You are not making the case for competition very well that is so greatly needed.
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The prices that Jersey Post charge for re-directing mail is amazing, a complete rip off.
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People still post letters in Jersey? How quaint!
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Perhaps the owners of Citipost and Hubeurope could enlighten us all as to whether or not they actually intend to do the tiresome task of local deliveries, or; if they only plan to milk the very local fulfillment cash cow?
Let us not delude ourselves that this isn’t about the letters through our doors, it is about the subsidy we get in terms of the more lucrative bulk mail. If we recall that postal rates to the UK increased because of the fulfillment industry then I reckon we are probably getting just about even.
If the daily mail was split randomly 3 ways we would need 3 postmen to any address, if the island were divided into 3 sections there couldn’t be competition because you wouldn’t choose to send a lettter to a cheaper parish instead – would you? The first scenario wouldn’t be remotely viable. Could the (UK) sender choose which delivery company it preferred to use? Get real.
The only beneficiaries of this competition will be the new entrants and the established fulfillment companies who seem to be doing quite well already. Islanders will loose out.
What does bug me however, – and I’m no fan of Mr Liston – is the swipes that have been taken at those who have tried. I suggest those people consider the creativity of ‘Ship to Me’ and that only a fool would invest in a Mobile Phone company to gift it away. The chap was brought-in because of his expertise, the indications were that it would succeed. Why knock a guy for trying?
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email, on line banking, etc was the death knell of the postal service
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Perspicuous – You are correct that the fullfillment industry is busy but they are a high volume buisness and postal costs are very sensitive and in many cases Jersey Post have unilaterally decided to double the rates, in some cases even more.
Many of these businesses could and will go elsewhere costing hundreds of jobs. This industry employs directly over 1,000 people!
Jersey Post is threatening his business and cannot utilise it to subsidise mail delivery and also its failed business ventures.
Ship to Me was sheer hypocrisy…at the time the SoJ were promoting buy local Jersey Post were encouraging UK entities to sell direct to end users in Jersey. However not surprised it failed when you see the ridiculous price.
Jersey Post must become commercial and its management must address its working practices to remain competitive and not be dictated to by the unions!
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I may not be an economist, but how can taking revenue from a (states owned) company be good for the Island. Surely when you lose income prices need to go up not down! Obviously Citipost and Hub UK will look after the big companies but they certainly won’t be walking down a pathway in St Ouen with a reasonably priced letter! Mind you if this madness is allowed to go on your postman won’t be doing it that often either!
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#29 Perspicuous
I’m sorry but he and Gary Whipp gambled and failed with public money, that’s what I find offensive. As I said, if Gary Whipp thought they were really viable he would have put his own money at risk, and believe me, if he and Mike Liston saw it as a good business model, it would have been a private enterprise, making them money.
As others mentioned, Ship2Me was in direct opposition to a Statss funded campaign to Think Twice, Buy Local. One States funded campaign, beaten down by a States owned company. Good business sesnse there then!
As for ME:MO, JT and Airtel must be worried! The other crazy thing, is that States Owned ME:MO does business with Indian company Airtel, and not States owned JT.
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@36 Tom
In this instance I am a firm believer in two things…firstly competition in the postal market – to help the e-commerce sector and secondly the good of the Jersey economy. In my mind those two things benefit the economy of Jersey. There is an overwhelming desire for alternative postal services, but whatever profits are made from this competition would be best serve the local economy. Similar principles apply in Dubai and the UAE etc. to protect the local economy – not just a local business – be it ours or State owned.
Let as many real local companies as possible offer postal services.. the more the merrier in my opinion and if for some reason they are unable to satisfy the requirements of the customer – then say Jersey has failed itself and let the money go off Island – because there would be no alternative.
Think Twice buy Local or Jersey Business for Jersey Business….
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@39 Perspicuous
The JCRA has chosen to protect all letter traffic for Jersey Post – neither HubEurope or Citipost would be allowed to touch it in the event we are licensed. This is an important point as some 30 million items are protected for Jersey Post. Jersey Post are paid for every delivery they make…not just for the Royal Mail but also for all of the Royal Mail competitors i.e. TNT, UK Mail, DHL Global Mail etc – they pay per item. In addition there is a stamp on all outbound mail – already money in Jersey Post’s bank before they even touch the letter.
It is very easy to be mislead by certain facts in the postal sector – there are skilled spin doctors who will portray certain information as fact and ignore other facts.
The Post Office have a special agreement with customs to allow the movement of mail and parcels, this also allows the pre paying of VAT, no other company is allowed to take advantage of this. Jersey Post do not have to use the same customs clearance methods as ANY other courier company – meaning that they have a lower cost of administration on all of their parcels and probably fail to collect all of the appropriate GST payable on every parcel – thereby increasing the GST burden on the rest of the Island. Jersey Post ‘lent’ £4m to JPID to launch Ship2Me and Me:Mo, amongst other things, and moan about the fact that they ONLY have £9m in the bank.
Do not be led on the emotive issues here – there are many more worrying facts.
Finally – and in answer to the first part of your question, if the JCRA allowed us to operate in the area of local deliveries – we would be very interested to discuss it. We delivered the telephone directories for 9 years and have delivered in Jersey & Guernsey for NEXT, Littlewoods, Home Delivery Network and many many more.
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Oh Christopher Bee so it’s your company that kept leaving my parcels from additions direct (home delivery network) outside my door.
Twice I had to claim because of water damage to my parcel, and also once for someone nicking my parcel leaving an empty bag outside!!
I’m sure i’ll be avoiding hub Europe in the future….
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@ Nathan
Ha – as I said “we HAVE delivered” – we stopped delivering for HDN – Now YODEL – over 6 months ago… you’ll have to talk to the new agent
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No it was you company @ the time, regency logistics?????
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most of my post is bills
JPost wudn’t be in troubel if they gave me better post, stuff with pictures and stuff
but they dont cos they dont care about customers
typical jersey
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How will these poor post workers be informed of their jobs losses?
Will the letters of redundancy be hand delivered or posted to them, and who by?
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better idea.
stop doing all the nonsense stuff like memo and ship to me.
start combining post with other deliveries.
team up with genuine jersey producers to deliver milk, meat and fresh veggies along with the post
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It’s OK for JP to introduce competitive products and services but when others do it in their area they kick up a fuss – kids and sandpits comes to mind.
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Christopher Bee (30 I hope it will support the E-commerce industry that is here and stop it moving to another jurisdiction where postal products are more competitive.
Protect the industry we have, common sense. You have my full support!
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Don’t kid yourself Mr Bee – you would have no interest in taking on a loss making local postal delivery service. There is no postal service in the world with such a profitable area – what makes you think you could do any better?
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Jersey Post are conning you all. The JCRA have performed detailed costings and the total cost of the USO (Universal Service Obligations) is just over £ 100,000
Most of the sub-post offices are profitable. Even the tiny post office at Jersey Airport is highly profitable
Getting rid of one over paid executive at Jersey Post would pay for all of the USO obligations
Meanwhile Flying Flowers, and numerous other fulfilment industries have left the island (losing hundreds of jobs) as they are being ripped off by JPO.
Thank god for the JCRA and tank god the useless civil servants days of ripping us all off are numbered.
The only disgrace is that the postal market was deregulated 5 years ago and there has been no proper competition. We have 2% of the market open to competition. We need much more.
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Bring in Deutsche Bundespost’s company D.H.L. and let them take over our postal services – thay are very efficient.
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This is just a way to bully people into accepting unacceptable States Policy.
Expect to see some things we would never agree to otherwise being put forward as an alternative.
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No.56 I disagree, whenever I get order anything that gets sent from one of Germany’s Amazon warehouses it gets lost. According to their colleagues in Jersey they fail to remember that Jersey is not part of the EU and don’t complete the customs paperwork!
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Leah Holmes (58) they fail to remember that
Jersey is not part of the EU and don’t complete the customs paperwork!
Possibly, but the real problem is Jersey. Most jurisdictions levy VAT in one form or another, Jersey has GST. Jersey is not integrated into the VAT collection system, hence errors and delay is inevitable.
Jersey has a population of about 0.1 million versus about 260 million for the EU, little wonder Jersey is an also ran.
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@ 55.
Nonsense.
How many postmen are there? 200+?
So ignoring vehicles, fuel, utilities and machinery, you think these guys and gals are on £500 per annum?
If the Post Office shut down tomorrow and another company bid for the USO, assuming that is even the process, you think the new Post Office would be able to sort and deliver inbound post to every household, even 3 times a week, and collect and sort outbound mail for £100K?
For 100K you’d get about 4 posties and they’d have to provide their own vehicles, uniforms, machinery and would have to go without a pension or any other benefit… good luck getting around the 40,000 households, that’s only 10,000 letterboxes each, every day!
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How much of the current financial problems facing Jersey Post stems from the core “selling stamps and delivering letters” business and how much from the trendy new business ventures mentioned and the very highly paid executives we now employ to dream these things up. Perhaps more fundamentally what will be the knock on effect to the rest of the Island economy if the postal service continues to decline as it is at present.
Concentrate on the basics and instead of sacking postmen sack the management. Surely running a post office with out all these fancy “add-ons” does not require an executive being paid telephone number salaries.
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#59 Mark, your point is entirely understandable, but it’s their job to get goods to their destination, if they can’t do that what can they do?
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