Has anyone saved their Post Office?

[UnquietDad]

Advice gratefully received on campaigning etc. if you have. Leaflets have gone out in ours today about "consultation" over closure - they found out this morning.

So, so pissed off - and what a coincidence, they've done it just as the Boundary Commission has confirmed we'll be in a Lib Dem-held seat next time, not a safe Labour one as before. So they're not risking any votes over it. And they wouldn't dare try this in certain postcodes.

Not sure yet what local campaigns are running, but a councillor on the local forum has a downloadable poster already. Obviously lots of people will put this in their window, but if the government have already made up their minds, will anything like this make a difference?

The really galling thing is that it is used - it's always really busy.

'why not visit the post office when you go to the GP or supermrket or bank in a bigger town or pay your bils by direct debit or get pension/benefits paid directly into your account?
am i being a bit thick in thinking that the only real reason to actually go to a post office would be to post a parcel or letter that doesn't fit ina box and actually its not really that neccessary. or am i missing the point? '

No, you're not being contraversial because that help others understand the city-centred logic behind PO closure.

Supermarkets don't usually exist in rural areas, they're usually on the boundaries of cities, well, they are around here. If you're old, vulnerable or don't drive, you usually shop very locally. You can't shop online here. It's too far out for larger supermarkets to deliver.

Visting hte GP? They're nowhere near a PO out here.

PO's have a LOT of functions, particularly for elderly.

We use them a lot more out here than when we did in a city - because we have to do a lot more online and use the post to get stuff places.

We buy tax disc there, post things, etc.

I am pleased to hear that in some cases local Post Offices have been saved. That gives me hope for ours, and I hope for Uqd as well.

The problem with that Nigella is that a lot of the people willnow no longer use her shop as they will go to the next nearest PO and do their shopping there, so apart from the busy summer months she is going to lose out big time, in her case it was a loss leader.

I meant, you can't do big food shops online here.

You can, of course, purchase other stuff.

Until quite recently, as well, this area did not have broadband.

And that is the problem with privatising essential services, then it becomes all about the money and not the service.

Ours went to Ofpost (or whatever they're called), one of only two to do so in E London (we're E17). That was because it had a huge chunk of housing for the elderly right next to it (who will now have to walk for a mile). But even that didn't swing it, astonishingly.

But I think that is one of the only really valid reasons. Telling them that it's the centre of the community etc will do nothing - it's simply not their job to worry about that. But they do have to worry if it's impossible for it's current clientele to reach the alternative PO, should they close the local one.

i don't live in a city - i live somewhere fairly rural so can actually see the convenience of having a shop/post office down the road.
BUT as with small branches of bnks and small GP surgeries none of them make any cash and are not financially viabnle options for those running them
I was suggesting that if you were to have to travel to visit a Gp or go in person to a bank then you may as well store up your post-office stuff to do at the same time. if and that is a big if) there happenend to be those sorts of amenities in the same area such as a bigger town. Or join the 21st centruyand do stuff on line or over the phone.
and yes - i know public transport is diabolical in rural areas. but there are alternatives.

We also had a campaign day, btw, when we all turned up to buy one stamp each dressed in red (Red Letter Day). Most local houses had a Save our PO A4 poster (on red paper, bordered by a stamp-like pattern) in their window.

'and yes - i know public transport is diabolical in rural areas. but there are alternatives.'

like what? particulary if you can't drive or are too old?

and if you are planning to consolidate a trip to the PO with errands like a supermarket shop (again, there's not one round here) or your GP surgery is a good 10 miles from the PO that's been left open.

Actually UQD, if you'd like I could ask the organizer if you could borrow the artwork.

But I use my PO as a bank so I don't have to travel miles, and very rarely go to the GP and shop on line again so i don't ahve to travle miles.

Can you post a parcel over the phone? That would be impressive.

i flog stuff online and use the PO to post.

i also have to clothes/shoe shop online a lot and again, have to use the PO to do returns.

we also have our contents insurance thru them as it's cheaper and we buy saving stamps once a month for the car tax as it spreads out hte cost and that's important when you have to budget very carefully.

i think a good marketing strategy would be for POs to market themselves as a means to save money as petrol costs rise.

post it instead of drive it there yourself!

order it online and have it posted rather than drive there.

it's greener, too.

I'm still very confused about the criteria - ours was officially one of the busiest sub-PO's in East Lond, but still got scrapped. I'm not sure how they make money though - is it run as a franchise? The guy who ran it certainly wanted to continue. Perhaps it doesn't matter whether individual branches make money, if they just need to become very lean and mean.

I did not manage to save mine. I wrote in to our (Labour) MP and councillor who said they were battling to keep it. It shut recently .

The guy who runs it recently refurbished it. I wonder how much notice he got of the closure. I feel for him. Do the people who run these post offices put their own money into it, how are they paid, or as onebatmother puts it, are they franchises?

onebatmother - thanks - I think one of our local councillors is on to this.

my mil local post officee was saved. If you google cold bath road post office it brings up the local paper and the campaign they ran. sorry can't do links.

thanks, will look...

Blueshoes, in awnser to your question about do the people who run post offices put their own money in. Yes some do, although there are a few that are still owned by the PO itself.

My Mum owns a post office, they own the building and all the fixtures and fittings within the office.

They get paid per transaction, which is one of the things that have killed post offices off, as many people don't get their child benifits ect from the post office now as they have choosen to get the money paid directly into their bank

Our local office is being closed, which is a huge shame, but the thing that has really gotten me mad is the fact that most of the people that are complaining are part of the problem as they stopped getting their benifits and pensions paid into the PO in favour of the ease of getting it paid into their bank, so I guess they are now suffering the inconvience - instead of just nipping 2 minutes up the road to post a letter they have to go much further into town.

Realitygap, thanks for explaining that. It is sad to hear that people like your mother would lose the money they invested if an office were to close.

When you say 'they own the building and all the fixtures and fittings in the office', by 'they', do you mean people like your mother or the post office.

And if your mother is paid per transaction, say, she is not getting enough traffic (because as you say people are getting their benefit paid directly), and that is not enough to cover costs of running the post office, who bears the loss, your mother or the post office?

It would almost seem like at least some of the loss must be borne by Royal Mail - otherwise why would the authorities want to close a branch, if it were people like your mother who bore the loss?

NOt read the whole thread, but I have had a meeting with the PO in a professional capacity re the closure programme. To cut a long story short, what they're consulting about is whether the two nearest alternatives (which will be detailed in the documents that are available in the to-be-cposed branch)are suitable.

You need to prove that they are not - ie, there's no disabled access or public transport links. I'm not explaining very well becayse I've had a bottle of wine and a lovely dinner! I'll have a look at things at work tomorrow, and hopefully post again with a more eloquent reply.

A PO close to me was saved.
Loads of local support, posters in windows, letters and emails written (and yes I did write in myself), local meetings with MP held.
It is on an estate with a large number of quite frail OAPs, so am v glad it was saved.
V depressing how so many are being threatened with closure, is a real downer for local communities.

my local PO was saved- it was due for closure this Feb, but was miraculously kept open!

I was so pleased, as I run a small business from home supplying my products to shops all over the UK, so I use the PO 3, 4, 5 times a week.

They had a petition to sign by the counter, and gave leaflets out with the address/email address to sent letters of support to, had a well publicised march through town, and it was featured on the BBC news (one day bbc news 24 broadcast from this PO throughout the day).

Mrs Muddle - veeeeeeery interesting, thank you.

I suspect they will try to play the disabled access card, as ours doesn't currently have a ramp (though I don't see why this should be a deal-breaker, as it could easily have one.

However, the "alternatives" mentioned, although on bus routes, are not exactly easy to get to - will work on that.