Ep 218: The future of Royal Mail's USO for letters

What's the future for Royal Mail's Universal Service Obligation (USO)? It's not just about letters! Tim Harrison, Senior Policy Researcher at Citizens Advice, joins me to discuss: Role of Citizens Advice as a consumer advocate Royal Mail's USO for letter delivery and parcel delivery Comparison with letter delivery obligations in other countries Royal Mail exceeding regulatory obligations for parcel delivery Remote surcharges of up to 51% - and the definition of remote in the UK Which delivery companies deliver to remote parts of the UK? Digitally excluded customers and how they interact with the post office and letters network The 5.3 million digitally excluded people in the UK Quality of the letters service Reliability of parcel delivery Penalties on consumers for using the mail The consequences for consumers who can't access the mail Why some people in the UK are unable to reliably and regularly access their letters How to give vulnerable people access to the mail Making pricing of mail and mail-related services (such as redirections) affordable for everyone The role of Ofcom (the UK regulator)