Non Delivery
The Post Office is not delivering for Somerset. In this Somerset Confidential special we look at why the Post Office appears not to have learned the lessons of the Horizon scandal.
SC Special 16
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Non Delivery
Once upon a time the Post Office was a much loved institution. It commanded respect and to be a Post Master was to have a certain standing in the community. That is changing fast and with good reason.
However before we go any further may be helpful to distinguish between the Post Office and the Royal Mail.
Royal Mail is a privatised business. It is responsible for the delivery of letters, owns sorting offices and the red post boxes that have become an icon of British street furniture.
The Post Office remains a government owned operation. It owns the Crown Post Offices and staffs them. It is responsible for the network of Post Offices, albeit many of these are subcontracted out to other retailers or run under contract by independent sub post masters.
This article is about the Post Office.
Over the past two decades, a programme of branch closures and the Horizon IT scandal have severely eroded the reputation of the Post Office brand. The shabby treatment of Post Masters during the Horizon scandal has made the title of Post Master considerably less desirable than it once was.
You might think that in the aftermath of all of that, the Post Office would be anxious to restore it’s reputation. In Somerset there is frankly little evidence of that happening any time soon.
The Post Office remains an important outlet, often the only “shop” in villages in remote rural areas. Like Somerset.