Profiteering from people on benefit.

Alvin Pritchard. made this Freedom of Information request to Postal Services Commission

Postal Services Commission did not have the information requested.

From: Alvin Pritchard.

31 August 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,
Does The Post Office make a profit from people on social security
benefit, by collecting the huge amount of interest paid via the
post office "card account" when people leave their money in that
account? If this is indeed the case, how much profit was made in
interest payments over the last five years?

Yours faithfully,

Alvin Pritchard.

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From: FOI
Postal Services Commission

2 September 2009

Dear Mr Pritchard,

Thank you for your request, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, for information regarding the Post Office.

Postcomm does not regulate Post Office Limited. By way of background, Postcomm was created by Parliament in November 2000 to maintain the universal service provision - the arrangement where letters and parcels are collected and delivered each working day to any part of the UK for the same price - controlling the limits of certain prices Royal Mail can charge, and promoting competition in postal services. Postcomm is also responsible for and restricted to licensing, price controls and enforcing licence conditions.

Postcomm’s only role in relation to Post Office Limited is to give the Secretary of State advice and information on the number and location of public post offices, and their accessibility to users of postal services; we do this in the form of an annual post office network report.

If you are concerned about the performance of the Post Office or have a specific incident to report, you would need to contact Post Office Limited Customer Care:

Post Office® Customer Care
FREEPOST
PO Box 740
Barnsley
S73 0ZJ
Telephone: 08457 22 33 44
[email address]

For independent advice or guidance, you can contact Consumer Direct. Consumer Direct is a government service providing practical and impartial consumer advice. Consumer Direct can let you know how to progress a complaint if you are dissatisfied with a company's response. You can contact Consumer Direct:

• by telephone: 08454 04 05 06
• via its website: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to Postcomm's Director of Resources, Colin Sharples. The contact address is Postal Services Commission, Hercules House, Hercules Road, London, SE1 7DB; email: [Postcomm request email].

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner's Office cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by Postcomm. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,
Raj Dhunay

Information Manager
Postcomm the independent regulator for postal services
Hercules House
6 Hercules Road
London
SE1 7DB

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7593 2132
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7593 2143
Web: http://www.psc.gov.uk

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