It's time to stop the propaganda against the Royal Mail, if the government wants to privatise it they should come out and admit it instead of allowing it to slowly bleed to death from a thousand cuts.

Terry, Newcastle, UK

Yes , it is true that private companies will do a lot better that royal mail. Royal Mail only know two things : charge two much for a letter, and how to lose letters.

John, London, Uk

Royal Mail's present plight largely due to Government (i) removing the payment of benefits from Post Offices, and (ii) allowing carriers to cream off profitable collections whilst relying on delivery anywhere by RM. Review of the funding of pre-corporation Civil Service pensions is also merited.

Dick, Chesterfield,

Don't think you stand alone. I live in France and have a business there. Working with 'La Poste', our Royal Mail, is also a disater. Two things to blame, de-regualating and Trade unions. The worst Trade unions in Europe. In fact they only have themselves to blame and we have to suffer that's all.

E. Bee, Toulouse, France

For most businesses email is faster, cheaper and more flexible than sending something through the post, making it a superior product. Business mail has in the past been the rock upon which the Post Office's revenues have been built. Now this is going, they will eventually have go too.

figurewizard, Petersfield, UK

You whingers should try living where there is a truly lousy postal service before you criticise the PO about delivering later in the day.

Here in Dubai, where the postal service is pretty good, there are no home deliveries and you have to get your mail through your company or private PO Box.

David, Dubai, UAE

It's perverse to say that the service is less reliable than five years ago, having exceedied its pretty tough delivery targets over the last two years...the BCC must be struggling to find something to gripe about.

Economics is the problem....crucially their ability to set rates.

Neil Marshall, Cambridge, UK

Guys

Stop Wingieing and get up to speed. In Nz we use a PO Box delivery and it works fine. Go down to town and collect your mail. UK has been spoilt but unfortunately the PO seems incapable of understanding the technology change and bleats on about being price competitive. No chance.

john , auckland, NZ

The Royal Mail is rubbish and I'd rather we had a real choice...

We moved house ten months ago, and even though we've got redirection in place, we get far less post than we used to and the Royal Mail aren't interested - we're paying them for a service and we're not getting it.

Andy Davies, Glos, UK,

I've found RM deliver packages to my door promptly and reliably, with polite and pleasant staff. By contrast, my experience of private sector carriers, such as HDNL, is dismal. They literally fail to deliver. I'd rather pay more for RM to deliver than endure a bad cut-price "service" from cowboys.

Martin, Surrey, England

One postal delivery a day at 10.30 am - and if you miss your parcel you have to collect it from the postal delivery offices. An if it has your name on it, you can't let a neighbour take it for you. And if you are out at work?

jane, Whittlesey, c

The moaners and groaners have to have an excuse to complain about something. Any sensible person would judge Royal Mail against postal services around the world. Royal Mail is at least 100 percent more efficient than he next best in the world. Times should not highlight such baseless reports.

Khalid Mian, Rochester, Kent

How much of the Royal Mail pension defecit was TAKEN by the Government? All they are asking for, Gordon, is that you give back the money stolen by the previous chancellor. Don't worry, you can blame him..... who was that again? Oh & I'd like the money STOLEN from my pension back again too, please.

matt, london, UK

I remember a few yrs ago the founder of Amazon praising the Royal Mail and wishing they had the equivalent in the USA. A lot of the trouble has been caused by crackpot attempts to modernise the Royal Mail in the name of efficiency. This usually means higher costs and a worse service.

Gareth, llanelli,

Why expect your mail early? You havent paid anything for that item to be delivered. The sender pays and if they want it delivered early they are able to pay for that service, complain to the sender not RM.
All these problems come from a classic case of "if it aint broke dont fix it"

mike gee, bournemouth, uk

Royal mail is run by a reject Footnball Association Chief Executive and a part time Chair. is there any wonder it is in a mess. As soon as there is proper competition we will get a proper service.

Robert Marshall, London, UK

The business I work in has had huge problems with Royal Mail, with countless packages going 'missing'. Royal Mail has been extremely uncooperative in trying to deal with the problem.

I would now never send anything valuable by Royal Mail.

Hugh, London,

Royal mail is a magnificent service. Just try the postal service in most other countries. Its financial troubles could be solved overnight if it were to be allowed to charge their private, so-called competitors, an economic rate for delivering the mail for them.

DRP, Congleton,

I live in the centre of a city and get my mail delivered at some time between 10.30am and 1.00pm. I used to get two deliveries a day with the first by 8.00am. My parcel office used to be down the road and now it is about 5 miles away. I wonder why Royal Mail is struggling??

Trevor Freeman, Brighton, UK

Donald Legget is very lucky to receive his post between 930 and 1000. I would consider that an early delivery. Our post is often delivered at lunchtime and sometimes at 14.30. When ours arrives at 14.30 i'm not really interested in opening it up.

Zylon, northampton, uk

The main problem is that by de-regulating the postal service and opening it up to competition the Royal Mail has lost the most profitable business to companies that do not have to provide a universal service. The harder and less profitable work is all that is left for Royal Mail.

Jason, dereham, uk

I use my local post office for inland business mail, the staff are very helpful and courteous. Royal Mail is extremely cheap compared to DHL or other courier services and the Royal Mail delivery service can be tracked on the internet, same as DHL etc for a fraction of their costs.

Pat, Conwy,

My post used to arrive like clockwork for over 20 years at 0745. Then they 'reorganised' the delivery. Now it arrives between 0930 and 1000. Often I have left for work by then, so I do not have a chance to open my mail till I return. So I am not receiving the FIRST CLASS service I used to have.

Donald Legget, WEYBRIDGE, UK

I receive parcels from Royal Mail and the courier companies. Royal Mail is by far the best, if you're not in they are close to hand to collect it, not in some industrial estate miles away where you are kept waiting by courier employees who couldn't care less.

Simon, Chatham, Kent

What's inefficient about sending a letter anywhere in the UK by the next day mostly, for less than 40p , and in my case as a private citizen only losing one item (the packet arrived without its contents) in fifty years?

David Bachauer , Manchester , UK