Business customers are deserting Royal Mail and most firms do not find the postal group an efficient organisation to work with, a study by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) for The Times has revealed.

The BCC sought the views of nearly 1,000 businesses throughout the country about their use of Royal Mail and their experience of the organisation.

Sixty-eight per cent said that they did not find the postal group to be a “professional, efficient organisation to do business with”; 55 per cent said that Royal Mail was less reliable than it was five years ago and only 8 per cent thought that it had improved.

In a striking example of how much electronic communication has hit the use of postal services, nearly 86 per cent of businesses said that they used the internet and e-mail for transactions that they would have put through Royal Mail five years ago.

The BCC survey comes as the National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) gives warning today that 3,000 more post offices may be forced to shut if the Government withdraws post offices' rights to handle benefits and pension payments through the post office card account.

Royal Mail is in the middle of a programme to shut 2,500 post offices in its loss-making network.

The poor reaction to Royal Mail from BCC firms comes as the postal group suffers a new crisis of confidence.

Last week an independent review for the Government said that Royal Mail's financial position was so bad that in the future it would not be able to fulfil its legal obligation of providing a flat-rate nationwide postal service.

Royal Mail also gave warning that it would be seeking more money from the Government and that its pension deficit could soon double, leaving it with a £1 billion annual pension bill.

David Frost, the director-general of the BCC, said: “With large numbers of businesses using Royal Mail less often than in previous years, it is clear that a lot has to be done to regain the confidence of the business community.

"It is also clear that competitors are not making the inroads they would probably have expected, given the dissatisfaction with the service Royal Mail provide.

“Increasingly businesses are turning to the internet and e-mail for transactions previously carried out through the post.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Royal Mail has made huge progress in terms of efficiency, but we know we have more to do and that's why we have embarked on modernisation of the business - and we have also argued consistently to be allowed to compete fully with our rivals on price.”

Subpostmasters will press the Government today to renew the contract for the post office card account when it comes up for review next year.

Pat McFadden, the Postal Minister, will be told of their fears at the NFSP conference today. George Thomson, the NFSP general secretary, said: “The post office card account is a crucial lifeline to thousands of subpostmasters already struggling to keep their businesses going.

"If the Government chooses not to award the contract to the Post Office, up to 25 per cent of those post offices remaining open will be forced to close.”

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