Next week look at the post that drops through your door. If it has a stamp, 1, 2, or M in the top corner, then Royal Mail have been paid to deliver that. Everything else is put through your letterbox by Royal mail for FREE (ie – Royal Mail sees no revenue from it)
This is why they are losing so much money!
Large companies now have the choice who they decide to send their mail with, but these companies don't do the final mile. TNT can tender for a contract (and undercut Royal Mail because RM has fixed pricing structures set by the regulator that the others don't have to adhere to). The customer pays TNT for the service. TNT then prepare their mail and turn up at a RM depot and leave it for RM to sort and deliver.
This is like me buying discount bike parts online and going to my local bike shop (he has the monopoly in town as he is the only one) and I then expect him to fit the parts for free because he has the network (tools etc) in place.
Re-read what I have just posted and really understand just what is happening. It's beyond belief! No company can sustain itself doing work for nothing and yet the goverment and regulator allows it to happen. There is a general feeling within RM that it is all just one big conspiracy to make the business fail, thus prompting private investment.