Citizens Advice Response to 1st Ofcom Consultation on recovering postal regulation and consumer advocacy costs

In 2017, Citizens Advice submitted its response [ 150 kb] to Ofcom's first consultation on recovering postal regulation and consumer advocacy costs.

As​ ​the​ ​statutory​ ​consumer​ ​advocate​ ​for​ ​postal​ ​consumers​ ​in​ ​Great​ ​Britain, Citizens​ ​Advice​ ​welcomes​ ​Ofcom’s​ ​consultation​ ​on​ ​how​ ​the​ ​costs​ ​of​ ​postal regulation​ ​and​ ​consumer​ ​advocacy​ ​are​ ​recovered.​ ​The​ ​shape​ ​of​ ​the​ ​market​ ​has changed​ ​considerably​ ​over​ ​the​ ​last​ ​decade.​ ​Letter​ ​volumes​ ​continue​ ​to​ ​decline while​ ​the​ ​rise​ ​in​ ​popularity​ ​of​ ​online​ ​shopping​ ​has​ ​led​ ​to​ ​a​ ​boom​ ​in​ ​the​ ​parcels sector.​ ​​In​ ​this​ ​context,​ ​this​ ​consultation​ ​is​ ​a​ ​timely​ ​opportunity​ ​to consider​ ​whether​ ​the​ ​current​ ​distribution​ ​of​ ​costs​ ​across​ ​the​ ​sector​ ​is​ ​still appropriate. 

Ultimately,​ ​how​ ​the​ ​costs​ ​of​ ​consumer​ ​advocacy​ ​in​ ​the​ ​postal​ ​sector​ ​are recovered​ ​is​ ​a​ ​matter​ ​for​ ​Ofcom.​ ​Ofcom’s​ ​right​ ​to​ ​levy​ ​postal​ ​operators to cover these costs​ ​is​ ​established​ ​in​ ​statute, and​ how​ ​it​ ​chooses​ ​to apportion​ ​them​ ​across​ ​industry​ ​is​ ​at​ ​its​ ​discretion. However,​ ​we​ ​naturally​ ​have​ ​a​ ​view​ ​on​ ​how​ ​consumer​ ​advocacy​ ​is​ ​funded. ​We​ ​restrict​ ​our​ ​response​ ​to​ ​the​ ​recovery​ ​of​ ​funds​ ​for consumer​ ​advocacy​ ​work.​ ​We​ ​do​ ​not​ ​offer​ ​a​ ​view​ ​on​ ​how​ ​Ofcom​ ​recovers​ ​the costs​ ​of​ ​its​ ​own​ ​work.