The people of Coulsdon may well have abandoned thoughts of cutting themselves off from local authorities in Greater London, and Croydon, but now Royal Mail is going to do it for them, isolating the area by reducing its postal collection service to just once each weekday.

Even Margaret Thatcher refused to flog off the picture of the Queen on a first-class postage stamp, but the Eton-educated spivs in charge of the current government had no such qualms, with a massive transfer of public assets on the cheap to private interests.

And within six months of the “clueless” privatisation of Royal Mail, which has lost the tax-payer at least £1 billion, the new profit-driven management is cutting services.

According to the East Croydon Residents’ Association, “Royal Mail has decided to reduce the number of collections and also alter the time of collections on a number of post boxes in our area from Stoats Nest to Coulsdon Woods, to Fairdene Road and beyond, and even in the town centre.

“They have stuck a very small label on the box saying, ‘To improve efficiency…’,”

Ha! It’s always “to improve efficiency”, and never to “cut our costs”. The cuts certainly will not improve the efficiency of the diminished service provided to customers. The much-reduced service, which is being applied elsewhere in the borough, too, will undoubtedly see many job losses among Royal Mail staff.

The ECRA post continues… “from 19th September 2014 they are intending to limit the collection to one per day at 9.00am and 7.00am on Saturday.”

So much for a next-day first-class service, or the universal postal service that was supposed enshrined in the privatisation agreement.

“This does not even allow you to answer a letter by return of post on the same day,” said ECRA, whose members include many local small business owners as well as residents.

“We believe this is wrong and have written to the Royal Mail and Sir Richard Ottaway MP suggesting that if there is to be only one collection, it should be at 6.00pm in line with people’s needs,” ECRA said.

ECRA encourages anyone affected by this loss of service to contact Royal Mail customer services at the website www.royalmail.com, or call 03456 011399, and copy it to Sir Richard Ottaway MP at richard.ottaway.mp@parliament.uk.

Please don’t show up at the Croydon South MP’s regular constituent surgery: he might think you’re trying to kill him.

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Coming to Croydon

• Mythical Maze stories, Crystal Palace Maze, Aug 27
• David Lean Cinema: Frank, Aug 28
• Upper Norwood Library well-being groups, Aug 30
• David Lean Cinema: The Two Faces of January, Sep 4
• David Lean Cinema: Fading Giglolo, Sep 6
• Thornton Heath Festival, Sep 7
• Stop the Incinerator Quiz Night, Sep 8
• David Lean Cinema: Camille Claudel, Sep 11
• Warlingham rugby dinner with international Richard Hill, Sep 12
• Soul Symphony Community Choir sessions, Sep 16-Dec 23
• Norwood Society Talk: War Memorials, Sep 18
• David Lean Cinema: Chef, Sep 18
• Cinema Ruskin film show, Sep 20
• Open House London weekend, Sep 20-21
• David Lean Cinema: A Night At The Cinema in 1914, Sep 22
• Activity to Work back-to-work workshops, Sep 23
• David Lean Cinema: Jimmy’s Hall, Sep 25
• Streatham Common 6M race, Sep 27
• Norwood Society Talk: From Fire Station to Theatre, Oct 16
• Cinema Ruskin film show, Oct 18
• Norwood Society Talk: Lambeth’s Archives, Nov 20

Inside Croydon: Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough: 407,847 page views (Jan-Jun 2014) If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or local event, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com