Hays faces court over mail
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• by Guy Sheppard
Logistics group Hays is fighting to retain control of business worth £10m a year following a claim that it breaches regulations governing mail costing less than £1.
The battle with Consignia (the new name for the Post Office) erupted after Hays applied to become one of the first companies to challenge its monopoly since the postal market was opened up to competition in March (CM 14-20 June).
The High Court has ruled that Consignia can proceed with its case
against Hays over the services, which mainly involve deliveries between travel companies and their branches and agents.
But Graham Williams, executive director of Hays, says the judge decided the case was not an emergency: "He said it should be considered within the normal timetable, which is likely to be sometime from October onwards. We are delighted from our customers' point of view that the service is not going to be disrupted."
Hays says the business with the travel companies is long-established. It describes the action as an "opportunistic attempt to force us to concede business to Consignia ahead of the grant of licences".
A spokesman for Consignia says: "If Hays believes its existing mail services are lawful, then why has the company applied for licences from the postal regulator?
"If companies are allowed to cream-skim the market, ability to continue delivering a uniform service at an affordable price to the UK's 27 million addresses will be jeopardised."