Jersey Post
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jersey Post is the licensed universal service provider of mail service for the bailiwick of Jersey. It covers the postcode area JE, which was only established in the early 1990s as a subset of the UK's post code system. Previously, Jersey, along with Guernsey and the Isle of Man, did not have postcodes at all.
[edit] History
Jersey Post was established, as was Guernsey Post, in 1969 when the British Government by Order in Council enabled the Crown Dependencies to create separate postal services within the British postal system. Consequently, UK postage stamps ceased to be valid in the Crown Dependencies.
Jersey Post Limited was incorporated as a Limited Company by the States of Jersey on 1 July 2006 when the Postal Services (Jersey) Law 2005 came fully into force allowing competition in this sector for the first time. It is licensed by the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority as a Class II postal operator and, as such, is designated to hold Significant Market Power and thus is liable for the universal service on the Island.
Jersey Post has an established and active Philatelic bureau which issues new designs on a regular basis.
[edit] Current status
In the last few years, people have criticised the high price of postage (34 pence for the Jersey service and 37p (2007 rates) for service to the UK compared with 32p in the UK to all of the UK and the Islands, although it cost 49p for up to 100g in the UK) and poor service that Jersey Post has given. Jersey Post offers a free webmail service called JerseyMail.
Jersey Post entered other markets while still a States department. These include Promail, its mailing house set up in 1996, and Offshore Solutions, its fulfillment service. Promail provides a high-class bulk mail service for the offshore financial community. In 2007 its fulfillment service was affected by changes in States policy and as a consequence it decided to withdraw from this market with the potential loss of over 60 jobs unless a private buyer can be found.
In 2006 Jersey Post added a new premium service (FedEx Express) which Jersey Post calls J-express, It was created for its key high-quality business services, aimed to increase awareness of the benefits J-express can bring to companies who operate in the Island and a more secure way to send items internationally.
Jersey Post is member of the Small European Postal Administration Cooperation, which is an organisation that represents small post offices like Jersey Post and Guernsey Post in Europe.
