BUSINESS leaders have demanded action from Royal Mail managers over the "pathetic" quality of Oxfordshire's postal service, writes Madeleine Pennell.

Royal Mail agreed to improve the service it provides to the business community during talks with the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The postal strike in February involved 1,000 workers across the county and lasted just over a week, but delays were experienced for weeks afterwards. Almost three months later, managers at com- panies throughout Oxfordshire say they are still plagued by late deliveries, unreliable service and misdirected mail.

Two letters shown to the Oxford Mail highlighted the problem. Both were delivered on Wednesday - one had been posted second class on April 24, while the second, marked urgent and posted first class, had been posted on April 25. The chamber spokesman said members had described the service as "pathetic".

Bill McCardle, policy manager at the chamber, said the meeting had been a great success.

He said: "I felt it was very constructive. They recognised that there was a problem and committed themselves to doing something about it. They did not try and hide the fact that there was a real problem, which I thought they would.

"We wanted them to set up a dedicated customer careline for businesses and they said that they would look at that. We asked them to pay compensation and they said they will look at each individual case on its merit."

Kevin Oakley, area manager for the Royal Mail, also described the meeting as constructive.

He said: "As ever, we will pursue the concerns raised to us at the forum. As a customer-focused organisation, Royal Mail welcomes feedback on its performance from customers and we have robust procedures to deal with complaints."