Charlotte Witsø

Senior Policy Researcher at @CitizensAdvice. Mainly write about post and postal regulation 📮
Views my own etc.

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson has admitted in Parliament that the business hasn’t met its public service obligation “for some time”.

Despite this, the regulator responsible - Ofcom - is nowhere to be seen.

https://t.co/9v0Hew1aKt

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

This is mad - @CitizensAdvice helps 1 person every 5 seconds with cost-of-living issues. Big opportunity now for @UKLabour to fix it if this exit poll is right!

[Clare Moriarty @ClareMoriarty]

This is the living standards election. Voters will judge the next government on what they’ll do to tackle this.

At ⁦⁦@CitizensAdvice⁩ we’re helping 6000 people a day with cost of living issues - that’s one every 5 seconds. They need a ladder out https://t.co/OqS3RCWHji

[CitizensAdvice @CitizensAdvice]

Voting today? 🗳️

Here's what you need to remember ✅ #GeneralElection

[CitizensAdvice @CitizensAdvice]

Worried your #PostalVote won't arrive in time?

Here's what to do ⤵️ #GeneralElection

[Citizens Advice Manchester @ManchesterCAB]

Our Money Adviser Abi, worked hard to have the debts written off on discretionary grounds given the client's difficult circumstances - we've just heard the final one has been cleared!

#WeAreCitizensAdvice

[Big Issue @BigIssue]

“It’s heartbreaking to admit this as the leader of the nation’s biggest and best-known advice provider, but sometimes advice simply isn’t enough.” 💷

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of @CitizensAdvice writes for the Big Issue. ⬇️
https://t.co/4MRtBoaTwQ

[Clare Moriarty @ClareMoriarty]

In the 5 weeks since this election was announced, @CitizensAdvice has helped 30,000 people with access to crisis support. That’s food banks and charity grants.

It's essential that both leaders set out how they plan to tackle the landslide in living standards. #LeadersDebate

[JUSTICE @JUSTICEhq]

We're looking for a Senior Fellow to join us for a 6 month fellowship. This role will work closely with our policy staff to assist with JUSTICE’s workstream on securing access to justice: reviewing the Windrush compensation, EU Settlement Scheme & Afghan Resettlement Schemes 👇

[CitizensAdvice @CitizensAdvice]

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will head to Grimsby and Cleethorpes this evening to set out their priorities for government in the #BattleForNo10 Sky News debate.

Let's zoom in on what issues are a priority for people living there... ⤵️🧵

[Anneliese Dodds @AnnelieseDodds]

It was good to talk with the @OxfordCAB team recently about all the amazing work they do supporting local people with specialised advice.

We discussed our shared work in supporting people facing the cost-of-living crisis, and holding Royal Mail to account.

[Mike Amesbury @MikeAmesburyMP]

Delighted to drop in and support @CitizensAdvice Address and Collect campaign. ✉️

People experiencing homelessness can often struggle to receive post because they may have no fixed address, which can stop them getting the services and support they most need.

[CitizensAdvice @CitizensAdvice]

5 years.

5 years we've been raising the problem of post exclusion, and it's only gotten worse.

Everyone deserves equal access to post ⤵️
https://t.co/z3UavPTA1d

[Anneliese Dodds @AnnelieseDodds]

I am grateful to @bbcpanorama for coming to Oxford to discuss the ongoing issues of postal delays facing my constituents. I am in regular correspondence with Royal Mail about these issues. The service really needs to improve. 1/3

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

This happened to me recently - took seconds to sign up, yet it took 2.5 weeks of emailing and messaging the support team to cancel the service. Why is it always so much harder to exit than sign up? Almost as if companies do this on purpose 🤔

[Emily Lynn @DrEmilyJLynn]

Have you ever realised that when wanting to cancel a subscription, it was much harder to exit it than it was to enter it? And the complex cancellation process left you wishing you never got the subscription in the first place? You’re not alone⬇️

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

This comes just 4 days after @BBCPanorama aired fresh allegations of @RoyalMail prioritising parcels over letters - which would be a breach of its legal duties.

Who has consumers' back in this monopoly market? @Ofcom 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

I see @RoyalMail has another late Friday afternoon announcement:

🔴 1st class stamps now cost almost 100% more than just 5 years ago 📈
🔴 Yet the company has failed to deliver for consumer for nearly half a decade
🔴 4th price hikes in just 2 yrs

https://t.co/zLqZwbHJNu

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

Beth Foley from @CitizensAdvice talked to Panorama about the serious harm delays cause for our clients⤵️ Late bills, benefit decisions and hospital appointment letters.

Royal Mail hasn't delivered for nearly half a decade yet prices have almost doubled📈

[BBC Panorama @BBCPanorama]

First-class letters cost £1.25 and should arrive the next working day

Ten years ago, 92.5% of first-class post arrived on time

By the end of last year, it was down to 74.2%, according to Royal Mail figures

More on @BBCOne at 8pm

https://t.co/6r6ZZBfQDw

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

@ce_maughan @CitizensAdvice That's terrible, Chloe! A friend of mine had a bundle of delayed mail delivered all at once - included the bank card and PIN number. On top of that, it got delivered to the wrong address. People have enough to worry about right now than chasing down late post from Royal Mail🤷🏻‍♀️

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

Late post has real consequences - at @CitizensAdvice we continue to support clients who've missed bills, benefit decisions and hospital letters because of Royal Mail delays. Brighton was the second hardest hit area last quarter - only 51.5% of 1st class post delivered on time!

[Caroline Lucas @CarolineLucas]

I can relate to the experience of @AnnelieseDodds on #Panorama being fobbed off by @RoyalMail pretending there is no problem when our constituents are telling us how bad it is. Last week I wrote to CEO Martin Seidenberg demanding answers - enough is enough https://t.co/b2TFeUM2Qn

[Charlotte Witsø @cwitso]

Powerful story from @fsb_policy. At @CitizensAdvice we found 1 in 4 were hit by delays in Dec/Jan. 66% of those received no letters for at least one week.

People already wait too long for their post, cutting delivery days in half won't fix the issue.

[Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) @fsb_policy]

📮 Proposed cuts to Royal Mail services could cause serious disruption for 1.3 million SMEs, and to the UK economy more broadly.

Changes to postal services cannot leave small firms short-changed.

FSB member @AlyssaJewellery spoke to @theipaper 👇

https://t.co/G5KkZRov03