Despatches news - Recent DA Action

Examples of Recent DA Action -

Social conscience of DA members. -

For the first time, the DA has adopted a charity for the upcoming year.

Despite these tough times, members have shown remarkable generosity by contributing over £1000 so far to Richard House Children’s Hospice, a facility in East London that cares and supports life-limited and life-threatened children and their families. To find out more about the excellent work of Richard House or to make a donation, visit their website at www.richardhouse.org.uk

Support needed for your cause?

If your company sponsors a charity, fundraises to meet a social need or supports community events, let us at the DA know and we will raise the profile of both you and your cause by mentioning it in Despatches. Even better, if you were to join the DA we would put the whole of your joining fee to the charity or cause of your choice.

Nice one, JC.

No, not that JC but JC Couriers of Peterborough who were recognised by their local newspaper, the Evening Telegraph, for the work Mario Chappell and his team did in donating and delivering presents to the Children’s Ward at the Peterborough District Hospital. JC Couriers have been DA members for 9 years and M.D. Mario was instrumental in helping us develop RDA, Riders and Drivers Associates, our ‘sister’ association for self-employed couriers.
v Fair play for professional parking. The Despatch Association recently sent this letter to Transport for London: “Dear TfL, Would you be prepared to set up a committee to evaluate the prospects of pre-paid parking for couriers and delivery drivers? This could be monitored by using congestion charging cameras. How it would work would be that couriers would pre-pay a daily fee to allow them to park ( as long as they are not causing an obstruction ) on a yellow line or double yellows during delivery and collection. There are numerous streets in London where lines are down for no apparent or for an outdated reason. ie you can have a row of parking bays, then yellow lines, then parking bays again. These lines seem to serve no purpose other than as a revenue stream. If this idea were adopted, the London Boroughs would benefit from the income and courier companies would not have to spend endless hours appealing against PCN`s which we normally get credited for anyway.”

If you support us on this, let us know. Numbers have an impact!

Answers to members’ questions. Over the past three months, the DA has helped its members manage such issues as: “Dear DA, ‘What is a bonded courier and how do I become one?’; ‘I’m bidding for an NHS tender – how do I become compliant in transporting blood samples?; ‘A client has just gone bust, so how do get the money owed to us?’; ‘I’ve been told that the first main Act of Parliament pertaining to goods vehicle operations dates back to the early nineteenth century – is this true and if so what did it address?’; ‘A new sub-contract driver has asked me for the rules and regulations on VAT. I could but we’re very busy at the moment so I’d like that DA to do that for me. Thanks.”