SMALL businesses are worried that their big brothers could be favoured in a two-tier postal system.

The warning has come from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) amid Postcomm's proposals to remove Consignia's monopoly on the UK's lucrative business mail service.

Federation bosses are concerned that proposals to offer business mail deliveries to private companies may lead to differing levels of service throughout the UK.

And they feel the plans could have a devastating effect on the 3.7 million small businesses in the UK.

Paul Henly of the FSB North West said: "Our fears are that this could create a two-tier system where business mail is delivered quickly and efficiently to large companies by private operators while small businesses, many run from home, could have to wait all day for their post, depending on whether they operate from an urban or rural base."

Even before the announcement that the business mail market would be opened up to private competition, we had concerns that plans to scrap early morning deliveries to residential addresses would mean that businesses operating from home offices would have to wait until 3pm to receive mail."

He said he was worried about the prospect of private mail companies, including operators from Germany and Holland, delivering UK business mail.