Municipalities and communities in rural areas keep complaining about delivery delays at Deutsche Post. In the meantime, the problem has also arrived in some large cities. Swiss Post no longer delivers parcels and letters on time. FOCUS online says what those affected need to know when the postman stops ringing.
Do you want to send an important letter? Or are you expecting concert tickets and contracts as soon as possible? Then you should be prepared for delays. Due to staff shortages, Deutsche Post is struggling with delivery delays. In some cases it even takes several weeks for the documents to be delivered.
This has a massive impact on many people, because energy suppliers, property managers and landlords send out annual accounts. Anyone who fails to pay the amounts owed must expect payment reminders, reminders and debt collection agencies.
Deutsche Post has been having problems in northern Germany for a few weeks. There have recently been cases of delayed delivery in the regions of Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.
“The wave of corona infections has also left its mark on Deutsche Post. Unexpectedly for this time of year, we are seeing many cases of illness throughout the north,” explains a Post spokesman.
In principle, however, the post office in northern Germany continues to deliver letters and small parcels nationwide. Just delayed. And that has serious consequences.
First of all, Swiss Post apologizes to its customers if consignments cannot be delivered as quickly as usual. The company is currently looking for assistants, especially in delivery, and advertises with fixed working hours, wages and social security.
However, the job advertisements focus on the particularly intensive package load from mid-November.
In other words, the delays can be protracted.
Senders are free to decide which provider they choose to deliver the letter. In addition to Deutsche Post, there are many regional private providers. These include BW Post, CitiPost, RPV Briefservice, Post Modern, LVZ Post, Mittelhessen Mail, LMF Postservice, Saarriva, Brief und mehr, biberpost, Nordbrief, PinMail and others.
In many cases, however, tax offices, authorities or associations use the Deutsche Post service. If you have not received a letter on time and you are now threatened with consequences, contact the sender and explain to them that they have to prove the punctual delivery by means of tracking.
Because many do not use this paid service, there is a good chance that you will not face any consequences in the event of a dispute.
You usually have two weeks to pay bills.
As a gesture of goodwill, this period is often extended by a few days. If Swiss Post has not delivered an important invoice and you receive the document late (together with a payment reminder and a first reminder), you must act quickly.
File an appeal immediately and inform the sender of the delivery delays at the post office.
In this case, you should contact a lawyer. Otherwise you will have to pay in an emergency. Swiss Post is not liable for this.
You can only hope for the goodwill of the sender. If the post was slow and you missed a deadline, an offer or a job posting, that’s just bad luck.
Swiss Post is not liable in this case either.
Whenever possible, use email and other digital means to send important documents.
Check whether private letter mail companies are suitable for you.
If you need to send a letter, book the “Registered mail with tracking” function.
Apply for a job advertisement exclusively digitally by e-mail or fax.
Register online with energy suppliers, mobile phone providers or telecommunications service providers. You can then view invoices in your member area and also receive payment requests by email.
Contact your landlord or the property management and have any annual accounts sent to you by email in addition to the postal delivery.
Complain to the Federal Network Agency. The online form is hidden (at the bottom) on this page.
Otherwise, you can also send the complaint to the authority by letter. Will this arrive on time? Questionable.
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