After mail carriers and employees at Deutsche Post went on warning strikes last Thursday and Friday, severe delays are now threatening. FOCUS online says what now applies to important letters, packages and bills.
In the collective bargaining dispute at Deutsche Post, the Verdi union went on strike nationwide on Thursday and Friday. In addition to the employees in the post offices, the delivery staff also followed the call for a strike.
However, customers must be patient. The letters and parcels have been left behind by the strike and more strike days could follow.
If you want to send an important letter, you should rely on private providers such as BW Post or Pinmail. Courier services such as FedEx or TNT also deliver letters. For parcels, it helps to switch to competitors such as Hermes, DPD, GLS or UPS.
If you are waiting for a package or a letter, it could take a while. On average, deliveries arrive with a delay of at least two working days.
Read on topic: Verdi announces warning strikes – the post office is on strike! What to look out for when writing important letters
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.
Only apply digitally for a job advertisement 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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