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 many weeks it even takes several weeks until the documents are delivered.
All of this has massive consequences, because energy suppliers, property managers and landlords are currently sending out annual accounts. If you don’t pay, you have to reckon with payment reminders, warnings 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 across the board. 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 are now threatened with consequences, contact the sender as soon as possible. Explain to them that they have to prove punctual delivery to you by means of shipment tracking.
Because many do not use this paid service, there is a good chance that you will not have to fear 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 the 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 or by fax.
If you register online with energy suppliers, mobile phone providers or telecommunications service providers, you can then view bills in your member area.
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 by letter. Will this arrive on time? Questionable.
Other topics:
