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11.04.2016
The aggregated data for the first quarter of 2016 show that the amount of incoming international small packets has increased by 56%. Latvijas Pasts would like to share some tips with its customers for shopping online.
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of small packets received at Latvijas Pasts from online stores. During the first three months of this year, the overall amount of incoming international small packets has increased by almost 56%, or approximately 496,000 units, compared to the same period in 2015.
As the amount of small packets grows, Latvijas Pasts is increasingly faced with misunderstandings regarding the delivery of the shipments, so we would like to remind our customers of some tips for safe shopping on the Internet.
It is safer and more advantageous to order goods from online shops in the European Union (EU) Member States, as shipments within the EU are exempt from customs duties, and it is possible to address consumer protection issues in regard to shipments from these countries more effectively.
If the online store offers this opportunity, Latvijas Pasts recommends that you choose to receive your order as registered (signed for) mail or insure the shipment if it is very valuable/important. Registered mail has several advantages: you may track your parcel at transshipment points, and if the shipment gets damaged or disappears, the customer is eligible for appropriate compensation under the provisions of the Universal Postal Convention.
When getting registered on websites, please read the registration rules carefully. It is important to specify all the data correctly (the addressee’s name and accurate address). The most common mistake is entering an incorrect/incomplete name or your nickname in the delivery profile. A number of sites ask you to enter this data in the Name field, which should include both the given name and the last name.
The addressee may get a registered (signed for or insured) shipment only if the postal operator has the opportunity to verify the identity of the person, but if there is no full information on the addressee indicated and the package only has the first name, a part of the name or just the nickname written on it, the postal operator cannot make sure that the customer is actually the person who is entitled to receive the shipment. In this case, the sender should be contacted in order to clarify the addressee’s identity data.
Latvijas Pasts would like to point out that postal items, including the goods ordered online, regardless of whether they have already been paid for through the Internet shop, are legally considered the property of the sender until they are delivered to the addressee. This means that claims and questions regarding the quality of delivery of the shipment have to be brought up to the sender, who in turn will seek clarification from the post office of the country from where the relevant postal item has been sent out.
It is important to remember that another significant factor affecting the timely receipt of a package or information notice is the availability of an appropriate mailbox. The addressee must install and make available a proper mailbox, whose contents cannot be accessed by third parties.
Additional information:
Vineta Danielsone
Public Relations Specialist
Phone: +371 67608504
Mobile phone: +371 26722585
E-mail: vineta.danielsone@pasts.lv
twitter.com/latvijas_pasts; facebook.com/latvijas.pasts