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17.03.2020
To reduce the flow of customers at post offices, the period of storing postal items at post offices will be increased to 60 days instead of the previous 30 days from the 16th of March 2020. In addition, storage for 60 days will be a free service. This way there is no need for the customers to worry about receiving an item faster to prevent the item from being returned to the sender and no need to immediately go to the post office to collect the item. Taking into account the security considerations and the suspension of international passenger transportation, which has a significant impact on the cross-border flow of postal items, Latvijas Pasts will decide on further optimal operation of post offices and ensuring the delivery of postal items.
From Monday, the 16th of March, a new procedure will be in place for item storage at post offices – instead of the previous 30 days items will be stored for 60 days and customers will be able to receive this service free of charge. So far, customers have been charged a fee for storing items at post offices for more than 10 days. As a result of the new procedure customers do not have to visit the post office immediately to receive their items as they will not be returned to the sender within 60 days and will be kept at the post office free of charge. Latvijas Pasts encourages customers to take advantage of this opportunity and not to visit post offices if the items do not contain urgent documents or absolutely necessary items, thus helping to reduce the flow of visitors at the post offices.
At the same time, Latvijas Pasts will evaluate the further optimal operation of post offices and the delivery of items, taking into account the emergency situation and the fact that international passenger transportation has been suspended: as most international postal items are carried by passenger aircraft both to and from Latvia, the flow of these items will be significantly affected. As soon as specific decisions are made, Latvijas Pasts will immediately communicate public information about them.
Although the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, referring to the World Health Organization, already in January informed Latvijas Pasts that there was no evidence of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus through postal items and no security restrictions were imposed on them, Latvijas Pasts ensures additional security and stores all inbound international items before processing and further sending to customers for up to 72 hours in special tents that are separated from contact with employees.
In order to avoid spending more time than necessary at a post office, Latvijas Pasts encourages you to make maximum use of the company’s mobile application, which allows you to apply for the service remotely and show up at the post office just in time for receiving your service, as well as to redirect inbound registered items to one of the Latvijas Pasts parcel lockers. You can apply for services remotely in 86 largest and busiest post offices throughout Latvia; the list of these post offices is available here.
As an alternative to receiving registered items at post offices, Latvijas Pasts recommends redirecting these items to any of the Latvijas Pasts parcel lockers throughout the country, using the company’s mobile app. Latvijas Pasts provides customers with the opportunity to remotely redirect any traceable, registered or insured postal item via the mobile app to any of the company’s 61 parcel lockers across Latvia. To avoid redirecting wrong items, it is important to make sure that the redirection is requested, indicating the same mobile phone number that was originally specified in the item details. Latvijas Pasts will take care of enhanced cleaning and disinfection of all parcel lockers for extra security.
At the same time Latvijas Pasts asks customers who use the company's parcel lockers to collect their items in a timely manner so that they do not accumulate and so that other customers can also receive their items at the parcel lockers.
More information about the redirection service is available here. The list of the Latvijas Pasts parcel lockers can be found here.
The Latvijas Pasts mobile app can be downloaded here:
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pasts/id671598972?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lv.pasts.app
Customers who receive pensions and benefits in the Postal Settlement System (PSS) do not necessarily have to go to the post office to collect the money. Latvijas Pasts also provides this service at the customer’s place of residence, and pay-out from the PSS account can be requested from the Latvijas Pasts Customer Centre: +371 27008001, +371 67008001, info@pasts.lv.
Latvijas Pasts also asks customers who will still visit post offices to use payment cards issued by credit institutions rather than cash to pay for their services as much as possible.
In accordance with the emergency situation declared in the country and the recommendations of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, enhanced personal hygiene measures have been imposed on the personnel of the Latvijas Pasts post offices in addition to extra disinfection measures for the equipment at the post offices. The post offices have been supplied with additional disinfectants both for personal use and for cleaning the premises and equipment of the post offices.
All postmen have also been appropriately informed and provided with disinfectants and other safeguards for personal use. Similar security measures are also applicable to the employees of the sorting centre.
If additional restrictions are imposed, Latvijas Pasts will immediately inform you of further actions.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with over 3,400 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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