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A number of factors make it difficult for postmen to fulfil their obligations in a quality manner when delivering postal items. Among them are damaged or non-existent letter-boxes, as well as freely roaming and unattended dogs. According to Latvijas Pasts data, letter-boxes that are broken or otherwise unsuitable to secure safe dropping of postal items can be found at over 151,000 addresses across Latvia as on June 2020, and 12 postal employees suffered from aggressive dogs in 2019. In order to ensure the quality delivery of postal items, Latvijas Pasts calls on residents to make their letter-boxes serviceable and keep an eye on their watch-dogs.
The delivery of postal items is seriously threatened by damaged letter-boxes, as well as by the fact that in many places in Latvia the recipients of correspondence have not put up letter-boxes at all. This is evidenced by the statistics of the register of addresses of Latvijas Pasts: out of 1.04 million addresses more than 151,000 places in June 2020 cannot provide for secure delivery of items or cannot ensure delivery of items at all due to the lack of a letter-box, its technical damage, inadequate size, inappropriate location or other similar reasons.
Inadequate condition of letter-boxes can be observed in almost every populated area throughout Latvia. Although this problem is prevalent mainly in cities, both in apartment blocks and detached houses, also customers living in the rural areas have not always taken care of providing an appropriate letter-box for receiving the items addressed to them. Problematic or non-existent letter-boxes are often found in horticultural co-operative societies, as well as on the buildings of legal entities and even public institutions.
The largest number of facts regarding non-compliant and absent letter-boxes is recorded in Riga region: in Riga, Salaspils and Ulbroka. Similarly, this problem is regularly detected elsewhere in Latvia, most often in Priekule, Grobiņa and Tukums in Kurzeme region; Krāslava, Rēzekne and Viļāni in Latgale region; Alūksne, Cēsis and Madona in Vidzeme region; and Bauska, Jelgava and Jēkabpils in Zemgale region, as well as in other places in Latvia.
Another major reason that makes it difficult for postmen to fulfil their obligations when delivering items is freely roaming and unattended dogs. 12 postmen suffered from aggressive domestic animals in 2019, and in the first four months of 2020 three attacks were recorded. This problem becomes especially acute as the summer period starts – if the pet is aggressive, the health of postmen is seriously compromised, but those who live at that address may not receive items addressed to them.
Many dog owners erroneously assume that their dog is friendly and will not harm the postman, but in reality the dog can become very aggressive as soon as a stranger wants to enter its territory. The most frequent mistakes made by the owners of dog owners include putting the animals on a long chain, which allows them to reach the postman who rides a bicycle, leaving the dog in the yard with a fence which is so low that the dog can easily jump over it or positioning the letter-box in such a place that the dog gets in the way and prevents the postman from dropping the items in the letter-box. Letter-boxes are often attached to the inside of the fence while there is an angry dog in the yard.
Latvijas Pasts would like to remind you that the postal service provider has the right not to deliver items to the addresses where postmen are menaced by dangerous dogs and their owners ignore requests to restrict dog freedom during the delivery of postal items. The postal operator also has the right not to deliver postal items, but to issue them on request at the post office to the addressees who have not placed and arranged their letter-boxes in accordance with the requirements of the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 463 Regarding Arrangement, Placement and Layout of Places of Provision of Postal Services, Postal Network Access Points, Letter-box Stations and Letter-boxes, as well as Arrangement of Stations for Processing Cross-border Postal Items.
In order to ensure the successful and safe delivery of postal items, Latvijas Pasts calls on residents to pay attention to the condition of the letter-boxes belonging to them, making sure that they are not damaged and are lockable, that they clearly indicate the address, apartment number or home name, surname or legal entity name and that the letter-box is located in an accessible place and has an appropriate size, and also to keep an eye on their watch-dogs. Due to the COVID-19 containment measures, Latvijas Pasts also asks customers to consider the need for regular cleaning and disinfection of letter-boxes.
The photos taken by Latvijas Pasts postmen showing the examples of letter-boxes which are damaged and which are not positioned according to the regulations can be viewed here.
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:
Vineta Danielsone | Senior Public Relations Project Manager
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv, vineta.danielsone@pasts.lv
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