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13.04.2021
There are several factors that make it difficult for postmen to fulfil their obligations in a quality manner when delivering items: oftentimes these are freely roaming and unattended dogs, but the most frequent reasons are damaged or non-existent letter-boxes. Ten postmen suffered from aggressive dogs in 2020, and according to the data of Latvijas Pasts the letter-boxes that are damaged or otherwise unsuitable for dropping postal items safely can found at more than 18,300 addresses throughout Latvia in April 2021. In order to ensure the proper delivery of postal items by postmen, Latvijas Pasts repeatedly calls on residents to keep an eye on their guard dogs and fix their letter-boxes.
In accordance with the Cabinet’s Regulations Regarding the Place of Provision of Postal Services, the Postal Network Access Point, the Letter-box Station and Letter-box Installation, the Placement and Designing of Letter-boxes, as well as the Arrangement of Stations of Processing of Cross-border Postal Items, letter-boxes must be located in a safe place which is freely accessible to the postman. However, the performance of the postmen’s duties is often hindered by freely roaming and unattended dogs. In 2020 ten postmen suffered from aggressive pets, and in the first four months of 2021 three attacks have already been recorded.
With the start of the spring and summer seasons, this problem becomes especially acute: if a pet is aggressive, the health of postmen is seriously endangered, but those living at the address may not receive the items addressed to them, because postal workers do not have to risk their health trying to deliver the items in an unsafe environment.
Postal workers are also more often have to be confronted with situations when a four-legged pet is left outdoors unattended for an extended period of time, preventing access to letter-boxes and dropping items in them. The most frequent mistakes made by 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. There are dog owners who wrongly believe 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.
Another significant factor that hinders the delivery of postal items is inadequate or non-existent letter-boxes of addressees. Statistics of the register of addresses of Latvijas Pasts show that out of 1.06 million addresses more than 18,300 locations in April this year 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 placement or other similar reasons, constituting a serious obstacle to the delivery of items.
Inadequate condition of letter-boxes can be seen in almost every residential area throughout Latvia. Although this problem is prevalent mainly in cities – both in apartment blocks and detached houses – also customers living in rural areas have not always taken care of providing an appropriate letter-box for receiving the items addressed to them. Non-existent or inappropriate letter-boxes are also 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: Riga, Ķekava, Piņķi, Ulbroka and the area of Sala Parish in Babīte Municipality. Similarly, this problem is regularly detected elsewhere in Latvia, most often in Liepāja, Ventspils and Engure Municipality’s villages of Abragciems, Apšuciems, Bērzciems, Ķesterciems, Klapkalnciems and Plieņciems in the Kurzeme region; Rēzekne and Krāslava, Grāveri Parish and Jaunaglona in Aglona Municipality, Kombuļi Parish in Krāslava Municipality and Upmala Parish in Vārkava Municipality in the Latgale region; Aloja Municipality, Cēsis Municipality, Limbaži Parish in Limbaži Municipality, Lubāna Municipality and Ārona Parish in Madona Municipality in the Vidzeme region; and Dobele, Jēkabpils and Ogre in the Zemgale region.
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 the dogs’ freedom during the delivery of postal items. The postal operator also is entitled 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 Cabinet’s Regulations No. 463 Regarding the Place of Provision of Postal Services, the Postal Network Access Point, the Letter-box Station and Letter-box Installation, the Placement and Designing of Letter-boxes, as well as the Arrangement of Stations of Processing of Cross-border Postal Items.
In order to ensure the successful and safe delivery of postal items, Latvijas Pasts calls on residents to keep an eye on their four-legged house guards, take the necessary welfare measures and 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 a size appropriate for the items to be received.
Due to the COVID-19 containment measures, Latvijas Pasts also asks customers to consider the need for regular cleaning and disinfection of the letter-boxes.
The photos taken by Latvijas Pasts postmen showing the examples of dangerous guard dogs and 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 around 3,200 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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