Last year the Ombudsman for Postal Services received 887 complaints for misplaced parcels, an increase of 66% compared to the previous year. The above was indicated by the Minister Responsible for the Post, Alexander de Croo (Open Vld), in response to a question by the deputy Veli Yüksel (CD&V).
In 2014, 404 complaints had been recorded. The number of complaints rose to 534 in 2016, and then 887 in 2017.
The Arbitration Service for the Postal Sector says that two specific elements explain this increase in lost parcels. First of all, the historic postal company bpost has become a major player in both the sending and receipt of parcels. A further point is that, ten years ago, the Ombudsman was only responsible for bpost. Now other economic players undertake deliveries as well, which has influenced the increase in the number of complaints.
Nevertheless, Yüksel considers that it is bpost’s responsibility to develop a plan to tackle the issue. He also flags up delivery errors which were the cause of 1,048 complaints in 2017, compared to 487 three years earlier.
The Brussels Times
