Online tool from the consumer advice center: Help with undelivered packages and late letters

Online tool from the consumer advice center: Help with undelivered packages and late letters

According to a report from home.1und1.de,

The Federal Network Agency is recording an increasing number of complaints regarding undelivered or incorrectly filed packages and delayed letters. Klaus Gettwart, board member of the German Association for Post, Information Technology and Telecommunications (DVPT), ​​criticizes the quality of service providers, especially Deutsche Post, and the way complaints are handled. The consumer advice center has now presented an online tool that offers consumers help with the various problems associated with postal and parcel shipping.

According to Klaus Gettwart, 50 percent of complaints relate to parcels and letters. The most common problems with parcels are undelivered or incorrectly filed items, while with letters the main complaints are about late deliveries and undelivered registered mail. The consumer advice center's online tool allows consumers to select a specific problem and offers possible solutions, legal information and sample complaint letters.

The tool also provides information on how consumers can respond to late letters and what rights they have. Users also receive clarification regarding the legal delivery times of shipments and can create research orders for their shipments. In addition, sample complaint letters are provided that were pre-formulated by consumer advocates and enable a valid complaint to be made.

Klaus Gettwart generally rates the tool positively and emphasizes the importance of the data from the tool reaching the Federal Network Agency in order to keep official statistics. Iwona Husemann from the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations explains that the tool serves to close a gap and offer consumers an easier way to make complaints.

Overall, the consumer advice center's online tool offers a promising opportunity to support consumers with problems relating to postal and parcel shipping and to provide them with clearly structured and legally sound instructions. However, it remains to be seen how effectively the data from the tool will be used by the Federal Network Agency to keep official statistics and take necessary measures.