Lithuanian mail is being affected by a flood of complaints: why are packages disappearing in Vilnius?

Delfi was approached by reader Agnė (her real name and surname are known to the editorial committee), who shared her experience. She has been waiting for the shipment since March.

“On March 19, a registered shipment was sent from London to Vilnius. April 11, 12:46 pm at night, it was delivered to the parcel distribution center located at Metalo str. 5, Vilnius.” package did not change within a few days on the Lithuanian Post page and I called the post office, they assured me that due to the large number of packages and Brexit the package was delayed, but mine would definitely reach the addressee, that He is also in Vilnius ”, says the girl.

However, the status of the shipment did not change. A couple of weeks later, the girl started calling the mail almost every day.

“Sometimes the employees just said they were apologetic, but this delay is normal, next time, it is not normal and they will try to find out why the shipment is not yet delivered.” When I called again, I was told that the post office was adapting new systems that would automate the package delivery process, leading to delays. Therefore, in trying to find out where and why a package gets stuck, postal workers constantly justify themselves, but they don’t give a specific answer, ”Agnė said angrily.

She did not retaliate and decided to try to contact the parcel distribution center directly, but was unable to try to get a contact phone number.

“It turned out that the unit does not accept outside calls and that the postal employees themselves do not have the opportunity to contact them by phone. The only means of communication were the inquiry forms, which, I was informed, were filled out several times for my submission, but received no response. When asked what the customer should do when his shipment was stuck on Metalo street for almost a month without any specific explanation, he was offered to fill out a complaint form, ”says Agnė.

Make sure you also filled out this form. In about a week, he received a response from a senior specialist in the customer inquiry management team, saying, “No international shipment has been identified so far. <...> location, we consider the shipment lost ”.

The girls were asked to apply to the UK Post for compensation from the Lithuanian Post.

“When asked by the network administrator, the delivery location may not have been determined, even though the mail page shows that it is on Metalo st. 5, I did not receive a clear answer; It was reiterated to me that unfortunately the shipment is not found and that all I can do is request compensation for damages. Before that, I tried to contact the Lithuanian Post via Facebook, but communication there is even worse: messages are rarely written or not written, ”Agn lamented.

Remember that you were asked on Facebook why the shipment is considered missing, why your question is ignored. However, the only response received is that the shipment is not in the warehouse.

“After entering the shipment’s registration number on the postal page, it still shows that the shipment is at Metalo Street 5,” Agnė is surprised.

He assured that after this story, the UK Post Office also completed the necessary forms, which he should respond to within 90 days.

“In short, in the 21st century, Lietuvos Paštas, in the first place, does not have the opportunity to contact one of its branches by phone. Systems that, as they say, have been configured to automate the package delivery process have completely stopped this process. For a month, postal workers were unable to provide a clear answer on the status of the item until it was simply declared missing. “How and why he disappeared, he cannot explain and this topic is deliberately ignored,” said the angry girl.

He noted that a message was posted on the Lietuvos paštas website on April 19, in which the head of the post office, Asta Sungailienė, stated that “parcel distribution is now normalized”, that “the new modern processes they offer the opportunity to process and analyze much more information, which will allow to know better the clients, to offer better services, to deliver the shipments to the recipients in a faster and more efficient way ”.

Over a thousand reviews, this year alone

This year a flood of complaints is emerging against Lietuvos Paštas (LP).

Up to 4800 reviews were submitted on the Rekvizitai.lt portal alone, almost a third of them were written this year. Lost or lost shipments are the most common reason for complaint. 2.6 out of 10 points: this average evaluation evaluates the activities of the company.

It is not possible to leave comments on the Lietuvos paštas Facebook account; negative comments are added to company records here. Letters traveling for several weeks in Lithuania, lost shipments, etc. are also reported here.

“Shipments are lost and they are not given to anyone to talk about innovation. LP’s work has become tragic: the shipment, the delivery itself, only a deliberate breakdown of the company can justify it, ”writes one user.

“Do you keep the shipment with you, which has been in Lithuania since April? So you can make money in July?” Asked another member.

Even Google Maps Lithuanian Post Logistics Center has 78 reviews, and the average rating is 1.9 to 5 points.

“The shipments do not arrive or leave. I guess they heat up the post offices, because they shouldn’t fit anymore ”, the customer was surprised.

“In the last few weeks, I have had to communicate with logistics staff maybe 10 times about shipments that have not disappeared, but cannot reach the recipient in any way,” another customer shared.

They all get the same answer: “Hello, if you have any questions, please contact us by email [email protected]”

However, some also complain that they do not receive any response after the request for a long time.

Lithuanian Post: about 70 packages disappeared in April

LMonika Pivoraitė, representative of the Communication Department of the Lithuanian Post, estimates that in the first four months of this year alone, 5.5 million people traveled through the Lithuanian Post. the packages cost twice as much as at the same time last year.

“Unfortunately, there are situations in which a very small part of these shipments disappear. The reasons for this can be different: technical problems or human error, a significant number of shipments do not reach the recipients and by an incorrect address. Lost shipment, we deliver it to the recipient. Shipments that cannot be delivered to the recipient are returned to the sender “, explains M. Pivoraitė.

It ensures that today most shipments are delivered under normal conditions, only isolated problems are possible.

“This is also reflected in various indicators of our activity, for example, the ratio of lost shipments to the total number of shipments has remained similar for several years, around 0.001-0.002 percent. of the total number of shipments. This year it reached 0.003 percent, in April about 70 parcels of the total number of parcels were declared missing. Call flows in the customer service center are the same as in the same period last year ”, assures M. Pivoraitė.

The compensation procedure is carried out in accordance with the procedure provided for in the Postal Law: “The sender requests the service from the Lithuanian Post, therefore we can only compensate him. For this reason, the recipient must request compensation from the sender, and he from us. The same practice applies all over the world. “

Lietuvos Paštas consults clients through specific channels: telephone, email. by mail or personal messages through the social network Facebook – M. Pivoraitė ensures that the contact center employees are always ready to help and answer questions.

“We apologize to the customers for the inconvenience,” the postal authorities reacted to the situation of the girl, who was referred to Delfi.