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In 15 minutes Agnė M., the reader who addressed the editorial board, sent her package from Portugal to Lithuania on December 30. It did not take long to arrive in Lithuania: it was presented on January 6. However, since that day Agnė received no further information about his package. When the interviewer wrote a request to the company that he had to deliver the package to Itella Logistics, he received a response that the package will be delivered in 1-2 days.
“It just came to our attention then. In the Internet comments, I noticed that the representatives of the company responded the same to other customers, but none received any packages. Because to my email. The letter has not yet received a response, I also sent a request why the package has been in the Itella Logistics warehouse for two weeks. More so when it arrived from another part of Europe in a week. In the comments, I also read that it was a lie for some customers who tried to deliver packages, but no one contacted them or delivered them home, even though the recipients were at home, ”Agnė was angry.
Customers share similar stories not only on their Itella Logistics Facebook account, but also in the comment section of the website. rekvizitai.lt.
123RF.com nuotr./Siuntiniai
Judging from the online comments alone, it can be seen that other package submitters are also quite dissatisfied. However, according to the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT), Itella Logistics’ market share is 3.1%, which makes the degree of resentment from abroad seem quite high.
DHL Lietuva also closed with complaints
Indirect victims of this situation include another DHL Lietuva parcel company operating in Lithuania.
Several carriers, including Agnė, who applied to the editorial office, chose DHL as their delivery agent, but due to the business model of the German company DPDHL, which manages this brand, their shipments in Lithuania are not delivered by DHL Lietuva, but by Itella Logistics.
Before that, these items were also delivered not by the Lithuanian branch of DHL, but by Lietuvos Paštas. Mindaugas Pivoriūnas, General Manager of DHL Lietuva 15 minutes He said that a similar model operates around the world, where such shipments are delivered by a local post office or a selected shipping company.
123RF.com nuotr./Siuntiniai
However, dissatisfied consumers who were unaware of the twists and turns of the logistics chain also criticized DHL Lietuva. The representatives of that company emphasize that they do not have contact with those postal shipments and that the tracking and information systems for shipments are also separated.
“Every day we get a lot of calls from customers regarding the delivery of such postal items, because when they see the DHL brand, customers turn to UAB DHL Lietuva. Unfortunately, due to all the circumstances listed, we can only explain the situation to the customer and refer it to Itella Logistics for further resolution of the problem. Similar problems in Lithuania and other countries are constantly reported to the DPDHL group, which makes decisions to improve the quality of mail delivery, ”said the manager.
„Head of Itella Logistics: Many circumstances have arisen
Rasma Saulė, CEO of Itella Logistics 15 minutes confirmed that the company received an unusually high number of complaints and acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the organization of the company’s work.
“This situation happened due to an unexpectedly large number of shipments, we did not control it, we made mistakes. We were also late, we have not yet delivered the shipments sent to some people in December. Some shipments, especially those from Germany, come to us without numbers. We need to gather that data, “he explained.
Another reason, according to the manager, was the change of courier. “The messengers also made mistakes. They changed: some messengers were sick, new ones came in their place and were replaced by inexperienced ones. Sometimes they delivered packages to the wrong recipients, I do not deny it. We have spoiled Christmas for many people, we have also recognized that in our social space ”, lamented the manager.
123RF.com nuotr./Siunta
R. Saulė stated that he also receives complaints directly. However, the director of Itella Logistics defended that other participants in the parcel market were receiving arrows of criticism and that the population was tired of the situation, impatient and angry during the quarantine.
“In a way we understand the COVID-19 virus while it touches us, we sit at home and watch, but if we wait for something, it seems to us that these shipments have to arrive at all costs. However, both our couriers and the personnel responsible for operations were ill. When one got sick, we had to remove and others who had contact. This crossed the efficiency when the flow of packages was higher ”, said the head of Itella Logistics.
The authorities have not bothered so far
Representatives from the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT), which oversees the parcel market, say they have received 2 complaints about Itella Logistics in the first three weeks, which are currently being evaluated. It is true that last year the company was almost out of RRT’s sight, during 2020. A total of 124 complaints were received from all courier companies, of which two complainants were not satisfied with Itella Logistics.
Ugnė Karbočiūtė, Head of the Complaints Division of RRT, says that the legal acts regulating postal activities do not establish deadlines for the delivery of postal items and do not establish liability for postal service providers for delays in the delivery of postal items . However, the law does not prevent the parties to a contractual relationship from agreeing on a time limit for the delivery of a postal item and the possible consequences of violating this time limit, such as the application of compensation or other methods.
Photo from rrt.lt / Communications Regulatory Authority Building
“If the recipient does not receive the shipment, it is recommended that you first contact the sender and find out the situation with him. The sender, in turn, would have to resolve the dispute about the shipment with the postal service provider and, In the absence of an amicable agreement, it could request RRT an assessment of the situation and the resolution of the dispute. The RRT examines each case individually, systematically analyzing all the circumstances of the concrete situation and the explanations given by the parties in the controversy and the available evidence ”, advised the specialist.
Shipping companies face new challenges
15 minutes Managers of other Lithuanian parcel companies interviewed said that although the peak is already in the past, certain new difficulties are slowing down, slowing down the delivery pace.
“Due to movement restrictions between municipalities and closed non-food physical stores, the flow of shipments remains high. We strive to ensure that all shipments reach all customers in the shortest time possible. Currently, we deliver the majority of packages to Lithuanian post offices in 1-2 business days. In Vilnius and the Vilnius region, where the number of packages and post office occupancy is the highest, we deliver packages in 1-4 business days, ”said Simonas Bielskis, General Manager of Omniva, which transports packages in the Baltic States.
DHL Lietuva CEO M. Pivoriūnas briefly commented on the parcel situation: After the end of the Christmas parcel season, the company’s employees took only a few days off as parcel flows continue to grow by two digits.
Photo from 123RF.com/DHL Express Shipping
For his part, Vaidotas Lašas, dispatch director at UAB Skubios, representing the international company UPS, said that his company’s flows returned to normal more or less after Christmas.
“Like every year, the Christmas peak increases the flow of packages with great force. UPS has employed more than 100,000 people around the world. additional staff to cope with increased shipments due to the Christmas spike and the COVID-19 pandemic. “Shipments are back to normal after the New Year, and we are currently working as usual, except for difficulties caused by Brexit,” said the manager.
Expires from January 1. As of the entry into force of the amendments, each merchandise imported or exported from the United Kingdom must be declared and the merchandise of greater value are subject to customs duties or VAT. Due to these reasons and the short time that elapses between the signing of the contract and its entry into force, shipments currently travel longer, customs clearance of shipments is delayed, doubts arise about the calculated duties and other disturbances occur. V. He hopes that after more time the interested parties will find solutions on how to do it faster.
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