Postal chaos in Ueckermünde: Citizens wait for letters for weeks!

Postal chaos in Ueckermünde: Citizens wait for letters for weeks!

There is currently a lot of confusion regarding letter delivery in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Especially in rural areas such as Ueckermünde and Eggesin, citizens complain about massive gaps in postal services. Many of them wait for days for important letters, especially official gazettes, which are necessary for relevant appointments. The situation is so tense that complaints to Deutsche Post often receive no response as hoped for. According to n-tv, the reasons are primarily due to a lack of staff and an increase in shipment volume.

Pastor Susanne Leder from Ueckermünde describes how she sometimes has to wait over two weeks for letters, which then arrive bundled. This makes life a nightmare for those affected, especially when it comes to scheduled items such as bills. “I feel let down by Deutsche Post,” she complains. Their dissatisfaction is reflected in a general frustration that not only affects Ueckermünde, but also other regions, such as Wismar and parts of northwest Mecklenburg, where delivery drivers are struggling with delays of over two weeks [NDR].

Background and current challenges

Deutsche Post has confirmed that delivery is currently not meeting usual standards and admits that staff shortages and unexpectedly high levels of sickness are exacerbating the situation. A spokesman for the postal service said that new employees have been hired since the beginning of June, but their training still takes time. At the same time, it became clear that the forecasts about the number of letters to be sent in the run-up to Christmas were incorrect, which led to the existing delivery staff being overloaded.

In Wismar, for example, delivery people from Schleswig-Holstein were even brought in to help, but they often cannot keep up with their local colleagues. The large number of advertising letters has further exacerbated the problem because they were not foreseen. Deutsche Post's hope of overcoming these challenges within a week remains in limbo for the time being.

Increasing complaints

The frustration of postal customers is also reflected in alarming figures: In 2023, the Federal Network Agency saw an increase in complaints about postal service to a total of 44,406, which corresponds to an increase of almost 7% compared to 2022. This is not only an expression of dissatisfaction, but also an indication that the problems are deeper than they appear at first glance. 89% of these complaints were directed against DHL and Deutsche Post, with defects in delivery, closed branches during opening hours and insufficiently emptied mailboxes being the most common reasons, as heise.de reports.

The Federal Network Agency has announced that it will initiate investigations due to the high number of complaints in certain regions such as Bochum and Hamburg. Even though Deutsche Post emphasizes that the number of complaints is small compared to the over 12 billion letters sent, the increase in complaints shows an alarming picture of the current delivery situation. The city and its citizens hope that Deutsche Post's restructuring measures will soon bear fruit and that the gaps in postal delivery will finally be closed.