Situation under control: sending parcels by mail

Everyone of us at least once in life has faced unexpected problems at the post office: a parcel did not arrive in time, got lost of disappeared. ForUm has found out how to save frustration and dispatch things correctly.

If you have decided to send a parcel, remember that post office employees will not be soft on it, even if you are sending something antique and fragile. Thus, prepare proper package. "To send parcels by post use a corrugated cardboard box, bubble film or foam insert. Fragile objects must be put into a rigid package, covered with shavings or cotton," the press office of "Ukrpochta" (Ukrainian post office service) told ForUm.

You can also send parcels in an original manufacturing package (wooden, plywood cases or carton boxes). But remember, the package must insure safety of the object and meet the established size standards. "Regular insured parcels must be 30 kilos maximum in weight and within 500*500*400 ml in size. Acceptable excess weight makes 500 grams," "Ukrpochta" informs. 

Fill in all the margins on the package. It will speed up the work of post office employees and the parcel will arrive in time. Do not forget you will need your passport data to fill in the application.

Hang on to the receipt given by an operator until the addressee receives the parcel. You may need this receipt in case of parcel loss.

There is a "black list" of items, prohibited from the mail. The list includes firearms, explosives, toxic matter, drugs, acids, poisonous plants, currency, certain kinds of food, etc. Read carefully the list of prohibited items, available in any post office. 

Going to withdraw a parcel, remember to take your passport. If for some reason you do not have it, you can show any ID document with photo, including international passport, driving license, military service card.

If for some reason you cannot withdraw the parcel personally, you must draw up a warrant for receipt by another person.

If your parcel got lost or misses some items, address immediately the employees of the post office. If you do not have a possibility to come personally, call the hotline or live a message on the official website.

In the post office department you should file in a missing report application. "State the class, category and number of the post, place and date of receipt, name and address of both sender and addressee, as well as the data of the ID document of the declarant," the press office of the state post of Ukraine specifies.

Remember that the application will not be accepted if the declarant is neither the sender nor the addressee (authorized representative), or if the term of application acceptance (6 months) is expired. 

"To prevent such unpleasant situation, be careful filling in the data and do not make mistakes in names and addresses," post employees recommend.  

At the same time, if the parcel got lost not through your fault, do not hesitate to demand a compensation. "In case of non-fulfillment or poor performance of obligations on service delivery, the addressee (or sender) will get a financial compensation in accordance with the law "On mail service".

To prevent the loss of some items, mail your parcel with a list of enclosures. With such list it would be easier to prove that items are really missing and to get a compensation. The procedure of making the list is easy: fill in two copies of relevant blank forms, sign and get them stamped by a mail operator. One copy will be mailed with the parcel, another one will be given to you.  

"It's been three weeks I am waiting for a parcel from America", "My parcel from China is three months late," "Yesterday they sent me a parcel from Kharkiv and it has not arrived yet" - we often here similar complaints from people. But are they justified?

According to the standard terms of delivery, a parcel within a region or between regional centers of Ukraine goes for 2-4 working day; between district centers of different regions - 3-5 working days; between villages from different regions - 4-5 days, excluding the day of dispatch.

International deliveries are more complicated. The delivery period depends not only on Ukrainian mail operators, but also on their foreign colleagues. On average, the delivery period from near-abroad makes 4-15 working days; from far-abroad - 15-35 working days. Moreover, parcels from abroad must undergo customs control.

"International mail undergoes customs control by turn. Customs clearing usually takes up to five days, or 10 days in case of increase in traffic during holidays," press office of the state post service of Ukraine informs. After the clearance international mail leaves for destination. If your parcel is detained for some reasons at the customs, you may appeal directly to the department for explanation. 

In general, if you follow all the rules of mail operators (proper package, correct data and compliance with the weight and size requirements), in 99.9% of cases your parcel will arrive in time and intact.