Dear Editor,
We have been experiencing this year a big drop in the quality of service provided by the CTT-Correios de Portugal.
We run a business in property management and find it very frustrating that we don’t see a postman sometimes for six or seven days in the area.
And when he does appear we can get letters which have been posted over 2-4 weeks ago.
A number of business bills or invoices only arrive after the payment date and hence have to pay a fine along with the factura.
Fortunately, there are some on direct debit so they are paid automatically although you don’t know the amount until it is taken from your account, and the bill only arrives well after the date through the Post.
I spoke to a person in CTT and he agreed it is a big problem and blamed the bosses who will not employ enough staff and have cut back on paying overtime so the staff are not getting enough time to properly provide the service you would expect. I was advised to go and fill in the official Complaints Book as that goes to the State and not to the CTT management.
We also look after properties for non-resident owners and have had several instances where incorrect service bills have a) arrived late and or b) been taken from owners’ bank accounts when they should have been challenged and dealt with by the due date.
Particular problems come with the issue of water bills from the Câmara. I challenged the late arrival with the Câmara and was told that to save money they do not post bills itself.
They are sent electronically to the CTT who print off and supposedly deliver them – but when?
We are based in the Lagos area and wondered if the same problem is occurring in other areas?
Fred Lloyd
By email
