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Postal Services Act, 1998 (Act No. 124 of 1998)

Regulations

Unreserved Postal Services Regulations, 2020

Reasons Document on Unreserved Postal Services Regulations, March 2020

2. Submissions received on the Draft Regulations and the Authority's response

2.4. Regulation 6 : Customer Complaints procedure

 

2.4.1. Submission received
2.4.1.1. Fastway submits that the requirement to provide a single point of entry for all customer complaints is not an optimal structure for the resolution of complaints, as there are some important practical aspects surrounding complaint resolution that should be considered when deciding on a complaint resolution process. Fastway is of the view that a customer's complaint or enquiry is best addressed by the regional depot with whom they do business.
2.4.1.2. SAEPA states that regulation 6 in the Draft Regulation, if passed, will oblige registrants to undertake to provide a customer complaints procedure, which must meet the minimum requirements set out in Draft Regulation 6(a) – (e).
2.4.1.3. SAEPA points out that the Authority has not previously held stakeholder consultations in respect of the proposed mandatory customer complaints procedure, to the best of SAEPA’s knowledge. Therefore, SAEPA considers the Authority's rationale for this proposal to be unclear.
2.4.1.4. SAEPA is of the view that the terms and conditions of service in the unreserved postal are a matter that ought to be left for agreement between service providers and their customers and/or as provided for in any contract between the parties.

 

2.4.2. The Authority’s decision
2.4.2.1. The Authority has decided to keep regulation 6 as a mechanism for consumer protection and to provide certainty and clarity on consumer complaints. Regulation 6 will further enhance quality of service.
2.4.2.2. The Authority has decided to rephrase regulation 6(1)(a) to clarify confusion of single point of entry by replacing it with single designated contact. A single designated contact can be an email or call centre number at any branch or depot as chosen by the Operator. The intention of regulation 6 is to ensure that customer complaints procedures are in place and easy to access.
2.4.2.3. The Authority has consulted on consumer protection issues through the Discussion Document and the Position Paper