SingPost Responds To Mails Left Abandoned At Tampines, Says It’s An Honest Mistake

Picture this: You’re finally carting out the 5 items sitting idly in your cart on Taobao after months of procrastination.

However, a few weeks have passed and your highly anticipated buys have yet to arrive.

You proceed to check your phone for an update on the delivery status for the umpteenth time, but the results are the same each time – the items have been delivered.

If you’ve ever made purchases on Taobao or any foreign site, you’d know the excruciatingly long wait involved before the items reach you.

Especially if your loot gets lost or delayed along the way.

Image: Giphy

The thought of going through the hassle of contacting the seller and delivery company is enough to tire anyone out.

On the other hand, what if you were expecting an important document via post which is time-sensitive? For instance, bills, tax invoices, and contracts – all of which require immediate action but never reached you because it was mishandled by your local postman.

Horrifying ain’t it?

Unfortunately, this nightmare came true for some SingaporeansAgain.

Stacks of undelivered mail found in wastepaper ditch

First reported by TODAYonline on 26 April (Friday), a postman from *drumroll* SingPost was under the spotlight for his carelessness while making his rounds in the vicinity of Tampines Street 83.

The postman in question was identified by SingPost as a one-month-old rookie who had started delivering letters himself; hence the accidental mistake.

According to SingPost, the postman was unaware that two stacks of mail fell into the letterbox ditch (a container for unwanted mail).

Local resident to the rescue

Thankfully, all hope isn’t lost.

A Singaporean lady by the name of Joanne Li happened to stumble upon the mail bundles lying lifelessly in the letterbox ditch on 25 April (Thursday).

She brought them home for safekeeping, then proceeded to share the news on Facebook, where she alerted SingPost as well.

In the same Facebook post, Ms Li updated everyone: “SingPost has gotten in touch with me and informed that their colleagues will get in touch with me to retrieve the mail.”

According to TODAYonline, SingPost thanked Ms Li for alerting them and helping to protect the undelivered mail. In addition, the postal service said it would take appropriate measures in dealing with the postman responsible for his blunder.

Enraged netizens share their negative experience with SingPost

Ms Li’s Facebook post has since garnered 295 likes and more than 600 shares. A number of netizens have left comments on the incident as well, reflecting the same thoughts as Ms Li.

Image: Li Joanne/ Facebook
Image: Li Joanne/ Facebook

According to a netizen by the name of Tiffany Choo, she didn’t receive her credit card bill and had to incur extra costs due to overdue payment. To avoid such situations, she has opted for bills to be sent via email instead.

As you know, this isn’t the first time SingPost has made headlines for unsatisfactory service.

The delivery provider received a fine of S$100,000 by the Infocomm Media Development Authority for subpar service standards in February and one of their postmen was arrested for discarding numerous unopened mail in a bin early this year.

Image: Giphy

As the main postal service provider in Singapore, SingPost sure has a lot to work on.

There’s a reason why many online retailers are turning to other alternatives like Ninja Van. Let’s hope SingPost seriously revamps their operational strategy while they can.