Delivery of post and interruptions in delivery

Posti Ltd. must deliver items of correspondence on five working days per week, except on midweek public holidays. The five-day delivery frequency only applies to letters falling within the scope of universal services and paid in cash. Contractual services used by companies are not covered by universal services, and therefore the five-day delivery obligation does not apply to them. In a difficult terrain in the archipelago or in wilderness areas, letters may exceptionally be delivered less than five times a week. The minimum frequency for such deliveries is once a week.

The Postal Act does not regulate the time by which letters falling within the scope of universal services must be delivered. The Act does not apply to the delivery of newspapers or periodicals, or unaddressed items.

According to the Postal Act, a postal undertaking shall arrange a service for the return of wrongly delivered items. The deliverer is identified by a unique identifier marked on the letter, which can be checked from the register of postal operations .

Posti Ltd. must deliver parcels falling within the scope of universal services within reasonable time. A notice of arrival may be used in the delivery of items and parcels requiring acknowledgement of receipt.

The postal universal service is described in more detail in Right to postal services .

Interruptions in delivery

If there are interruptions in the postal delivery, always contact the postal undertaking first. The postal undertaking is best able to find out what has happened to postal items. If the delivery problems continue despite contacting the postal undertaking, you should send the undertaking a written complaint and request for an answer in writing.

If the complaint does not solve the problem or the postal undertaking does not give you a satisfactory explanation, you can contact Traficom in order to solve the matter. In such case, Traficom needs the postal undertaking's reply and details identifying the postal items that the delivery problem concerns.

Please note that the Postal Act does not apply to the delivery of newspapers or periodicals. Note also that Traficom does not process matters concerning compensation for damages.

You may contact Traficom using the electronic contact form or by mail.

Distribution methods in single-family houses and apartment buildings

Letters are delivered

• to letter boxes in one-family houses;
• to apartment-specific mail slot letter boxes in apartment buildings. A housing company may also agree with a postal undertaking that letters are delivered to an apartment building-specific letter boxes.

In the delivery, consideration may also be given to the following aspects:

• local circumstances;
• the recipient's personal special needs.

Personal special needs entitle to exceptions

Such personal special needs of a recipient that may be taken into account when arranging postal delivery is, for example, mobility impairment or more than 75 years of age.

Persons who have such special needs are entitled, on request, to an arrangement that deviates from the usual delivery method used in the area, for example

• delivery to an apartment-specific slot;
• delivery to a letter box located near the front door; or
• delivery to a letter box located at the driveway or walkway of the plot.

These special arrangements require that there are no such persons living in the same household who are not entitled to the exceptions.

Special arrangements also available against a fee

A recipient may also agree with a postal undertaking on arrangements that deviate from the usual delivery method in the area. The postal undertaking may charge a reasonable fee for such exceptional arrangements.

For example, if you live in a single-family house, you can arrange to have your post delivered to a slot in your front door instead of a letter box in a centralised post delivery station.