The SA Post Office’s Fastmail false delivery claim revealed
The South African Post Office (SAPO) has a reputation for slow delivery times, but what a recent MyBroadband Fastmail test uncovered was far worse than expected.
The SA Post Office explains on its website that its Fastmail service offers fast delivery of letters, especially when they are sent in the same city or town.
“Fastmail is a letter service in South Africa with a one-day delivery standard in the same city or town, a two-day delivery standard between major cities and towns,” states the SA Post Office.
It added that Fastmail receives preferential treatment, provided that it is handed in at a post office counter or it is posted in the dedicated blue post box at post offices.
MyBroadband put these claims to the test and sent three Fastmail letters to the Lyttelton Post Office in Centurion.
- Letter 1 was sent on 28 July from The Reeds Post Office (11km away).
- Letter 2 was sent on 28 July from the Mall@Reds Post Office in Raslouw (8km away).
- Letter 3 was sent on 1 August from the Benmore Gardens Shopping Centre Post Office (34km away).
Two of these letters were therefore sent in the same city as the destination address, and one was sent from a neighboring major city.
All three letters were received and stamped at the respective Post Offices on the day they were sent – 28 July for the first two letters, and 1 August for the third letter.
Very slow Fastmail delivery times
The test results showed that it can take anything between a few days to over two weeks for Fastmail letters to arrive at their destination.
This is a long way off from the SA Post Office’s promise of “one-day and two-day” deliveries.
Many people still rely on the SA Post Office to deliver important documents for business and personal reasons, and this Fastmail test showed why South Africans are so frustrated with the service.
We asked the SA Post Office for feedback on its poor letter delivery times, but the company did not respond to questions from MyBroadband.
Loading ...