It is incumbent upon ICP - National Communications Authority (ANACOM), being the regulatory authority for the postal sector in Portugal, to monitor the quality of the universal postal service provided by CTT - Correios de Portugal, S.A., aiming to meet postal needs of users.
In this scope, the protection of user and consumer needs is reflected in the imposition of quality of service obligations which are binding on CTT, and which have been set out in a Quality Convention concluded between ANACOM and CTT, on transit time for non-priority and priority mail, newspapers, other periodicals and parcels, as well as on customer queuing times at postal establishments.
Where levels of quality of service binding on CTT are not complied with, the Quality Convention provides that customers shall be compensated by means of deductions up to 1% on prices of services reserved to CTT, such deductions being applied on prices in force in the year after the non-compliance occurs.
In view of the failure to comply with some indicators of quality of service in 2006, and of the consequent need to apply the Quality Convention, the Board of Directors of ANACOM, by determination of 5 September, has decided not to oppose deduction implementation measures proposed by that company, that are intended to compensate general users for the deterioration of quality of service provided in the course of that year, without prejudice to the implementation of mechanisms to control their operation.
Measures provided for in the determination lay down benefits for users which amount to around 3 million euros.
This amount is slightly higher than 1% of net gains of reserved services estimated for 2007, and is to be rendered concrete through the following means:
- Offer of postage costs when custom made stamps, soon to be made available by the company, are purchased;
- Offer of stamps and postcards to the Comissão de Acompanhamento do Plano Nacional de Leitura for use/distribution purposes in specific measures which fall within the scope of academic records;
- Offer of a priority mail pre-stamped envelope to occasional customers who mail at least one postal item at any post station, in certain periods of specified days;
- Granting of an additional discount to contractual customers who during the months of September and October register an increase in monthly traffic relatively to the same period in the preceding year.
ICP-ANACOM determined also that CTT must present, by the end of November this year, a report on the implementation of measures presented, and in case some of them do not reach the desired financial target, additional measures that ensure that consumers are duly compensated for the fact that quality of service indicators were not reached in 2006 must also be proposed. In compliance with its policy of regulation transparency, ICP-ANACOM shall make publicly available the results of this operation control.
Consult:
- Values of quality of service indicators realised by CTT in 2006 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=518496
