SingPost fined S$300,000 for not meeting postal Quality of Service in 2018

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has imposed a financial penalty on Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) for not meeting the postal Quality of Service (QoS) standards for delivery of local basic letters, registered basic letters and international basic letters in 2018.

The IMDA is a statutory board in the Singapore Government that develops and regulates the infocomm and media sectors. It said in a statement on 29 March 2019: “Having considered all factors, IMDA has imposed a financial penalty of S$300,000 on SingPost for the 20 incidents of non-compliance with IMDA’s QoS standards in the period from January to December 2018.”

IMDA stated that it had directed SingPost to take “urgent steps to improve its service standards and restore public confidence in its postal services”.

The IMDA’s investigations revealed SingPost did not meet the following postal QoS standards:

• SingPost did not deliver 99% of local basic letters within the Central Business District (CBD) by the next working day in four months.
• SingPost did not deliver 100% of local basic letters by the second working day in nine months.
• SingPost did not deliver 100% of registered basic letters by the second working day in four months.
• SingPost did not meet the requirements for the delivery of international incoming basic letters within the CBD by the next working day in three months.

IMDA also said it had completed its investigations of the case of the postman who had discarded returned mail and advertisement mails at Reflections at Keppel Bay in 2018. The postman, Mr Liu Zhengang, was dismissed by SingPost after the incident and has returned to China. IMDA’s investigation found the postman to have breached the Postal Services Act for discarding postal articles and has issued an advisory to him and barred from employment in Singapore.

The organisation said: “IMDA takes a very serious view of any lapses in SingPost’s mail services and has directed SingPost to take urgent steps to improve its service standards and restore public confidence in its postal services.

“To this end, IMDA notes that SingPost has actively implemented immediate measures such as hiring more postmen, extending delivery slots for basic mail parcels to weekday evenings and on Saturdays, and increasing the number of dedicated counters and staff at post offices for mail/package collection. SingPost has also pledged to conduct an overall review of its operations to improve its service standards and meet consumer expectations amid the changing postal landscape.

“IMDA will continue to work with SingPost to improve the quality and reliability of its postal delivery services.”

This is the second fine the national postal service operator has received in consecutive months. It was fined S$100,000 for failing to meet the postal QoS standards for 2017.