Report: La Poste service worsening

THE French post office, La Poste, has been heavily criticised in a new report by consumer watchdog UFC-Que Choisir.

The group said the level of service had worsened, with growing numbers of parcels being delivered to the wrong address, damaged or lost.

UFC said there was also evidence of La Poste workers failing to deliver parcels when the recipient was at home in order to save time - opting instead to leave a slip and require the person to pick up their delivery from the sorting office.

The number of letters handled by La Poste has fallen by 6% year-on-year, while parcel deliveries are on the rise because of the boom in e-commerce.

The consumer group said that, as a result of the growth in parcels, La Poste was relying increasingly on sub-contractors and that delivery times were getting longer.

UFC sent mystery shoppers to hundreds of post offices to send a CD. The cheapest rate should be €1.50 - but many were offered more expensive options instead - ranging from €3.35 to €23.