Mandate

The ombudsman is the final appeal authority for postal service complaints that have not been resolved to the customers’ satisfaction by Canada Post, including complaints regarding Canada Post’s compliance with the Canadian Postal Service Charter.

• This means that you must first give Canada Post the chance to resolve your problem with the postal service. You must contact Customer Service before appealing to the ombudsman.
• The ombudsman only reviews your appeal if you provide a Customer Service ticket number when you submit your request and if Canada Post has reached its decision on your complaint.
• You have 12 months to submit your appeal to the ombudsman.
• The ombudsman does not review any appeal that is before the courts.

WHAT THE OMBUDSMAN CAN DO FOR YOU

The ombudsman independently investigates your appeal in a fair, unbiased and confidential manner.

• The ombudsman is independent of Canada Post staff and management, reporting directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
• The ombudsman only shares the details of your appeal with the parties that are essential to the investigation process.

The ombudsman relies on a fact-based investigation process in order to assess if Canada Post reasonably applied its policies and procedures in the initial handling of your complaint.

• The ombudsman is neither an advocate for the customer nor for Canada Post.
• The ombudsman assesses if Canada Post decisions are implemented in accordance with company policies and procedures.
• When the investigation produces verbal accounts that are not easily reconcilable or appear contradictory, the ombudsman limits her examination to the verifiable facts.

After a thorough investigation, the ombudsman makes recommendations to Canada Post if the appeal is justified. These recommendations may be formulated as case-specific interventions or address policy and procedural changes that have a broader application.

• Whether the outcome of the investigation is in your favour or supports Canada Post’s initial position, the ombudsman communicates the reasons for her decision.
• The timing for a decision depends on the complexity of the issue under investigation and a timeline will be provided once an initial review is completed.

Some examples of complaints reviewed by the ombudsman:

• Reliability and quality of mail delivery
• Lost or damaged mailing
• Delivery delays
• Lack of signature / scanning upon delivery
• Poor service ( delivery agent, retail transaction, customer service representative, etc )
• Access to your mail
• Postage refunds
• Insurance coverage
• Change of address service

Some examples of complaints regarding Canada Post’s compliance with the Canadian Postal Service Charter reviewed by the ombudsman:

• Convenient access to postal services
• Change in your mode of delivery: compliance to customer notification requirements
• Secure delivery

WHAT THE OMBUDSMAN DOES NOT DO

The ombudsman has no legislative power over Canada Post and does not set corporate policy on matters related to postal services.

This means that the ombudsman does not make recommendations to Canada Post to resolve postal service complaints that deal exclusively with:

• Setting postal rates and pricing
• Defining postal service standards and specifications
• Canada Post subsidiaries
• Canada Post contractors and suppliers
• The provisions of collective agreements
• Human Resources matters