An experience with Post / ePostOffice

Complaints Corner
1
So, Post has this really convenient online service where they redirect your mail when you're traveling, and you can log in to request scanning of the important stuff. Seems convenient.

Until you try to set the whole thing up: for some weird reason, you need an alternate address for physical deliveries first, and only then can you activate the scanning option. Huh. Well, that's eventually solved.

The web service works fine for the couple of months of absence. After returning in July, the cleanup seems simple enough: click button to cancel redirects and scans.

Except that during the following couple of months, a couple of random letters get redirected to the scanning service. I get notified of them (unimportant, marketing/general info letter), and email Post to ask why this is happening.

Post responds: "oops" and promises to deactivate the service. All fine, except...

During the next couple of months, a couple of more letters get intercepted. I only realise I'm missing something late December when I get a late payment notification (this time delivered, lo and behold), and wondering about a missing parking permit the Polizei says "well, you haven't paid the second bill". These end up resolved, but leave me pretty puzzled.

Come January, I'm being asked by a third party why I haven't returned the documents they sent to sign, and wondering where an ordered Wohnsitzbescheinigung has got itself to. Getting paranoid, here...

I remember the ePostOffice situation a couple of months back and log in. The previous missing bills are there -- I think, because the scan service has now been deactivated, and I can only see the envelopes. No sign of these later, now urgent mailings in the system.

By this time, I've contacted Post to ask what's happening to my mailings. The initial call is pleasant and seemingly professional - but the promised call back never happens, and trying to reconnect proves problematic. They didn't quote any case number, so I'm lost to start with, and communicating with the ePostOffice staff by email over the next 2-3 weeks doesn't feel pro at all: I'm never sure they connected my questions to the original case, and I only get partial answers and vagueness. Definitely no identification of a problem in their process and no assurances of a fix.

Fast forward: the missing letters (two of them, hopefully that's all!) from the beginning of January eventually arrive. The stickers on the envelopes indicate they were redirected to the scanning service, declined because the scanning contract is no longer valid, and returned to sender.

Final straw: Post rep's email response:

Yeah. Color me unimpressed. (BTW, the "managing the issue yourself" was me walking to the office to ask what happened and receive a new bill there.)

Moral of the story: be prepared for some bugs in the system if you decide to use the nifty scanning service. Maybe think of a pre-canned answer to debt collectors, and figure out alternate ways of ordering official documents.

If you endured the rant this far, and if you know how to navigate the Post customer care system, do drop a hint. I'm still keen to know my next important letter won't disappear into a black hole.

2

Can add another annoying thing. You now need to register first before being able to set up a post hold for your mail. It used to be either way, you could do it from your account or set it up without registering. Not any more. Plus you need to provide them with a mobile phone number (not optional) and they then send you a confirmation code by SMS. Since I don’t have a mobile, can’t set up the post hold. Narky e-mail sent to SwissPost - await their response to an unhappy customer.

3
Registrierung

Die Nutzung des Onlinedienstes «E-Post Office» ist bis zu einem beanspruchten Datenvolumen von 5GB kostenlos. Damit Sie sich als

Benutzer beim Onlinedienst «E-Post Office» registrieren können, benötigen Sie ein Benutzerkonto auf post.ch sowie eine verifizierte

Domiziladresse in der Schweiz.

Da Sie als Benutzer in E-Post Office von teilnehmenden Absendern unter anderem vertrauliche Dokumente empfangen können,

muss im Rahmen der Registrierung zwingend das «Login in zwei Schritten» eingerichtet werden. Das «Login in zwei Schritten» ist

eine Erweiterung zum einfachen Login. Als weiteres Sicherheitselement wird eine SMS mit einem individuellen Einmalcode auf Ihr

Mobiltelefon verschickt . Zusätzlich zum Benutzernamen und Passwort geben Sie bei der Anmeldung auf E-Post Office diesen Code

ein.

Um die Registrierung abzuschliessen, wählen Sie Ihre persönliche E-Mail-Adresse (@epost.ch) und akzeptieren die allgemeinen

Geschäftsbedingungen von E-Post Office. Ihre E-Mail-Adresse kann im E-Post Office Portal oder über ein externes E-Mail-Programm

(Outlook, Thunderbird, Smartphones usw.) verwaltet werden (siehe auch 3.3 E-Mail).

4

For us English only:

Registration
The use of the “E-Post Office” online service is free of charge up to a claimed data volume of 5GB. To be able to register as a user of the “E-Post Office” online service, you need an account on post.ch and a verified domicile address in Switzerland.
Since you, as a user in e-Post Office, can receive confidential documents from participating senders, among other things, it is mandatory to set up «Login in two steps» as part of the registration process. The “login in two steps” is an extension for easy login. As a further security element, an SMS with an individual one-time code will be sent to your mobile phone. In addition to the user name and password, enter this code when logging in to E-Post Office. To complete the registration process, select your personal e-mail address (@ epost.ch) and accept the terms and conditions of E-Post Office. Your e-mail address can be managed in the E-Post Office Portal or via an external e-mail program (Outlook, Thunderbird, Smartphones, etc.) (see also 3.3 E-Mail).

That however, doesn’t address my issue and I’m already registered with Swiss Post. Sorry, didn’t make that clear. They shouldn’t need a mobile number from me since my account already exists and I’ve used the post hold service several times over the years. I can log in to my account with no problem, just can’t use the service I want without providing a stupid mobile number.

5
you can buy a cheap handy for 50 chf with prepaid. Then the matter is finished.

Or go to your post office and arrange it with them. The old way.

6

Why should I spend 50 francs to be able to use a service I’m already signed up for? All this is, is more unnecessary data mining by Swiss Post. I’ve no objection to people being able to give SP their mobile numbers if they want to, but it shouldn’t be a requirement to do so.

And they can’t have it both ways - if they want people to go online, then don’t expect me to travel 8 kms into Fribourg to do it at the Post Office in person because they make it impossible for me to it online.

7
Its the same with the banks. If one wants to login they use photo TAN verification. And one has to have a handy to use this.

I also have epost but have never used any of their online services except email.

8
And look at it this way. Its also to protect you by sending a code to your handy. Imagine if someone got your login and redirected all you mail somewhere or did something else damaging.

9

These days it's a common, and not unreasonable, assumption that anyone who's using online services for anything will have a mobile phone. The alternative is to do it in person at a counter in the post office, which, if you think about it, would previously have been your only option anyway.

It's not them 'wanting people to go online' that drives this, but you have to accept at some point that online services need additional verification and that this will be done more and more by SMS. Your problem, I'm afraid, not their's.

10
Everything comes with a cost.

11

I’ve used e-banking with UBS for years and have never been asked for anything.

And yet with this SwissID idea they’re touting that’s exactly what could happen. Wants me to use the same password for all sorts of things - get hacked and piff, hacker could do anything.

Ace1, doing it in person is fine by me, but since they closed my local post office no longer an easy option. I used to be able to just walk down the road to our local one which offered a full range of services. SP closed that and now we have one of these self-service, do it yourself jobs in our boulangerie so can send letters/parcels and that’s it.

12
With ZKB Bank they are switching over to only this method.

And UBS has it also ( or similar )

https://www.ubs.com/microsites/digit...ing-login.html

13

I have the UBS card reader so that’s my log in, phone not needed. Looking at the UBS info, all the additional checks for mobiles makes me think that using a mobile is less secure without all these than doing it the other way.

14
Guess thats the price one pays for living in the "backcountry".

15

If I’m living in the “backcountry” at 8kms from a major city I dread to think what the postal service is like for those living in remote areas up in the mountains!

16

This just in:

"Thank you for your message.

I do understand your anger and disappointment.

Unfortunately, with the new login a few online tools have changed as well. It is not possible to do the post restante order online without having a mobile number.

Alternatively, you can make the order by calling us or visiting a post office. If you decide to call us, there are two payment options, credit card or postfinance card.

I hope this was of help for you, although I was not able to change the procedure of having to use a cell phone number in order to make the post restante.

If you have any further questions or requests do not hesitate to contact us – we are here for you .

Have a pleasant and joyful day."

Yeah, right.

Frankly calling and giving a complete stranger my credit/postfinance details and password always strikes me as being even more idiotic security-wise. All I can hope for now is that hubby knows how to access SMS’s on his mobile. If it’s a one off thing then that may work. Otherwise, I have to take an hour out of my day to go to the post office. Good mind to tell them, when they ask for payment, that they owe me for my wasted time having to do it in person and my fee and expenses happen to be the same as their payment. Probably more actually, since I don’t have a half fare card so would pay the full price for return bus.

17
The SMS is two factor authentication (2fa), although not very good

- https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/1...issed_warning/

- https://www.howtogeek.com/310418/why...uthentication/

- https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/18/1...ssword-bitcoin

In simple terms, they want to mitigate their risk and exposure by enabling 2FA because people are stupid and re-use the same password.

And it's an slight improvement to the overall health of internet security.

If you choose not to use post.ch, you are still at risk. Especially when you've already said you re-use passwords.

The ability to hold and redirect post is one aspect of identity fraud

- https://www.thebalance.com/your-risk...ft-101-1947529

- https://personal.help.royalmail.com/...identity-theft

Ergo, say thank you and welcome to the 21st century

I have 2FA enabled on every account where possible (I prefer Google Authenticator to SMS) and I'm slowly persuading Mrs gbn too

I went for the strict option too in post.ch (but no SwissID bollocks yet)

18
A trip to the big smoke will get you away from all your house duties-washing dishes etc etc.

19

Having just become a forum moderator (not here, another forum) I don’t appreciate being dragged away from my “post” to deal with post things.

And anyway, if I understood the PostFinance page correctly, you’re supposed to make a note of this code they send you and use it to log in in future - so guess what, I write it down.

20
Well I think you get a new code every time. Using the same code is not secure. Anyhow PhotoTan I feel is much more secure. But then thats only for e banking