Missed registered letters

Visas, Permits, Passports and Naturalization
1
Not sure if this is the right sub-forum, but it might be within "government" area.

So, I was on vacation for around 12 days, and came back last Saturday (4th November). In my mailbox there were two yellow slips from post.ch with 2 registered letters, with the pickup latest on the 3rd November.

I took the slips in the hope of the letters still being there, and went to the post office today (Monday the 6th November). The lady said that the letters were returned already and there was nothing to do, I said "Schade", and went back home, she threw the yellow slips away.

Now I started to worry since a friend told me that in Switzerland, if you don't pick up a registered letter - it is considered _delivered_. It might have been something important, I have _no_ idea. I didn't think about this at the time, but I should have checked the track&trace numbers from the slips online and I could have seen the senders of the letters, I didn't think about this earlier, and now it is too late.

Usually, the authorities in Zug where I live do not send registered letters, so I hope it's nothing that needs a time-sensitive reaction to authorities - I also hope that they would resend the letters again ?

Did anyone try this kind of situation? I plan to go down to the post office again tomorrow morning and see if they are able to look at my name/addr. in the system and see the historical senders - not sure if that is possible or legal re. privacy laws, etc.

As a better-safe-than-sorry measure, I plan to call my local tax authorities to see if it might have been something from them, tomorrow.

Any tips on what I can do in this situation - and maybe also any experiences WHO actually sends registered letters in CH? I don't have any debt, or unpaid bills (as far as I know at least), so I'm a bit baffled.

2
There's probably not much you can do apart from wait. From memory, I don't think those slips have got the tracking ref on them because the postman just has a stack of them and fills out the tick boxes, etc, by hand.

As with most cases, if it's important they will try again or will find a different way of contacting you. It's not your fault you were away when they sent you a letter and it must happen all the time.

3
This is the thing - it seems that in Switzerland, it is actually my fault for not picking the letter up in time - hence it is considered "delivered". (according to search of posts on this forum). This is what worries me.

4
Do you actually know who the registered letters were from ?

Are your swiss permits due to arrive ?

5
The only thing I got registered letters for:

rent increase

passport

Ask your employer as well?

6
No, that is the whole issue, unfortunately.

Well no, but I do have permit renewal here in December. So maybe I'll also call the local immigration.

7
That COULD be a logical thing, btw, since I did not have any changes in rent for 5 years now. I will have this clarified already tomorrow with WinCasa. But usually they just send normal letters in regards to everything.

8
You should register on the Swiss Post website. Then you get email notifications about parcels and registered letters - if you are away you can extend the pick-up. If you go away, you can also ask them to retain your mail until you get back.

9
Agree. They told me the same at the post office. I started the process today with address verification, so this situation never happens again.

10
Police/courts is another possibility, also the BetreibungsAmt (someone's suing you for some money).

11
Getting kicked out of car/legal/etc insurance

12
Usually, the Post keeps letters for 15 days so likely they would have been delivered on Thursday, Oct 19th.

13
I wouldn't worry too much. If this is important, they will send it again. It's easily demonstrable that you were out of the country, and while not a lawyer, I can't imagine this wouldn't make a strong mitigation for anything "bad" related to the letters. If it was bad to even begin with.

14
My Post account shows me delivered items going back at least three months. What it would show, if anything, for undelivered items I don't know.

15
I do t get it, when you came home did you not scam the QR code on the slip to see who it was from?

For packages one can even pull up a picture.

Another possibility a forgotten bill - our house agency sent us registered letter (one each) because we forgot to pay the parking bill the first mo the we changed spots when a simple call/email would have sufficed.... Waste of our money....

K

16
Yeah, well, there was nothing in the mailbox when I left, so ...

But I agree - I will be able to prove that I was on vacation in that period if that is something serious - I have flight tickets to prove it.

17
Exactly - I didn't really think about it - I thought I will just go to the post office and they probably still have the letters around (since it was only 1 day after the "deadline"). But yeah. Lesson learned.

18
UPDATE: I got access to post.ch system today. I can see past undelivered registered letters - but with letters, I don't see scans/pictures, only codes + full track and trace history . There I could see that the letters were actually from abroad (Italy) - and I know for a fact that it was traffic fines

Whoever hits this issue - the post will keep the packets around 7 days. My letters arrived on Friday 27th october and had latest pickup-date on Friday 3rd november, which I missed, and monday morning on 6th they were sent back :

19
Register on Swiss Post and download the App. That way you will be notified when a registered item is on the way, with options like re-delivery.

CastroFromZug

20
Good they returned them, don’t pay fines from Italy as they have no way of enforcing them in Switzerland due to lack of agreement between the two countries