Uncertainties due to A Mail Plus

How A Mail Plus and registered mail differ

With A Mail Plus, Swiss Post promises greater transparency throughout the entire shipping process. As with registered mail, the current processing and delivery status can be tracked at any time.

In contrast to registered mail, however, receipt by the recipient is not acknowledged. With A Mail Plus, Swiss Post merely confirms that a consignment has been deposited in the recipient’s letterbox or P.O. box. Depositing the consignment is already considered delivery. This means that there is neither personal delivery nor – if the recipient is absent – notification by depositing a collection invitation with a deadline.

Problem: Different deadlines

The deadlines for A Mail Plus and registered mail always differ if a registered letter is not delivered directly, but only a collection invitation is deposited. The opening date is either the day on which the consignment is collected or, at the latest, the seventh day after the first delivery attempt (so-called delivery fiction). The recipient of a registered letter can therefore delay the start of the deadline by up to one week. In contrast, the recipient of an A Mail Plus item is at a disadvantage. The start of the deadline cannot be influenced in any way.

In addition, the time limit for appeals is often calculated incorrectly in cases where an item is sent on Friday, delivered to a PO box on Saturday and not collected until Monday. A registered letter sent in this way is considered opened on Monday. The deadline begins on Tuesday. On the other hand, an A Mail Plus consignment that is also collected on Monday is deemed to have been opened on Saturday. The deadline therefore begins on Sunday.

Items sent with A Mail Plus therefore generally have shorter delivery times. When calculating the deadline, it is always advisable to check the exact delivery date using Swiss Post Track & Trace.

A Mail Plus not legally permissible everywhere

In criminal proceedings, notices from the criminal authorities must be served by registered post or by other means against confirmation of receipt. According to the Federal Supreme Court, delivery by A Mail Plus does not meet the legal requirements.

A similar rule applies in civil proceedings. For example, summonses, orders and decisions must be sent by registered post or by other means against confirmation of receipt. However, other items can be delivered by ordinary mail.

Unnecessary legal uncertainty due to A Mail Plus

In summary, A Mail Plus increases legal uncertainty and makes it unnecessarily difficult to meet deadlines. On the one hand, laypersons are often unaware of the importance of adhering to deadlines or often forget when a notification was received. On the other hand, the organization of smaller law firms in particular is not taken into account. Irrespective of any absences, the period shall in any case commence on the day following delivery. Although Saturday is generally considered a non-working day for authorities and lawyers, it is still possible to serve documents within the deadline.

In our opinion, the increasingly frequent use of A Mail Plus by public authorities and offices is not justified. In contrast to A Mail Plus, delivery by registered mail creates less uncertainty. Any cost considerations – savings of up to CHF 3.90 per shipment are possible – must take a back seat. Consequently, there is a strong suspicion that individual authorities are systematically exploiting the problems outlined above in order to save themselves a relevant number of appeals and thus work by setting time limits. For example, SUVA routinely sends out items with A Mail Plus on Friday, which are then delivered on Saturday.

It remains to be seen whether the Federal Supreme Court will return to the previously tried and tested registered letter or correct its practice in some other way.