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Residents frustrated with frozen Canada Post boxes by Michael Gregory Oakville Beaver Staff 5 | Thursday, January 22, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Canada Post's `superboxes' are taking a beating under the frigid temperatures this winter, in some cases freezing up completely, leaving affected Oakville residents frustrated, and without their mail. The Crown corporation said it's aware of the issue and encourages people to report problematic community mailboxes. "We know it's frustrating for customers when they are unable to access their mail in their community mailbox," said spokesperson Jon Hamilton. "What we advise people to do... is just to call customer service and we'll send somebody out to figure out what the issue is, whether it's something with the door being frozen, or the lock needing to be lubricated." In Oakville, thousands of residences that still received doorto-door delivery were forced to transition to community mailboxes, beginning last year, in an effort by Canada Post to save upwards of $500-million annually once the Canada Post is encouraging residents to report any issues with frozen community mailboxes instead of attempting to first use de-icer, or other lubricants. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) nationwide rollout of community mailboxes is complete. Approximately 25,000 homes and another 11,000 businesses in Oakville are experiencing their first snowy season with the new mailboxes as Canada Post adds them to the number of Oakville residents receiving mail via community mailboxes. "We also understand that for a number of customers, this is their first winter with a community mailbox, which can only add to the frustration," Hamilton said, noting that prior to the change approximately four million residences across Canada already used community mailboxes, including many in Oakville. The most recent community mailboxes bear a design and are light-coloured as opposed to the dark brown models that were first used. The latest models are manufactured in the United States but are weathertested by the manufacturer and Canada Post, according to the corporation. However, Oakville resident Heather Harris expressed frustration, as she was unable to retrieve her mail for three days last week and called Canada Post to complain. "I think they should do preventative maintenance," she said. "If they're saying this is a problem, then maybe when the mail carrier is there they should be squirting all the key boxes (with de-icer)." Another resident, who declined to have her name published, but lives across the street from her frozen community mailbox, started retrieving parcels directly from the mail truck carrier for a few days. "This really isn't acceptable because we have four months of freezing weather," she said. "It needs to be rectified somehow." Canada Post has a "long- standing process," Hamilton said, of responding quickly when extreme winter weather leaves mailboxes inoperable. "Our goal is to send somebody out within 24 hours, depending on the weather," he said. Harris said after she called to report the problem, a Canada Post customer service representative offered to send out someone to fix the box within three days, and told her to purchase lock de-icer in the meantime. "I didn't think that was up to me to do," she said. "After all, the mailboxes are their property and they should look after them and ensure that we can access our mail in all weather." Upon hearing of how the complaint was handled, Hamilton said residents should not attempt to apply any sort of de-icing solution, including hand sanitizer, to try and open the mailbox. "We've trained our people on how to do it properly and how to ensure you don't do any damage to the lock long-term," he said, noting that failure to do so might damage the lock or door mechanism. "The box is there for the long-term and it's our responsibility to maintain it." Certified Auto Glass Technicians with 22 years of experience All windshield,door & back glass in stock We pay up to 100% of insurance Deductible · We deal directly with your Insurance Company · Life time Warranty against leaks · Stone chip repairs · Free Mobile Service · Free Pickup & Drop OFF d rs n this a Mentio dshield wipe in w e dels e o r F m t d n e to most make a Buy a pair of Prescription Glasses and receive a pair of Sunglass Frames at no Charge! * See store for details and g Applies 281 Speers Road Oakville ON 905.339.0339 1.855.339.0339 www.speersautoglass.ca n El iza be ye th cr W of ay tR d 92 Dunn Street Ke rr Downtown oakville St . Qu sR rv al Sp ee r Dr oa d Do lebeauoptical@gmail.com www. lebeauoptical.com 905-845-3621 ee W