Federal Network Agency Records Tens of Thousands of Complaints About Parcel Delivery

The Mängelmelder has only been in existence since autumn 2025. The website contains questions with multiple-choice answers, allowing consumers to simply click through and no longer having to formulate their complaint in their own words, as was the case in the old system. The content of a complaint is not verified — neither in the old nor in the new system.

New System, New Figures

The complaints are directed against all postal service providers. In 87 percent of cases, they concern the market leader Deutsche Post/DHL (DHL Group), the only company that delivers both letters and parcels. Last year, Deutsche Post transported 13.3 billion letters and parcels in Germany, in addition to the shipments of its competitors.

The Post argues that the new system lowers the threshold for filing complaints and that some consumers find it easier to report subjectively perceived defects that, upon closer examination, turn out to be unfounded. A Post spokesperson said: "Der neue Mängelmelder bläht die Beschwerdestatistik auf und erweckt den Eindruck, die Postversorgung in Deutschland würde nicht funktionieren". The share of complaints received directly by the Post remains unchanged at 0.003 percent of the total volume of letters and parcels.

Post Rejects the Allegations

A Deutsche Post spokesperson also emphasized: "Das ist falsch – im Gegenteil: Die Post in Deutschland funktioniert sehr gut." Another development supports this view: In the first half of the year, there was not a single cause-related investigation by the Network Agency; in the first half of 2025, there had been eight. In addition, there are no longer any "hotspots" — that is, no clusters of complaints from a particular area.

The parcel company DPD also stands out negatively in the complaint statistics. Its share of all complaints in the first half of 2026 was four to five percent per month. DPD is significantly smaller than competitor DHL/Deutsche Post, and the company only transports parcels. Comparable parcel competitors such as Hermes and GLS account for fewer complaints than DPD.

DPD in the Spotlight

A TV documentary by RTL's investigative Wallraff reporting team recently cast DPD in an unfavorable light. The workload at the subcontractors who deliver for DPD was described as extremely high and as a "Knochenjob" (back-breaking job). The reporting team also test-shipped 50 parcels containing cups, wine glasses, and wine bottles across Germany; almost half of them arrived damaged.

DPD stated that it was reviewing indications of possible violations of legal requirements or its own standards. If shortcomings were not remedied, cooperation with system partners would be terminated. DPD also stated that "einige der erhobenen Vorwürfe und Darstellungen" did not correspond to reality. A company spokesperson praised "das Engagement der vielen tausend Menschen bei DPD und unseren Partnerunternehmen, die jeden Tag verantwortungsvoll arbeiten".

Rising Parcel Volumes as Background

For context: Parcel volumes are rising because people are buying more and more electronics, kitchen utensils, or books online. Something goes wrong with some shipments, which can drive recipients up the wall. Each year, 800,000 missorted letters end up in the Deutsche Post network — letters that competitors have delivered incorrectly and which are then thrown back into a Post mailbox by private individuals.

The SPD parliamentary group's spokesperson for economic policy, Sebastian Roloff, said: "Es ist gut, dass die vorher bestehende Dunkelziffer nun verkleinert wird und die Bundesnetzagentur schneller erkennt, ob es in bestimmten Regionen zu größeren Problemen kommt." He added: "Unsere Erwartung bleibt, dass Mängel schnellstmöglich und konsequent abgestellt werden und eine qualitativ hochwertige Versorgung mit Briefen und Paketen sichergestellt wird."

DPD also pointed out that the share of complaints received directly by DPD had fallen from 0.11 percent of shipment volume in 2024 to 0.09 percent in 2025. "Bei über 370 Millionen beförderten Paketen pro Jahr zeigt dies, dass die überwiegende Mehrheit unserer Zustellungen zuverlässig und zur Zufriedenheit unserer Kundinnen und Kunden erfolgt."