While the €3 customs duty added to goods ordered from China and other third countries, introduced in July, has significantly reduced the flood of parcels into Estonia, Omniva is still struggling to deliver all the packages.

When a parcel locker is full, parcel companies often redirect a shipment to another nearby locker. Unfortunately, in the name of faster service, Omniva decided this summer, for example, to send a parcel ordered to Tapa to Rakvere, 35 kilometers away, or instead of Treimani village to Häädemeeste, 20 kilometers away.

Lylian Peek, head of Omniva Estonia's distribution and postal network, said the situation has been caused by large volumes and faster service.

"Parcels are actually redirected relatively rarely. If we look at Omniva's volumes during the day, our sorting line sorts about 200,000 parcels a day, and 1 percent of those are redirected. To be more precise, 0.8 is the exact percentage that is redirected. Redirection is done based on the fact that our sorting process runs through an automated sorting line. When a parcel goes onto the sorting line, the sorting line takes as its basis everything that is in the address on the parcel. However, people always have the option of choosing their preferences, a first preference and a second preference, to specify which parcel locker is their favorite," Peek said.

This means around 1,600 Omniva customers a day do not receive their parcel at the location to which it was ordered. Other companies also redirect parcels.

However, DPD Estonia commercial director Janek Kivimurd said making sure the parcel is delivered to the chosen locker is a priority for the company.

"For Estonians, a parcel locker is one of the most preferred delivery options, because it is convenient to order a parcel there. It is open around the clock and is supposed to help save the customer's time in particular, and any additional journey or burden for the customer understandably causes dissatisfaction," he said.

"Sometimes it happens that a parcel locker unexpectedly fills up or has a technical fault. Around 1 percent of DPD's shipments are like this, and in order not to leave the parcel waiting, we deliver it to the nearest parcel locker, and for DPD the nearest parcel locker means up to one and a half kilometers away. There is certainly no situation where it is sent from one end of Tallinn to the other, or from one end of Narva to the other, or from Pärnu to the other end of Pärnu. That is certainly not our aim," Kivimurd said.

While the examples given at the beginning of the story concerned mainly smaller places where the parcel locker network is relatively sparse anyway, a customer can also be in for an unpleasant surprise in the middle of Tallinn.

"I run my business in Telliskivi and I have also had to collect my parcels, for example, from a parcel locker on Sõpruse puiestee. But the last time it was sent to Tallinn Kaubamaja, which was quite a big surprise because Omniva has post offices closer by both in Kristiine and at Arsenal keskus. It was strange having to go looking for it there," said Omniva customer Tarieli Lipartia from North Tallinn.

Lipartia added that he also asked Omniva for an explanation, but the company was unable to give any reason.

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