ombudsman poste is a federal independent and impartial public service. It was created by virtue of the Law of 21 March 1991 reorganizing a number of economic public companies.
ombudsman poste has been competent since February 2007 for all postal operators active on Belgian soil.
The service acts as an appeal body and can therefore only treat the dispute if it was already introduced as a complaint to the concerned postal operator in the first place.
If the company and the postal user can not reach an agreement, the latter can file an official complaint with the ombudman services.
ombudsman poste is an independent organisation. It does not have a legal personality which is why the service is linked to the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications bearing the Registration Number 0243.405.860.
The ombudsman services have been acknowledged as a qualified entity by virtue of the Book XVI of the Code of Economic Law.
ombudsman poste is subsidized by the Postal Sector. The amounts are calculated by virtue of a formula which has been placed in a law which states that postal operators pay a contribution in relation to the number of admissible complaints handled by the ombudsman services on their behalf. Only companies with more than 12 complaints or with an annual turnover of more than 500.000€ are required to contribute.
The ombudsman team is composed of a team of 15 case managers and 2 ombudsmen.
The service is led by a College of Ombudsmen composed of a Dutch and a French speaking Ombudsman. They are appointed for a (renewable) mandate of 5 years by the King by decree debated in the Council of Ministers.
Katelijne Exelmans is the Dutch Speaking Ombudswoman and Paul De Maeyer is the French Speaking Ombudsman.
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