The vagaries of Maltapost are familiar to all users of the postal service in Malta. Over the years, there have been many cases of non-delivery of letters to destinations in Malta as well as overseas.

There have always been problems with delivery of parcels of any size bigger than normal-sized envelopes. These are described as "bulky packages" and, on receipt of a note left by the postperson, the unfortunate recipient was obliged to make tracks to collect the item from the post office.

This system did not find favour with recipients of the packages and one felt almost aggrieved to receive the yellow note announcing a package needed collecting.

Why not have special parcel post delivery vans that automatically deliver all bulky packages and parcels to one's doorstep? Obviously, if the recipient is not there to take delivery, then a note should be left for the addressee to contact the post office so a mutually convenient date and time would be agreed on and this time, when the parcel post delivery van arrives, the parcel can be handed over to the recipient and, thus, Maltapost will have totally satisfied customers.

Some while ago, it was being proposed that, for a fee, one could specify when delivery of the package could take place to one's address, provided the recipient was there to take delivery. Maybe, this is still being considered, but, speaking personally, I made it a rule that any item larger than A4 envelope should not be mailed to me in Malta. It just did not seem worth the effort involved.

With regard to the "normal" delivery of post, there have been tales of wedding invitations posted in Sliema which never reached their destination in nearby places such as San Gwann or St Julian's. In contrast, many letters posted to the UK have reached their destinations in record time, sometimes as quickly as two days from posting!

It would appear that it is not mere incompetence or lack of organisational ability that underlies the inefficiencies of the postal service. "A Christian Outlook" (The Sunday Times, June 4) stated that "many people are seriously wondering if their many undelivered letters have been dumped in Maltapost's warehouses and never returned to sender once they have not been delivered to their destination in Malta or abroad".

The article went on to describe how customers suspect that maybe some Maltapost employees have been negligent in their duties or had taken advantage of their position possibly to dispose of the post instead of delivering it.

This throws an entirely different light on the whole situation. There have indeed been instances in England, for example, where a postman (for reasons best known to himself) actually stockpiled a large quantity of post instead of delivering it. Could it be that, finding the enormous number of letters requiring delivery to be too heavy to carry, one or other postmen resort to the same tactics?

Those who become aware of their post going missing should write to the Press with specific details of the undelivered items. This would help to build up a picture of the types of letters which do not reach their destinations as well as the locations worst affected. This would persuade Maltapost to instigate their own internal investigations to discover who is responsible.

For example, two separate letters with a four-month time lag posted in the UK never reached the address in Sliema. Having ascertained that the correct address was written and that both letters were properly mailed and stamped, the recipient was understandably rather annoyed never to receive the letters.

If one were posting an important letter or document or making a payment by cheque or similar, then Maltapost does offer an excellent registered post service. It is properly logged and signed for and, as registered post, it does reach its destination, whether in Malta or overseas. Also, the charge is very reasonable - a mere 60c on top of the postage.

This really is a serious problem because, if you cannot trust the post to work with total efficiency, then Maltapost will slowly but surely become redundant. As matters stand, in any case, computers and e-mail have cut down on ordinary mail. Besides, there are various other companies which deliver important and confidential documents as well as parcels.

Another way of improving the service provided by Maltapost is to extend post offices' opening hours and supply a counter service from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Is there a case to answer for Maltapost to implement investigations into the complaints of so many customers? Is it simply a case of being understaffed and improperly resourced? If there is malpractice, this should be exposed and dealt with.