Hi Smiffy - further to my complaint, I got a really helpful reply from the EU and I have copied part of this below:
On the basis of your e-mail, it seems that the housing estate in which you reside is managed by the original developers in the sense that the latter act as the link with local service providers including Correos. It is not clear why communal as opposed to individual post boxes were installed or if this was agreed with Correos. In other parts of Spain (notably in areas which have experienced rapid development), it is not uncommon for developers and local authorities to install communal post boxes in agreement with Correos, and this generally works satisfactorily for all parties. Provided residents have access to their mail via communal mail boxes and agree with such arrangements, this practice would not be in breach of national or EU postal rules.
1. Provided that the installation of the communal mail box (closest to your address) has been agreed with Correos, then the latter should honour its agreement to deliver to that mail box. If no such agreement is in place, then Correos would not be bound.
2. In the event that Correos is refusing to give you your mail after having identified yourself as the lawful recipient, you should make a formal complaint and where appropriate bring this to the attention of the Spanish Postal Regulator (see below for further details).
3. In principle, you are entitled to mail delivery to your home. However, developers may have entered into an agreement with inter alia, Correos to use communal mail boxes and this may have been provided for in the contract for the sale of your home. Again, it would appropriate to first formally request Correos to make mail deliveries to your home and, if such a request is refused, to contact the Postal Regulator.
Community rules (Article 19 of Directive 97/67/EC as amended) on the provision of postal services provide a mechanism whereby postal users may seek redress in the event that the service provided by the designated postal operator fails to meets statutory requirements. The first step is to complain to the postal operator. If it fails to act on the complaint or provides an answer you deem unsatisfactory, the next step is to bring this to the attention of the national Postal Regulator. In Spain, the national regulator may be contacted at the address below.
Subdireccion general de regulacion de Servicios Postales
Subsecretaria
Ministerio de Fomento
Paseo de la Castellana 67 (Nuevos Ministerios)
ES -28071 MADRID
I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but a few days after I got this reply, I saw our postwoman deliver to our communal boxes! I have still to get my first letter in my box but some of us are going to send ourselves letters and see how many arrive! I will be writing to the regulator and the more people who do this the better!
Mark - maybe we should leave a wee glass of wine for the postie and see it that helps!
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