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Changes to postal codes for some 7,200 addresses in the Sechelt and the Halfmoon Bay area are set for April 19. Media relations at Canada Post advised the Local that those who will be impacted by the change will be notified officially by mail. Residents should not make changes until instructed to do so by Canada Post.
The first three characters of the adjusted postal code will become V7Z. Those characters are the postal codes forward sortation area or FSA. That identifies the geographical region or postal district for addresses with that code.
Canada Post will provide customers impacted by the change with one year of free mail redirection to provide time for them to update their information. Any incoming mail addressed to the previous code will continue to be delivered during that
period.
Early and incomplete information that circulated in the community about these adjustments caused considerable angst among area residents. In an email Canada Post sent to Sechelt Mayor Darnelda Siegers, an unidentified Canada Post spokesperson wrote, “I understand that there has been confusion caused by incorrect information passed to residents from a Canada Post customer service agent. In particular, that there will only be six months of free redirect and that any questions should be directed to the municipality. This is completely wrong, and I am very sorry for the confusion this has caused. I have flagged this, and it is being looked into to ensure our customer service team is providing residents with the accurate information. I’ve also been informed that another point of confusion has been caused by our auto-address complete feature on our website, which has been updated in preparation for this transition to the new postal code. I can assure you that the change has not yet taken effect and won’t be official until the April 19 start
date.”
Canada Post advised Mayor Siegers that the change will support route modifications, which are necessary to accommodate increased growth in the area and to improve overall delivery efficiencies.
When asked by the Local about why the changes are being introduced, media relations at Canada Post wrote, “Having the mailing address match the municipal address (instead of a rural route or PO Box number) leads to more efficient and effective mail processing especially when relief agents are required given that they have little knowledge of where each resident is located by name. Using a civic address also makes using the internet easier when doing searches for businesses in the area, registering for services, requesting travel and distance direction or making online purchases that need to be shipped.”
Connie Jordison
