Pirkko Kiansten was going about a typical day last week when she heard a knock on the door of her Saanich home.
She opened it to find an elderly man clutching a black plastic bag.
“I think this belongs to you,” the stranger said.
He stayed only long enough for Kiansten to open the bag and find dozens of pieces of mail addressed to herself and her husband, Hannu.
By the time Pirkko and Hannu had recovered from the initial shock, the man had already turned and left, down the front stairs of their Tattersall Drive home to a long driveway, onto Blenkinsop Road and out of view.
“We were shocked,” said Hannu, 82. They had no idea who the man was, though they felt he must live in the area, and now regret not asking him the big question: Why do you have our mail?
Inside the bag were more than 100 pieces of mail — statements from their bank, tax documents, utility bills, insurance renewals — dating from Jan. 25 to late July.
None of the mail had been opened, which brought some relief to the couple as the financial statements and tax documents often contain sensitive personal information that can be used for fraudulent activity.
Some of the bills have gone into arrears, the couple said.
Hannu said on Monday that a representative from the couple’s bank and investment firm has scheduled an appointment with them to go over the mail and check their investments and balances.
“Of course, we are very worried,” Hannu said.
The Kianstens said that of all the mail handed to them by the stranger, six pieces belonged to someone else, so they dropped them in a nearby mailbox in hopes that they would get to the right address.
The couple said they had been getting regular mail delivery since the new year — post-delivered flyers and some other bills — so they never gave much thought to what might be missing.
The mail they received from the stranger was addressed correctly.
But it’s left the Kiastens deeply disturbed, and wondering who’s to blame. Was it the postal carrier’s fault? Is their driveway too long? Was it a thief? Or just a mistake that, incredibly, went on for nearly eight months?
What really worries Pirkko, 78, is what might not have been returned to the couple.
“What is missing? That’s the kind of thing that’s keeping me up at night now,” she said in an interview at their home. “It’s very unsettling.”
Added Hannu: “You don’t know what to do. You feel helpless.”
The Kianstens went to their local post office on Quadra Street on Thursday to tell Canada Post. They were told to call a 1-800 number, which they did, and were given a file number.
The couple, originally from Finland, have lived in their Tattersall Drive home for nearly 30 years. To help with communication, Hannu enlisted the help of a cousin’s daughter to call Canada Post and inquire about their case.
They were told Canada Post was looking into it.
The Times Colonist reached out to Canada Post on Friday and again Monday to ask if the federal corporation was conducting an investigation. A spokeswoman said Canada Post was looking into the matter and would get back when it had more information to share. A response did not arrive before press time on Monday.
There is no active Canada Post strike, though negotiations between the company and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are ongoing after the union rejected the latest contract offer in May. A 32-day labour disruption ended Dec. 17, and negotiations have been continuing with the union implementing an overtime ban.
Hannu also said he filed a report with Saanich Police. An officer visited the home late last week and made a report, though nothing else has transpired, said Hannu.
Adding insult to injury for the Kianstens was a complaint slip from Canada Post that they found in their mailbox dated Aug. 8. It was from their carrier, who said one of the stairwells leading up to their front stairs was “unsafe.”
The set of five stairs is made of flagstone dug into a bank and is off the driveway leading to the front stairs, where the mailbox is next to the door. The distance from Tattersall Drive, where their house number is clearly marked on a sign fixed to two posts, to their front door mailbox is about 30 metres.
“When we got this in the mail, I couldn’t believe it,” said Pirkko, referring the the complaint. “We’ve lived here 30 years and never had a complaint before.”
The Kianstens live in the former home of George R. Pearkes, who served in both world wars, was a member of Parliament and the lieutenant-governor of British Columbia. Pearkes Arena in Saanich is named in his honour.
The home sits on an acre of land at Tattersall and Blenkinsop Road. Robert and Petronella Wayne were the original owners in 1929 and named it Rocky Oak Knoll. Their builder was Arthur Stewart, who not only built many houses in the area but also lived in the neighbourhood, according to the Saanich archives.
