What will be very interesting to witness is their , Auspost, reaction to the new players who are about to enter the parcel delivery services field within Australia . Should be very interesting . I hope they pick up their game because they have never really had to face competition because of government statutes which protected their monopoly .
âŠwe can only hope.
1 Like
I have had parcels not delivered, just a note in the letter box, when I know I was at home at the time. I could only pick up the parcel the next day, which meant on Monday when it was delivered on a Friday. Other times, I heard the bell, but they did not wait long enough for me to get to the door.
1 Like
We regularly get parcel deliveries and never have any trouble with most courier companies, despite our house being at the back of the block and 50m from the road. We always put a delivery instruction to âLeave at front door if not homeâ, since the door is not visible from the street and parcels will be reasonably secure if left there. However, over the years weâve regularly had ongoing problems with Australia Post parcel deliveries. The couriers do not even come to the front door, just leave a card in the letter box indicating no one was home, even though there is nearly always someone at home. When I complained to Australia Post, I was told that the courier/s assigned to our area were regularly doing this and it was being monitored. The last few months Iâve noticed an improvement in the service and can only assume the courier/s who were providing the non-delivery service have either lost their contracts or told to lift their game if they didnât want to lose their contracts.
I also have a post about my dealings with Australia Post, I lodged a complaint with Australia Post which was a waste of time. I forwarded a complaint to the Ombudsman nearly a month ago and I am still awaiting acknowledgement. The ombudsman, no matter the complaint like other Government departments are a waste of taxpayers money. A few Years ago I had a complaint with Telstra and after complaining to the Ombudsman and receiving a phone call several months later from a lass from the Ombudsmanâs office, she was quick to tell me how hard worked they all were with the number of complaints she asked me what I wanted her to do. My reply was "nothing which you should be able to manage. I have already switched to Optus, which probably will be no better but at least I was in control.
I now use Australia Post where there is no alternative and I suggest their new slogan be:
With Australia Post delivering no one wins.
1 Like
Most of my packages are not delivered, and I finally understand why. I have a sign on my gate,
âBeware of Dogâ. Need I say More??? It also gets rid of Telemarketers too !! except for grubs
selling Electric & Gas deals, Phone deals, and Charities.
My last package was a pick-up from a Woolies location. E-Bay gave one pick-up date, the
store another and last but not least, the tracker still another date. Finally got my package after
showing up three days. So this is progressâŠ
My last parcel from Australia Post was delivered to the wrong address. Thankfully the person at that address redelivered to me.
I have only ever had one delivery that never made it. When my wife made a complaint I told her to start the conversation/ complaint with the following:
âWe have checked our security video and none of the three cameras show a delivery attempt. The video for the day the parcel delivery was attempted, and the video for the week prior is available for your inspection.â
âThis security video will also show that there were occupants at home at the time.â
I now rarely get a failed delivery notice, and I also make sure that any delivery person is offered cold water or tea. And yes, I do have three video surveillance cameras covering the front yard and other cameras covering the rest of the yard.
4 Likes
Just went on the AusPost site to check a tracking number . I was offered Safe Drop and a drop down tab where the driver could leave the Parcel without a signature . Is this a new function or have I missed it in the past ?
I use parcel locker service by AusPost. Best thing ever. I believe parcel delivery is an inefficient service that should be phased out and replaced with 24/7 lockers. 24/7 parcel locker is more reliable and takes out the uncertainty in delivery times.
Where do I start? Itâs usually the Couriers that get it wrong. Australia Post is much better for us, but a lot of companies insist on using couriers for online purchases. This also means that we canât use our Post Office box for deliveries as some couriers have to be door to door. Iâd much rather the package was left with Australia Post with a card in my PO Box because itâs more secure than having a package left unattended and in full view of the public at my front door.
So here are some of the issues weâve had in the past couple of years.
TOLL Courier Delivery once gave us a card in the letter box to say that we werenât home for a scheduled delivery even though we went out of our way to stay home so someone could sign for it when it arrived. The driver just couldnât be bothered walking up to the door with our package and ringing the bell or knocking on the door.
Another time, a Star Track Express delivery driver had a parcel for some other address that didnât even resemble ours, but decided to place a card on our front door to say that we werenât home (which we werenât this time, because we werenât expecting any parcels, especially parcels addressed to some other house in some other street). The package was left for collection at the local Post Office so we had no idea it was for the wrong address until we went to pick it up. It was then our responsibility to contact Star Track to get them to pick it up so they could take it to the correct address.
TNT is also guilty of leaving a note to say no one was home without even attempting to knock on the door to see if anyone was actually home or not.
Star Track Couriers had a simple task of delivering a package from Northern Tassie to Southern Tassie for us one time, which should have been an overnight delivery, so they sent it via Melbourne where it had a weekâs holiday before eventually being sent back to Tassie.
TNT managed to destroy every single blu-ray cover in a boxed set of 9 seasonâs worth of The Big Bang Theory recently. JB HiFi happily replaced the set for us.
I donât remember which courier service it was, but one recently left a parcel at our laundry door instead of our front door, even though we were home to collect it, and the parcel was clearly marked, by the courier company itself, with the words âDo not leave unattendedâ
Most of these problems occurred when we lived at our previous address, and weâve had far less problems with deliveries since we moved. So Iâm guessing it depends on which area you live in and the attitude of the driver for your particular area.
The only issue I have with Australia Post is their new system of having faster deliveries if you pay extra. Packages that used to come from the mainland to Tassie, would go to Victoria, then get shipped straight to Tassie. Now they keep the packages in Victoria for up to a week before they cross the Bass Strait, so itâs not really a case of pay more and get your parcel quicker than it used to be. Itâs more a case of donât pay more and theyâll hold onto your mail for a week before they do anything with it. You need to pay the extra so they donât hold your packages to ransom, which is never given as an option by most online stores that use Australia Post, so weâre stuck with the new slower service whether we like it or not.
One last point, Star Track is actually owned and operated by Australia Post, yet the service is less reliable than their cheaper to use Australia Post Parcel Post service. Why any company would choose Australia Postâs Star Track over Australia Postâs Parcel Post service is a bit of a mystery for me, but weâre stuck with whatever courier each online store chooses to use. Parcel Post might be slower, but at least we have a better chance of getting our packages with them, AND they deliver to Post Office boxes.
2 Likes
TNT is the only courier that will deliver to us, 35km out of town, and the driver is always friendly.
Many years ago I had an important parcel sent from the US and it ended up in the hands of Australian Air Express in town, and they were refusing to deliver it to me, despite the sender having paid a lot of money for express delivery. I mentioned this to the sender and they got onto (I think it was) FedEx at their end, and bums must have been kicked, because later that day the rather surly AAE contractor arrived in his car, and he was not happy at all. Lots of complaining about how far it was (it takes 25 mins from town), and how rough the road (12km of dirt at my end) was, how steep the drive was etc- on and on. I vowed never to use AAE to send a parcel⊠Iâm not even sure if they are still around these days.
1 Like
Yes and yes. I shop online quite a lot, often expecting several parcels to arrive each week. Mostly things go smoothly with couriers, but Australia Post causes me grief!
My most recent example is being offered the Safe Drop option for a parcel, accepting it and nominating the same delivery place as usual in an Australia Post box next to my front door under a very deep verandah and well out of street view (i.e. conforms to all their stated requirements). This is where the postie and delivery driver and couriers leave all my parcels, regardless of Safe Drop or otherwise. Last week the driver refused to leave my Safe Drop parcel there because of âconcerns over securityâ!
Whatâs the point of Safe Drop and me accepting risk etc if the delivery driver can ignore it anyway, even though heâs happy to leave things there ordinarily?
Raising an enquiry with Australia Post is pointless in my experience. Their response method (telephone) is not practical for me and they prefer not to put anything in writing. I have never had a satisfactory resolution nor even a genuine apology (from around ten complaints over the last couple of years about lost mail, final collection notices when I never received first or second one, drivers saying they tried to deliver but no-one home when I was there all along etc etc); they seem to avoid admitting responsibility for anything.
It feels as though demand for parcel delivery has grown way faster than they ever could have anticipated (!) and they are struggling to keep upâŠ
Yes, I have had several parcels delivered in the past 12 months or so, the problem I have had with them have been that one - the parcel company was supposed to send me a notification when it was on itâs way so i could organise to be home, and then it didnât - luckily it was small enough that it was just left in the letterbox, then another just left it on the doorstep - I was home, but didnât know that the parcel was there as the delivery person didnât even ring the doorbell or knock on the door to see if i was home.
especially through Ebay, if the seller will not deliver to my PO Box I leave them a note telling them why I will not buy from them and find another seller
1 Like
I have worked as a driver, your sender might have paid âa lot of moneyâ but I can tell you that the person actually delivering the parcel is probably a subcontractor and would have been lucky to get $2 for getting it to you.
The people at the âsharp endâ are being screwed royally as usual!
2 Likes
As a delivery driver I will give a few pointers:
1: We are not paid to take personal risks, if you have loose dogs running around we will not risk being bitten. If you have steep, muddy access paths we will not risk falls. If you have a heavy delivery and are not on hand to help with it we will not risk a back injury for your convenience.
2. Get your address right and actually have it on your property! Lot numbers and property names on country roads are useless (we are not locals or neighbours!) so if you want your parcel make sure we can find you easily
3 If your gate is locked we are not climbing over it!
4. If you live 50km out of town on a dirt track organise a delivery point in town. The end-deliverers usually get less than $2 per parcel and that isnât happening no matter how much you were ripped off at the other end.
There are more, but mostly try using your common sense
2 Likes
I have had several packages sent through Australia Post from Melbourne to a teeny tiny town on the border of VIC & NSW called Wahgunyah. A friend of mine who lives there, orders products from Melbourne every three months and I receive the tracking information as he doesnât have a computer. I have been very impressed by the email alerts that Iâve received as the parcel has moved across the State and telling me that it has arrived at the local Post Office and is ready for pick up. I donât really know if itâs any quicker than the old way, but knowing that itâs coming and then knowing when it has arrived has made all the difference to us.
As I stated above, I made an official complaint. The forms are available at the Post Office. I stressed to the Post Office staff that whilst they are not at fault, the mere fact that they do not complain about large numbers of parcels being left there after the driverâs round means that they are part of the problem.
So my message is, complain in writing EVERY time. Also post on this forum and Australia Post facebook, write letters to your newspaper, start a petition, write to your member of parliament. In short, make life hell for those that continue to turn a blind eye to what amounts to a sophisticated fraud.
2 Likes
This isnât a parcel complaint but Australia Post took over a month to deliver a letter to us that had our correct address on it and the location it had been posted from was only about 3 suburbs away. Postal cancellation on the envelope was 09 Sept 2016 and we received it 12 Oct 2016. Great service NOT! It was from a business that offered us a special that ended on 30 Sept 2016. What a waste of time and postage.
