AAE was a 50% Australia Post + 50 % Qantas owned business. It ceased to exist as AAE late 2012 early 2013.
“On 2 October 2012, Qantas announced it would acquire Australia Post’s 50% interest in AaE, in return for Australia Post acquire Qantas’ 50% interest in Star Track Express.
Australian airExpress was absorbed into Qantas Freight during February 2013. As a result, its own website ceased to exist but some of its operations are still continuing as the air division of Star Track Express.” (taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_airExpress ).
Our work postie doesn’t even leave cards; we have been at work (small 2 person operation open at least 10 hours a day with large roller door entry so no excuses for not being able to find the door) and on numerous occasions I have had to go to the post office to try and find parcels. We became aware of one delivery when we received notice from the post office that they were going to return parcels addressed to our business!
Apparently one problem is outsourcing deliveries to private contractors (Startrack) and employing contractors with little or no English skills.
Star Track is now owned by Australia Post. Still better results with deliveries from Australia Post’s parcel post than with Australia Post’s Star Track couriers though.
I have a PO Box so that I actually receive my mail, haha! I work around the “no delivery to PO Boxes” by giving the physical street address of the Post Office agency and this works fine - most of the time. The first problem is that AP has 5 post offices in the Council area I live in and the local sorting office has problems identifying them and will return mail to sender before trying to deliver it when the address is correct! I’m in SA and my mail has even been sent to Perth. Should my mail be sent to the wrong Post Office in our council area, one of the POs simply returns mail to sender rather than forward it on to the correct Post Office. The final stumbling block to getting my mail delivered is the fact that the suburb I live in ends in “South”, and I am in South Australia, and if state abbreviations are not used, the sorting office is unable to register the fact that there are 2 x South in my address. Many businesses insist on printing out the state in full so the collective dyslexia suffered by my sorting office has a serious problem they refuse to admit to. The current go-slow to soften us up for a two-tier postal system has doubled the delivery time for regular mail that already has problems getting to me and tracking only identifies further problems with mail being marked as delivered when its really been returned to sender because the “computer never lies”. Complaining is useless and my complaints are never acknowledged let alone dealt with. At least the Star Track couriers can find the way to my local post office, more than Australia Post can!
Auspost used to leave cards when something had to be signed for, collectable at the PO after 4PM on the day. The carriers were always back by about 3PM. They recently changed the cards to 9AM on the following day. I was still able to collect my parcel at 4:30PM on the day, but it appears to be a projection of ever slower delivery “standards”.
I work from home and I still get missed call cards occasionally. I also get cards for a house around the corner, last week I came home and in my letterbox was a missed delivery card from Australia post for one article and then there was a 2nd article with a signature on delivery requirement where the parcel was actually left at my front door - without being signed for, both were for the same number house 2 streets away. I wonder what happened to that required signature?
Thanks for putting your views forward, I sympathize with you guys. These delivery rates are not lucrative and a difficult delivery is a loss straight away. I have observed that Australia Post has taken the delivery of small parcels away from the parcel delivery vans and given it to the letter service who get nothing for it. That is why they are testing three wheeler bikes to replace the motor bikes.
Apparently the letter business is a dead loss with all the profits made by the parcel service. Australia has become one of the most expensive countries for parcel service. E.g. I can import a motorbike helmet from Germany and the freight rate for it to come from halfway around the world is less than the cost of sending a helmet from Brisbane to Melbourne with Australia Post. A courier service is less than a third.
Toll is terrible at parcel delivery. We have lived in an apartment with 4 entrances (each for a set of 6 apartments) we observed Toll come to the front gate have a look and then just put the card in your mail box. To receive deliveries from Toll I have set up a chair by the front gate with my portable Wifi and PC on my lap. The main problem if you miss the delivery you need to go to Bankstown to collect the parcel and I live and work on the lower north shore. In addition we have noticed Toll drivers do similar things i.e 1 knock pop the card in the mail box and go.
In response to the Toll problems I use Aus Post parcel Locker whenever possible (Open 24x7) and don’t order from Websites that use Toll.
We have had a PO box for years but more and more online business won’t deliver to a PO Box
Non delivery, just a card shoved in the mail box even when someone was home. This has happened multiple times.
Non delivery and no card. The only reason I found out is my local PO sent a reminder that the parcel was about to be sent RTS.
Carded but the wrong post office put down for pick up. They noted a post office that was 20k’s and four suburbs away but when I checked my local, there was the parcel. This has happened at least three times.
Parcel delivered to the wrong address. Not just the next house but an entirely different street, just the same house number! Thankfully the people were honest and contacted the sender. This has happened twice.
Mail and parcels tossed on our front porch. It’s literally two steps more to our front door but they can’t be bothered.
I swear some drivers take the loaded vans home with them. In the last 5-6 months I’ve had at least three cases where parcel tracking online says they tried delivery but no-one was home check your PO, I have no card in the mail box, local PO says no parcels there and then the next morning the parcels show up as ‘onboard for delivery today’ again and turn up that day.
Aus Post help line used to actually be helpful but I’ve noticed lately it’s very hard to find a number to call and your on hold for a very long time. I really do think most of the issues are because so much of their services is contracted out.
Australia post tends to be safe although like some other responses we often have the “You have mail… collect from…” card put in our letterbox even though we were home.
Most large parcels delivered by Toll were damaged in some way, one looked like it had been run over by a forklift.
Over many years with the same delivery person from Australia Post, we had excellent service with parcel delivery. A change of staff ,however, has led to a constant problem with packages left without the person ringing the doorbell even though someone is almost always there to receive the package.The packages all come with notifications that a signature is required upon delivery but half the time, the items are left at the door. The person concerned has even been known to add a signature himself. A complaint to the area manager has only partly solved the problem. The manager tried to abrogate responsibility in solving the problem by asking “do you want me to fire him?”. Very poor management practice. We are still trying to have this resolved. We have not had this problem with other private delivery companies - only the one run by Australia Post.
The question seemed to indicate poor management as the manager was not prepared to take responsibility for the decision himself but tried to get us to make it.
Infuriating, isn’t it? The sender paid to have it delivered to you, not to have you drive to your local PO, probably in bumper to bumper traffic, and stand in a queue to pick it up… It happens all the time.
Big thanks to everyone who shared their experience on this thread. In case you missed it, here is @JemmaCastle’s article on postal issues, including some tips on what you can do if you have had a problem.
My son was expecting a delivery. By chance I went to an area of the 1st floor balcony of our house that I do not go to frequently. I discovered the AusPost “delivery” method. It must have been tossed up from ground level. There are a number of obvious issues with this delivery method (How long before discovery / Exposure to the weather / Damage from throwing.
My home office is at the front of the house where I can see the street. A Startrack van pulled up in our driveway. I started toward the front door to meet the driver. I had to walk out the front door and around to the side gate where I found him coming back from where he left the item at the side of the house. When I mentioned that we have a front door, he replied that it takes too long.
I have only experienced delivery issues in the last couple of years. I think it is probably because of one or more of the following:
The driver is in a hurry to complete his deliveries as once they are done he is finished for the day.
The driver is having more deliveries added to his workload and so he has to rush the job.
They may be paid less per delivery so are trying to fit more deliveries into their day.
They no longer care. This may be due to constant pressures from management or other influences.
Keep a watch out for Aus Post delivery scams which are reportedly on the rise. Scammers typically trick people into downloading malicious software after claiming a package requires collecting.
Yesterday I found a card from CouriersPlease in my letter box, notifying me of an ’ attempted delivery". They advised me to pick it up on the next business day from my local HUBBED newsagent. You have to log onto their website to find out which one is the HUBBES newsagent. I have been trying to do that for the last 24 hours and they merely advice me, that the item is on it’s way to the newsagent. I still don’t know which newsagent and when it will arrive there. Not even a phone number on the card to find out where my parcel is now! How much " lazier" can a courier service become in order to save money.
Just had the same experience today. My wife was home all day and the front door was open. The parcel delivery contractor made no effort to climb the stairs to our front door. Now I have to go into town during my lunch break to get a parcel that should have been delivered to my home. This is not an isolated incident. It happened to the prior parcel delivery I had a few weeks ago. My wife was on the verandah and watched the contractor get out of his vehicle and put a card into our letter box. He must have had them all pre-written out prior to delivery! Australia Post is not performing well at all. I will be complaining directly. If this keeps up, I will start invoicing them for my time to collect parcels that they should have delivered.
