Postie Problems

I have had a couple of parcels not delivered. One was a prize I had won from Readers Digest. I emailed them three months after I received a winning email and they were kind enough to send me another one with an additional prize which was really nice of them.
I also had a letter that took 6 days to get to me and it was posted in the same suburb I live in.

What you have to realise with Australia Post is that these parcel contractors have to tender for the contract and then they choose the lowest bidder. Then more often than not the contractor then has a sub-contractor who delivers those parcels. By the time you include al those people most of the parcel deliverers are only getting about $1 per parcel (my dad started on like 70c in 2001) no matter the size. So they don’t make much money once you include the cost of petrol and the 3 hours they spend sorting the parcels in the morning so they have to deliver as much as they can. You can contact Aussie Post and make a complaint about having things dropped on your doorstep and they will always send this complaint to the contractor. It will prob get the contractor annoyed but they prob will start carding things without leaving a first notice (as this is obviously something oz post has now allowed as well as the safe drop). Aussie Post will never disappear because it is the only mail service that this country uses like most countries who have one main mail service. But contractors are not the only issue as its quite obvious that there is shifty people that work directly for aussie post in the distribution centres.

Australia Post needs to take a long hard look at itself!
It has continual falling profits!
After receiving terrible customer service there recently, I have seriously considered whether to save my my self a few hundred dollars and send my party invites out via email!!!

I have actually found pack and send quite competitive for sending parcels.

I really think Aust Post needs more competition. They have cornered the market, can charge what they want, and can give a shit service and pretty much get away with it.

Our parcel lady is great, we see her around, and when we are on holidays she holds all our parcels for us. She does the safe drop thing, but she rings the bell, and drops it in a safe, not seen spot (last time was hiding in shoes). Ive never had a problem with our postie, he just sticks it in the mail box. But, the amount of samples and comps I enter for, there could be heaps that is missing, I just don’t know about.

We get most things delivered to the PO box.

As I mentioned earlier, there is no point in complaining to the post office as they have no authority to handle and fix these complaints. The problem has to be raised at a higher level at Australia Post. Personally I would write directly to the CEO as you might at least get a response. CEOs are generally obliged to respond to complaints even if it is delegated to someone else. x

i’ve never had any problems with the post, although work has had troubles with express post items going missing between offices

Well our local contractor just got the sack cause no one was getting notifications or parcels, i don’t know i have one until the post office send that ‘final notice’ thingo. Every Aus Post worker I speak to has said it’s the contractors, whether they’re shifting blame or not I don’t know…. but I know when our contractor changed the postal service turned to you know what around here!

Im the same mel. The lady we had last year was the best you cold ever have i trusted her 100%. Now we also have a contractor I never get a card in the mail untill the final notice. I keep telling the post office and they say there is nothing they can do. But i can call and do a complaint but that will be wasting my time. I dont trust this guy at all

Also what annoys me i have 2 post offices one on the main st that is open till 5:30 and saturdays. The other closes at 4 and never open on a saturday . They now leave all parcels at the shitty one. I can only pick it up on saturdays so now i have to call and transfer them to my other post office and they charge me $5 if its over a certain weight i think 500grams or something like that

we have the same problem with the parcel delivery guy just leaving the packages at the doorstep and i have also been home when they do this and they do not ring the bell or anything, they just leave it on the steps to my house and i have come home on occasion to find parcels just baking in the hot sun and in total view of the whole neighborhood …
there has been a few things i have missed out on which were actually from bh and i never ended up receiving them, i first thought that it may not have been sent yet so i contacted bh and they said it had been, so now i am starting to wonder with all these stories i am hearing and coz i have been on holidays and some times the house is left empty for days and weeks .. i wonder if they did come and something happened to them or they got lost somewhere along the way …
but i agree with you all, it is very worrying and disappointing if you miss out on any of your own mail… something is not right with the system..

Thanks Roxymisha. It’s good to know that this isn’t a Melbourne-wide phenomena. It must just be what they do in my suburb. I have taken it to Aust Post Customer Service and they said a lot of people like the “Safe Drop” method so I guess there will be those for and against it. I’d just so much rather they left a card in my box!

I have to disagree with Princess Per… about Melbourne. I believe Aussie Post problems depend on where you live. I have never had any parcels safe dropped. In fact, I know the guy by name now who delivers all parcels and he always leaves a card in my mailbox if I am not home.

I have discussed this with a few friends who live in Melbourne and we all agree that the service provided depends on which suburb you live in. I guess I am very fortunate.

Princess Per… given the problems you have experienced I would complain to Australia Post (not your local PO but at a higher level) especially if you have been home and the doorbell has not rung. x