'I have to pay?' Aussie warns of 'hidden cost' added to online deliveries

Savvy online shoppers chimed in saying they've also received this notice when receiving a package. Now, Australia Post has weighed in. 

If having to pick up an unsuccessful delivery item when you were home all along wasn't annoying enough, now Aussie residents are complaining about a new surprise fee that could be added to the top of the card left by the postie. 

An Aussie alerted others to the small fee via Reddit, where they asked the community if they too have seen a charge added to an unsuccessful delivery attempt. 

"I just found this parcel ticket in my letterbox, but it's a different colour to the usual ones and it says I have to pay when I pick it up?" they shared online. 

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

A cheeky fee is added ot the top of the notice. Image: Reddit

'Sneaky' fee added to online delivery

The note left is indeed from Australia Post and shows a "charges to pay" box ticked with $3.10 written next to it. 

"Does anyone know what that's about? It has my name and address and local post office details, so I don't think it's a scam but I've never seen this before," they added.

As it turns out, people HAVE seen it before. 

"Had this happen once," someone commented. 

"This has happened to me multiple times over the years," another shared. 

RELATED: ‘Scammed’: Aussie’s kind supermarket act backfires

This is not an Australia Post issue

But as it turns out, the "secret" fee may be less about Australia Post being sneaky and more about the vendor you purchased from.

"You're not paying to pick it up, it's that the sender didn't cover the full postage cost," someone added. 

"Looks like the item to be delivered didn’t have enough postage on it and you now have to pay that postage to collect it," another agreed. 

Others said this is a "scam as old as Ned Kelly" and is common when purchasing items off eBay.

"Not sure if you ordered something through eBay but this is not unusual with eBay sellers. They don't put sufficient postage or a return address on the parcel and dump it in a red mail box so they can't be turned away at the post office," another online shopper added. 

"When it gets flagged the receiver gets stuck with the bill. You have two choices:

• Pay the shortfall and receive the stuff that you have already paid for. They have usually paid enough that most people won't bother with a negative review as 'it's not worth the bother for $3...' That's an extra $3 in their pocket.
• Refuse the parcel. There's no return address so it will never get back to them and they can tell that to eBay who will probably side with them when it comes to refunds. They can show that it got to you and was refused."

Image: Reddit

RELATED: How legit is the new bargain shopping app Temu?

Australia Post weighs in...

When Kidspot reached out to Australia Post for clarification, they confirmed that this fee could be added when senders lodge their parces through street posting boxes rather than through their MyPost business account or through posts offices where a team members can check the correct postage is paid. 

"From time to time, parcel senders lodge items in our network without enough postage paid to cover delivery for the item’s size or weight," the Australia Post spokesperson said. 

"In instances where we don’t have any details for the sender, Australia Post passes the difference in cost on to the parcel receiver."

Australia Post recommended that if you are concerned about paying the additional fee, you should reach out to the seller before paying. 

"We recommend customers with concerns around an additional charge to contact the seller in the first instance," they suggested. 

Meanwhile, others who have fallen victim to the additional fee have seen success with obtaining a refund through eBay after paying for and receiving the item. 

"Had this happen once, the sender had just chucked the thing I ordered in an envelope and it was too thick or something? Paid the money and then got the money back through eBay."

Kidspot reached out to eBay for comment. 

Originally published as 'I have to pay?' Aussie warns of 'hidden cost' added to online deliveries