Australia Post responds to hundreds of complaints about delivery

A Sydney man has faced the same “annoying” and unnecessary parcel delivery problem for years on end – and it seems he’s not alone.

A “frustrated” Sydney resident has spoken out after repeatedly being forced to collect parcels in person despite being home at the time the deliveries were supposed to have been made.

Luke, who asked for his last name to be withheld, told news.com.au he had been battling the same problem for three years and that he had complained to Australia Post several times.

He said the same delivery person regularly failed to buzz his apartment to attempt the delivery, instead leaving a collection card on the ground for him to find later.

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The most recent incident occurred earlier this month when Luke was expecting a birthday delivery – and when he did find the slip, key collection information was missing and the tracking number “illegible”.

Luke, who is asthmatic, said he then had to venture out to his post office during coronavirus isolation and put his health at risk only to be told the driver hadn’t yet returned the item to the branch, meaning he had to come back again the following day.

“The staff member who served me had to print out a copy of the tracking number so I could follow up myself online … The tracking document shows the driver apparently attempting to deliver at 11.40am, however I was at home and definitely there was no buzz,” he said.

The Matraville resident said it “wasn’t the first time” he had reported the same driver and that some of his neighbours had similar experiences, but that the complaints “fell on deaf ears”.

He said he wanted to go public as it seemed “no disciplinary action” had been taken.

“He keeps getting away with the same behaviour. I can only imagine how widespread an issue this is,” he said.

“It has been happening for years and no amount of formal complaints from myself and other residents seem to make a difference.

The same problem has occurred for three years. Picture: Supplied

“The building manager has seen him just throw the cards and make no effort and ultimately it boils down to someone not fulfilling their job obligations – it’s just so lazy.”

Luke said while he understood the driver was a contractor, it was Australia Post’s responsibility to address the issue, which was especially frustrating as he believed many Australians now out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic would be grateful to have a similar job.

“I know there’s bigger things to be worried about during this time – but this has been an ongoing issue pre COVID-19, there’s evidently a lot of people unhappy and Australia Post shouldn’t be allowing their customers to unnecessarily be exposing themselves to any health risks by laziness and poor performance of their driving representatives.”

Australia Post eventually responded to his formal complaint after almost two weeks and a follow up email from Luke.

The company confirmed it had “investigated the issue” which had been “addressed with the staff concerned”, and that “appropriate action has been taken” to stop it happening again.

However, just last month news.com.au reported that Australia Post’s social media pages had been flooded with similar complaints of posties failing to wait a reasonable amount of time after knocking or buzzing with a delivery.

An Australia Post spokesman confirmed the company had “looked into deliveries in Matraville and spoken with the relevant delivery drivers for the area”.

“We apologise for this customer’s experience and will be in touch with him directly,” they said, adding staff were “working harder than ever to deliver mail and parcels safely”.

“Our posties and drivers are instructed to knock at the door three times and call out before leaving a card or safe-dropping the parcel,” the spokesman said.

“Sometimes they will leave a card without knocking because of access or safety issues – this could happen even when a customer is home.

“If customers have concerns about their delivery service we encourage them to contact us on 13 POST so that we can investigate and address the issue.”

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Australia Post took the extraordinary step of issuing a statement to its Facebook page in response to hundreds of complaints of delivery delays during the coronavirus pandemic.

Australia Post addressed delivery delays on social media. Picture: Facebook

“As our business adapts during this challenging time we’re doing everything possible to get your parcels to you,” the post said.

“We’ve read and replied to as many comments on social media as we can and completely understand your frustration as you aim to stay connected to loved ones, communities, businesses, and customers.

“We thank you for your support and patience.”