Australia Post couriers have been making a bizarre request of customers

AUSTRALIA Post has been making some unusual requests of customers lately with all those Christmas deliveries. Here’s what to do if it happens to you.

IF YOU’VE received a few Christmas deliveries this week, you might have experienced Australia Post asking you to do something rather odd when accepting your special delivery.

Instead of getting you to sign for your parcels, some posties have been asking customers to POSE for a photo holding the package. #saycheese

What the actual?

This new ‘trend’ was alerted to us by mum-of-two Kylie, who experienced the rather strange request from her courier recently.

“An Australia Post contractor just delivered a parcel to my house. I was expecting to sign for it but, instead, she TOOK A PHOTO OF ME holding said parcel! What the hell?” she told Kidspot.

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At this time of year, we tend to go into autopilot when accepting parcels at our doorstep. Open door, do a little happy dance because the parcel actually made it before Christmas (yay!), sign for parcel, and close door.

But for Kylie, this sequence of events didn’t quite go that way.

“She said ‘you don’t need to sign, I just need to take a pic with you and the parcel’,” Kylie recalls. “I was in shock, I didn’t protest. Instead, I stupidly just stood there and posed for the photo.”

It went a little something like this:

Here’s your package, now say cheeeese! Image: Supplied

IT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY

Sydney mum-of-two Maria also had her photo taken when her parcel was handed over this week.

“When my shoes arrived less than 24 hours after I’d ordered them online, I was shocked. But what was more shocking was that when I asked the delivery man where to sign, he said: ‘No need, I’ve taken a photo’ and then bounced out the door. I felt like I had just been papped,” says Maria. “The thing is, I have no idea when he took the photo because he was gone within seconds.”

Jacqueline, a mum of two from Sydney was also left stunned when asked recently.

“I think I kinda just was caught by surprise and let him take the photo and only afterwards thought that’s a bit weird,” she says.

SO WHAT’S THE DEAL?

When Kidspot contacted Australia Post we were told that it is definitely not common practice for delivery drivers to get a customer in a photograph. But rather, if no one is home and a ‘safe drop’ has been requested, to take a photo of the parcel in the spot it was left as “proof” of delivery.

“We can confirm that the driver was completing the Safe Drop procedure with this customer’s parcel. Our drivers are required to photograph Safe Dropped parcels in their hidden spots, and in this instance, the driver handed over the parcel before completing their process,” the Australia Post spokesperson tells Kidspot, adding: “We are reminding our drivers on the Safe Drop process and not to photograph customers.”

According to the Australia Post website, proof of delivery is captured with a shot of the parcel, not the person with it. Image: Australia Post website

While some customers are still understandably confused and a little concerned about breaches of privacy, other mums are fuming at the mere thought of being asked.

Mother-of-five Leanne says while she has never been asked to do so, she will be refusing the odd request.

“I’d definitely be refusing,” she insists. Emma from Queensland says she will actually go one step further and give the parcel back to the post office if she was ever in that situation. “Nup, they can keep the parcel!” she says.

So if you’re asked by a courier to ‘pose’ for a photo with your parcel, it might be worth insisting to sign instead or politely stepping out of the shot. Or just make sure you’ve washed your hair … you know, just in case!