The value in Registering AND Insuring your parcels.

[ameerat42]

OK, after three days of a total lack of willingness on the part of the management and staff at Vermont PO to rectify their mistakes, I'm really getting p!$$ed off !!!

Yes, it's 'name and shame' time!. OK, sorry mods, but I'm really annoyed, not only by their incompetence, but also by their lack of any urgency to fix their stuff-up.

They keep feeding me and the guy whose parcel they 'lost', this crap about they don't know who owns the PO box, or that they can't contact them, or he was coming today, but didn't, or whatever.

I contracted with, and paid, AusPost to provide a service. They haven't fulfilled their part of the agreement.

And what is getting my dander up the most is that they don't seem to give a stuff.

Whatever the outcome, the appropriate authorities will be made aware of their total lack of service. But then I guess I'll just be p!$$ing into the wind!

A less than happy

Kevin

You are QUITE RIGHT, Kevin. Don't be QUIET any more. Though not as actually serious as this, I have had quite a few instances of badly delivered mail and I had had to complain - and bitterly, and with stern advice!!! - on four occasions in the past 2 years.

You just DON'T get what they purport to offer as a "service" and what you pay for! At least, not always, so that when you do it seems almost like an accident.

This is the official complaint form that's available online.

Oh, how humble and contrite are the responses I get back from them. As if that will help. However, I think they have pointed out to the local postie the folly of his ways, because it hasn't happened for a 2ple of months.

Good luck, and if you need any epithets to hurl I would be glad to oblige.

[Warbler]

Filling out just one of those forms will probably not get you much satisfaction. You may get a call from a very nice lady from their call centre who will give you a complaint reference. She may even ring you back in a further 14 days to check whether all is fixed, at which point she'll close the complaint. Complain again, even about the same issue and you'll get a new reference number.

It's all about stats and performance indicators. They'll keep closing any new complaints within their time limit and there is no way they'll re-open one they've already closed. That would affect their performance and their manager's bonus.

Like I said, good luck with it, but don't expect it to be quick.

[ameerat42]

Filling out just one of those forms will probably not get you much satisfaction. You may get a call from a very nice lady from their call centre who will give you a complaint reference. She may even ring you back in a further 14 days to check whether all is fixed, at which point she'll close the complaint. Complain again, even about the same issue and you'll get a new reference number.

It's all about stats and performance indicators. They'll keep closing any new complaints within their time limit and there is no way they'll re-open one they've already closed. That would affect their performance and their manager's bonus.

Like I said, good luck with it, but don't expect it to be quick.

No, it was a nice gent, and apologised most abjectly, BUT, there were repercussions at the local PO. The posties would wrap the envelopes with a rubber band and put them properly into the box.

The reply was quick, a couple of days, but after while, and when another postie took over... Well, it happened 4 times so far.

Yeah, but I know what you mean.
Am.

[Cage]

You know what frustrates me the most about this sad fiasco.

The only people who are in a position to sort this mess are the only people who don't give a stuff.

Cheers

Cranky Kevin

[aussie girl]

Maybe the person delivering it thought it would be at risk of being stolen if left on the front verandah, perhaps visible from the street. Not so good though if it had begun to rain and the item on the airconditioner was exposed to the weather.

[Mark L]

You know what frustrates me the most about this sad fiasco.

That someone accepted a parcel that wasn't for them, and hasn't returned it of their own accord.

[Cage]

That someone accepted a parcel that wasn't for them, and hasn't returned it of their own accord.

And that too Mark, although from what I've been told he collected twenty parcels that day and probably didn't go over them all with a fine tooth comb.

I can assure the folk at Vermont LPO that they have picked the wrong bloke to stuff around. I abhor dishonesty, and yes, they lied
to me when they assured me that they checked the ID for the person who signed for the parcel, with a different name to the addressee, knowing that the parcel should not have even been at their Post Office.

I've just lodged a complaint with AusPost and Monday I'm calling the Ombudsman.

And I think A Current Affair love bashing semi-government utilities.

As I said earlier, they have picked the wrong bloke to stuff around.

Cheers

Really P!!$$ed OFF Kevin

[ricktas]

I have one happening right now. I placed an order 25th October from a company in Victoria. They despatched the item the next day. As of this Wednesday (31st Oct) it had not arrived, so I contacted the company for shipping/tracking details as the one they gave me kept saying 'invalid'. Turns out it is Australia Post. Based on their online tracking system the item, as of this morning is still sitting in Victoria, (a full week and a half later). Up until this morning whenever I did a track of the item on the AusPost website, it was still saying 'invalid tracking number', at least now they seem to know they have the parcel, which is a start.

[Cage]

Rick, the downside of all this new-age technology we have is that it is only as good as the people using it.

And with AusPost it needs to be 'foolproof', because that particular organisation does seem to have it's fair share of fools.

Cheers

Kevin

[Lance B]

Simply unbelievable that this should happen in this day and age!

[MajorPanic]

As an AP delivery team supervisor I can tell you that contacting the AP State Delivery Manager & explaining that the ombudsman is about to become involved will get the results want very quickly

[ricktas]

It seems to me that Australia Post has not been prepared for the massive increase in parcel deliveries and decrease in regular envelope mail that the internet has effected. Now the inadequacies are starting to show. I hope they update and fix their systems soon. Australia Post could be a world-class mail delivery operation with a bit of effort.

[Tommo1965]

Maybe the person delivering it thought it would be at risk of being stolen if left on the front verandah, perhaps visible from the street. Not so good though if it had begun to rain and the item on the airconditioner was exposed to the weather.

nah..the front door is way off the street and very protected from prying eyes ... simply they { dhl } didn't follow their own protocol.

[Boo53]

I've lost track of the number of problems we've had with Auspost over the past 5-6 years but the one that stands out is when the Mother-in-Law sent some Family photos that dated from the 1920's - 1930's. She sent them certified, but what would the insurance value be.

After a week we hadn't received notice that it had arrived so my wife started going to the desk each day and asking if it had arrived. This went on for another 10 days and we were getting concerned, both for the possible loss of the photos but also because we wanted to use some of the photos in a book we were printing for the MIL's 90th birthday.

The MIL had to request a search for the lost certified envelope (not a parcel, just a C4 envelope) and the next day it had arrived - clearly stamped & signed as having arrived at our local post office 2 days after it was posted and had been sitting on a desk for 3 weeks.

On the other side, we've been doing a lot of travelling in the last couple of years and have had both professional forwarding companies & neighbours sending our mail on to us in express post envelopes. More often than not when we call in to post offices (where we have never been before) we ask for our mail & its passed over with no request for proof of identity at all


The most recent episode of this type of thing doesn't involve Auspost or DHL but Fedex who supposedly tried to deliver a parcel we'd sent to our eldest son. They claim to have tried to deliver it 3 times but, despite someone having been home on at least 2 of the 3 occasions it wasn't left. He had to drive from Yarraville to Werribee to pick it up.

[Epoc]

Problem with AP is, they pay peanuts so they get monkeys!

[MajorPanic]

Problem with AP is, they pay peanuts so they get monkeys!

Provide proof or shut up!

[MarkChap]

Warning: Keep it on topic and keep it polite

[Epoc]

Provide proof or shut up!

Nice! Touch a nerve there mate. I was one of those monkeys. I worked as a contractor for 5 years and had to have a 2nd job just to survive. Every contractor I have ever met knows they pay peanuts for the work they require and those poor LPO's, man they do it tough. Maybe if AP payed people a decent amount for the work they do, people might just give a crap!!

[Stefan Carey]

As an AP delivery team supervisor I can tell you that contacting the AP State Delivery Manager & explaining that the ombudsman is about to become involved will get the results want very quickly

Great tip, as the intended recipient of the camera I plan to use it!

[Redgum]

We (as a business) have a policy for AP, Telcos and Banks. Simply put, if they don't perform within their own written guidelines report the matter directly to the Ombudsman. This usually means that when a service is not performed to spec make verbal contact and an online complaint with the body concerned on the due date. If no positive response (i.e. we've found the article or fixed the problem) within three days lodge a complaint directly with the Ombudsman. Prior to this we would wait weeks/months for a hopeless situation to resolve. Also seek recompense for out of pocket expenses (postage or fees you've paid) and don't feel kind toward the organisation when completing the Ombudsman's report. These facts go directly to the annual parliamentary report that in turn shapes the way that business is run in the future.