Total fiasco : Missing package for 1 month

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Question

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Mar 23, 2014
@Adam was kind enough to send me some some shaving cream and samples for the price of postage a month ago. The package never arrived. We have been trying to chase it up with aus post but keep getting the run around since they keep coming up with excuses like "we can't talk to you as you aren't the sender" "we haven't received any further commnication from the sender" or "the case is resolved". They have also repeatedly refused to contact me, adam or the mail center because apparently, that is not something they do, they only respond to emails or calls, but they don't actually take the initiative to call or email someone.

Tracking number is r533798030183838 if anyone is interested.

Long story short : Aus post claims they delivered it as part of a bulk shipment to the mail center here that handles the mail, so it was only scanned at Alexandria but not at the destination. The mail center insists the package never arrived nor do they have any record of it. Aus post provided a delivery manifest with the tracking number on it, but it's got pretty much no information at all, not even the driver name, and the mail center is now saying that it's not proof that the package actually arrived at their place (which to be fair, is perfectly true).

Now i'm waiting for aus post to reply but i have a feeling that they are just going to come back and insist that by their standards, that's sufficient proof and it's not their problem anymore. And the mail center is going to insist on seeing proof from aus post that it actually was delivered to them as aus post claims.

If it deadlocks like this, what are our options? Can the ombudsman do anything?
 
If I remember rightly, I sent you a brush once. Your address is not an easy one for postage purposes, and goes to a central University location - they almost lost the brush and delivered elsewhere first didn't they? I think that's your problem.
 
Issue with the compensation thing is that aus post is saying its not their fault the package wasn't delivered...

Drubbing : I can't remember if the brush you sent almost got lost...but it shouldn't be problematic sending to that address. Everything to that address gets picked up from aus post by courier via a special arrangement then sent to the mail room which is then sent to me.
 
Question said:
Issue with the compensation thing is that aus post is saying its not their fault the package wasn't delivered...

Drubbing : I can't remember if the brush you sent almost got lost...but it shouldn't be problematic sending to that address. Everything to that address gets picked up from aus post by courier via a special arrangement then sent to the mail room which is then sent to me.
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So when you say 'mail center [sic] here' this is NOT Australia Post but the (private) delivery address mail centre?

In which case AusPost are saying it was delivered to the addressee as 'evidenced' by their internally generated manifest that is not signed for but purports to show the items delivered to that mail centre.

At the same time the mail centre is saying - we signed for nothing and we got nothing.

It is a great catch that Catch-22!

If that is the procedure you can see how it could easily come to this situation and I'd be loathe to use it for personal stuff for that reason.

Having said that if you have no joy with AusPost there is the Postal Industry Ombudsman you can complain to.
 
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Question said:
Issue with the compensation thing is that aus post is saying its not their fault the package wasn't delivered...

Drubbing : I can't remember if the brush you sent almost got lost...but it shouldn't be problematic sending to that address. Everything to that address gets picked up from aus post by courier via a special arrangement then sent to the mail room which is then sent to me.
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I checked your pm from back then. It took so long you thought it was lost. Then you found out they (uni mail centre) had sent it somewhere else first.
 
@Question Consider a Parcel Locker service at your nearest Australia Post office. It's a free service and will lessen the risk of your parcels going missing.
 
Lifes a Peach said:
@Question Consider a Parcel Locker service at your nearest Australia Post office. It's a free service and will lessen the risk of your parcels going missing.
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I agree. It does add a day to the wait, but it's free, convenient and AusPost know the address.

Sorry to hear of the missing parcel BTW.
 
AusPost as far as I'm concerned, are a bunch made up of incompetent fools, jaded and subsequently apathetic careless workers and thieving lying scum, from the top down.
 
@Mark1966 : yea thats pretty much what happened. Might have to do the parcel locker thing...although apparently your parcels are only kept for 48 hours?
 
Question said:
@Mark1966 : yea thats pretty much what happened. Might have to do the parcel locker thing...although apparently your parcels are only kept for 48 hours?
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Yeah, and then they self-destruct...

Approximately 48 hours and then they are moved to the nearest Post Office where you collect it over the counter (and you have 10 days to collect). It's much more convenient than collecting over the counter at a PO (and sounds a safer bet than your current setup).
 
Yea this whole thing was a bit of a nightmare. There is no real value to the contents of the package so if someone did pinch it, they coulfnt have a picked a worse package to steal.

I really think Australia post needs a overhaul the service is a joke and a timely one at that. The cost to send packages is rediculous.
 
I use the parcel lockers all the time. It's very convenient. Yes, they only are there for 2 or so days, but they are available 24/7, so assuming you use one close by, you can just go out and grab it whenever.
 
Used to have a PO box in Melbourne and will definitely get one here in Adelaide as well. Best investment ever - costs ~80$ a year and you have a total peace of mind.
 
Well, australia post is still refusing to reply to me, but i did manage to get a response from the postal industry ombudsman (after waiting more than a week).

They are declining to investigate my complaint because the delivery manifest "proves" that australia post delivered it, and on the flip side, i don't have any proof to prove that i didn't receive it. This reasoning seems a bit odd to me because burden of proof should be on the delivery company to prove that they delivered it, not for the recipient to prove that they didn't receive it...

They also said that they have no actual authority over australia post, so aus post is perfectly within their rights to not listen to them at all (this part doesn't appear to be mentioned on the ombudsman website at all).

Only thing that can be done now is for @Adam to make a formal request to aus post for compensation apparently...

Hmm, i'm not sure if the parcel lockers would help. What's stopping aus post from pulling the same stunt and claiming they put the package in the locker?
 
Ordinary :(
 
Yeah. Very poor indeed. Disappointed for you @Question.

Re: Parcel Lockers. They are owned and operated by AusPost. So they remain on the system and are not "handed over" to another company. (Which is the issue in your case above.) Think of them as a free PO Box with a temporary limit and 1 day delay.
 
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