topic Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen. in Selling

Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

fixnwear — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 23:01:31 GMT

Insured for $450. No mention of 'safe drop' when processing label at MyPost.

AusPost regarding safe drop...

Under the Safe Drop terms of use, we can’t be held liable when a Safe Drop has been approved for a delivery which is subsequently damaged or goes missing.

No safe drop approval given. Not even that Safe Drop option that was hard wired in the old Click and Send.

Screen shots recorded when I went back to MyPost and partly processed the same label again ( just to see if there was

some sneaky fine print ).

Still waiting on AusPost's investigation response. It's Christmas so nothing is going to happen quickly.

Has anyone had a similar experience ? I am interested in the outcome.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lyndal1838 — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 02:22:53 GMT

Did the buyer authorise a Safe Drop without your knowlege?

If they did why are they coming back on you if the item is missing?

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

melinachristina — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 02:33:09 GMT

This is really odd. How could a buyer ever think responsibility under these circumstances could ever default to the seller? Although some do expect way more bang for their buck than they’re entitled to.

If they’re asking for help, sure, do what you can, which I think is very little. But, I hope there’s no expectations of refund or replacement. That simply is not kosher.

Melina.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

digital*ghost — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 02:45:43 GMT

@fixnwear wrote:
Insured for $450. No mention of 'safe drop' when processing label at MyPost.
AusPost regarding safe drop...
Under the Safe Drop terms of use, we can’t be held liable when a Safe Drop has been approved for a delivery which is subsequently damaged or goes missing.
No safe drop approval given. Not even that Safe Drop option that was hard wired in the old Click and Send.
Screen shots recorded when I went back to MyPost and partly processed the same label again ( just to see if there was
some sneaky fine print ).
Still waiting on AusPost's investigation response. It's Christmas so nothing is going to happen quickly.

Has anyone had a similar experience ? I am interested in the outcome.

If you don't add signature on delivery to a parcel, safe drop is automatically approved. If you do add signature on delivery but include a buyer's email address or phone number on the label, they are able to request safedrop.

If a phone number is on a parcel, they'll get an SMS on the day of delivery where they can text back one of 3 options, one of which is leave in a safe place, thus overriding SOD; if an email address is on there, they will get an email notification with the same delivery options, and / or can log into My Post to request safe drop.

This is why I leave email addresses and phone numbers off of the labels, as the whole point of me paying for SOD is because I don't want it safe droppped and put at risk (or redirected to a completely different address). I actually had a staff member hassle me about it the other week, saying I should be putting the info on there to make things easier for everyone and I had to explain that easier doesn't = safer. 😕

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

brerrabbit585 — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 02:48:46 GMT

Did you pay for a signature? I assume you did because it's usually required on anything that's insured for $300+. I know somewhere in the fine print there's something about some items with a signature being safe dropped at their discretion but I can't remember where I saw it. I think it may have been when I checked the tracking on something that I saw it, but not really sure.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lyndal1838 — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 02:49:42 GMT

Digi I have had a Safe Drop refused when there has been SOD on a parcel.

It is only automatic if it is an ordinary parcel.....my contractor automatically Safe Drops these parcels anyway.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

digital*ghost — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 02:54:33 GMT

@lyndal1838 wrote:
Digi I have had a Safe Drop refused when there has been SOD on a parcel.
It is only automatic if it is an ordinary parcel.....my contractor automatically Safe Drops these parcels anyway.

If the label is created through something like eParcel, they can have it in their account settings that safe drop not be made available regardless of the info on there. This option isn't available in My Post business, as far as I am aware, so the only way to prevent it is to leave off the email / phone number.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

waddingtonfirstaid — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 03:00:46 GMT

If you use eParcel, signature on delivery is a default inclusion at no extra cost. It took us over 6 months to get this signature on delivery function working properly on our eParcel interface (which now shows "Parcel Post + Signature" on the top "Charge Code" drop-down value list), with the help of Australia Post's CEO's "Corporate Secretary" and her appointed top "Inside Sales Manager". As for insurance, they are still working on that.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lm-entertainment — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 06:03:09 GMT

unfortunately, i think you'll find that if the buyer has the default "safe drop permitted" set to on in their mypost settings - or if australia post sees it fit, the item will be safe dropped.

a signature on delivery is now not required unless the value of extra cover is over $500.

i'd be asking australia post for a photo of where the parcel was left and verifying with the buyer if they located it in that location or not. if they didn't, i'd assume the onus falls on them and i'd be fighting this one to death with ebay / paypal.

https://auspost.com.au/business/shipping/domestic-shipping/optional-extras-domestic

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

zanadoo_56 — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 07:05:21 GMT

I have Safe Drop listed under MyPost ... but that means nothing if a seller has signed on for whatever Aust Post service it is that has a default for SOD (and this also overrides any safe drop delivery instructions that are on the parcel). What the buyer wants is not what you might get, no matter what you've put in MyPost. The AP service the seller has agreed to takes precedence and if its SOD with no option to change it, then that's it.

This was explained to me by Aust Post when I queried the delivery of some books where the seller (not on eBay) stated I could add a note for Safe Drop....instead of which despite my instructions the AP contractor (knowing my mobility issues) kept banging on the door until I was finally able to get there to sign for the books. That held him up for a while and I was gasping for breath when I finally reached the door but, unfortunately for me he's a stickler for the rules, so I had no choice as I am unable to collect parcels from the Post Office.

I went back to the book company's customer service to complain...and discovered they hadn't a clue. I wonder how any other customers were told Safe Drop was an option when it most definitely wasn't.

I wish my Safe Drop instructions in MyPost WOULD override all AP signed for parcels. It would make my life much easier.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lm-entertainment — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 07:15:05 GMT

sorry zanadoo - i probably didn't explain myself well enough. my understanding is the OP here didn't pay for signature on delivery - unless i missed that.. therefore, the item could be safe dropped regardless of whether or not the seller wanted it that way. if they aren't using a service which requires a signature.. then australia post can safe drop if they see fit, or if the buyer has safe drop set to "on" in the app. https://community.auspost.com.au/s/article/What-is-Safe-Drop

startrack / eparcel has even gone one step further and given the buyer or receiver, the ability to bypass signature on delivery provided that there is no extra cover, transit cover or identity on delivery option. https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/changes-to-signature-on-delivery-service-integrated-eparcel-fact-sheet.pdf

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

zanadoo_56 — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 08:40:53 GMT

@lm-entertainment wrote:
sorry zanadoo - i probably didn't explain myself well enough. my understanding is the OP here didn't pay for signature on delivery - unless i missed that.. therefore, the item could be safe dropped regardless of whether or not the seller wanted it that way. if they aren't using a service which requires a signature.. then australia post can safe drop if they see fit, or if the buyer has safe drop set to "on" in the app. https://community.auspost.com.au/s/article/What-is-Safe-Drop

startrack / eparcel has even gone one step further and given the buyer or receiver, the ability to bypass signature on delivery provided that there is no extra cover, transit cover or identity on delivery option. https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/changes-to-signature-on-delivery-service-integrated-eparcel-fact-sheet.pdf

But (reading the info in the link), if the seller doesn't provide an email address for the customer then it won't be safe dropped.

Also, I once had a message from Aust Post where I could change it to Safe Drop by following the instructions as outlined in that link. It must have been a trial run or something as it was a while ago. Only problem was AP sent me the email while my parcel was already in transit. I changed the delivery to safe drop but the AP contractor never got the message. Brilliant....not.

It all still leaves a lot of exceptions to allowing safe drop. In my case, the irony is I AM at home all the time...but it takes too long for me to get to the door. Those delivery guys rarely hang around. Because I am at home, safe drop really is a safe option for sellers I buy from (quite apart from the fact that I also have a good delivery spot not visible from the street).

I wasn't sure what parcel delivery the OP used either.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

fixnwear — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 13:25:47 GMT

Hi, I am back.

I am not the usual person who uses this ID. She just buys stuff.

I know I can't be subject to an INR because I can prove sending and delivery.

I also know that insurance is not as I supposed it has been all these years.

Pays to read the terms and conditions. Insurance only covers an item 'in transit'. Lesson learned.

Although it's technically no skin off my nose, the buyer has been a good one for years

and I feel morally obliged to go to bat for her.

The matter is currently under investigation by AP and there are only 2 slight hopes.

That the delivery photo might show an 'unsafe' drop.

The safe drop was not carded. Under AP guidelines a card must be left to advise

the recipient that an item has been safe dropped.

Fingers crossed.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

*tippy*toes* — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 13:56:05 GMT

I would love to know how to STOP items being safe dropped. My front door is in close proximity to the street and I have no front fence. I have lost several parcels, that were stolen within minutes of being dropped. I know they were dropped because I was still in bed and I heard them. Even SOD parcels have been safe dropped, without my permission.

I have asked AP countless time to flag my house as not being safe, but it's made no difference. When you read their policy, they say they will only safe drop if it's safe to do so. I call bull dust. Leaving a parcel only a few feet from the footpath, in full view of the world, is apparently a safe place according to AP.

Every now and then I get an SMS offering me options for my delivery. Option 1 is "leave at your address (if there's a safe place) and accept T&Cs". Option 2 is "Someone will be home". Option 3 is "Take to post office if not home". Last week I selected option 3 because I knew both of us would be out most of the morning.

I got home to find a parcel at my front door. What was the point of the SMS then? Not only had I selected option 3, the parcel was SOD. The parcel was full of medical supplies for Mr Tippy, so I would have been really jacked off if it got stolen.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lyndal1838 — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 22:30:55 GMT

@lm-entertainment wrote:
sorry zanadoo - i probably didn't explain myself well enough. my understanding is the OP here didn't pay for signature on delivery - unless i missed that.. therefore, the item could be safe dropped regardless of whether or not the seller wanted it that way. if they aren't using a service which requires a signature.. then australia post can safe drop if they see fit, or if the buyer has safe drop set to "on" in the app. https://community.auspost.com.au/s/article/What-is-Safe-Drop

startrack / eparcel has even gone one step further and given the buyer or receiver, the ability to bypass signature on delivery provided that there is no extra cover, transit cover or identity on delivery option. https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/changes-to-signature-on-delivery-service-integrated-eparcel-fact-sheet.pdf

That link is 3 years old and only applies to eparcel deliveries through StarTrack. The general freight delivered by StarTrack is NOT Safe Dropped.....never has been.

On the very rare occasion a Safe Drop item is given to a StarTrack driver they must take a photo which shows where the item was left and they do not card the item. Cards are only left if the item goes to the local PO.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

collect247 — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 22:48:51 GMT

My daughter had a safe drop parcel delivered last week and to my shock well not really shock haha I heard a knock on the door and it was the star track fellow and he said that there is a parcel that needs a signature,I said it was supposed to be safe dropped as my daughter pressed #1 on her phone lol.

The chap said sorry but it needs a signature but I said it shows as it can be safe dropped,he said because it was an eparcel it had to be signed for.

So even if safe drop was chosen it wasn't going to be safe dropped,so lucky I was home to receive it as my daughter needed the items urgently and if she had to go to AP at the end of the day then all hell would have come loose lol.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lyndal1838 — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 01:52:23 GMT

This is becoming a problem with StarTrack......Australia Post is trying to make them defacto postmen instead of the courier service that they have always been.....and the rules are different.

The bosses at Startrack are locking horns with the Unions and refusing to do some of the work that AP wants them to do.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lm-entertainment — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 03:43:45 GMT

i realise the link is old lyndal, but according to their website now - articles via startrack can be safe dropped if the receiver chooses them to be - it doesn't only apply to eparcel items - https://startrack.com.au/services/receiving/missed-delivery

though, like everything to do in the AP world, i'm sure it depends on how each driver does their own thing - because there seems to be an overall lack of consistency.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

zanadoo_56 — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 03:57:17 GMT

@*tippy*toes* wrote:
I would love to know how to STOP items being safe dropped. My front door is in close proximity to the street and I have no front fence. I have lost several parcels, that were stolen within minutes of being dropped. I know they were dropped because I was still in bed and I heard them. Even SOD parcels have been safe dropped, without my permission.

I have asked AP countless time to flag my house as not being safe, but it's made no difference. When you read their policy, they say they will only safe drop if it's safe to do so. I call bull dust. Leaving a parcel only a few feet from the footpath, in full view of the world, is apparently a safe place according to AP.

Every now and then I get an SMS offering me options for my delivery. Option 1 is "leave at your address (if there's a safe place) and accept T&Cs". Option 2 is "Someone will be home". Option 3 is "Take to post office if not home". Last week I selected option 3 because I knew both of us would be out most of the morning.

I got home to find a parcel at my front door. What was the point of the SMS then? Not only had I selected option 3, the parcel was SOD. The parcel was full of medical supplies for Mr Tippy, so I would have been really jacked off if it got stolen.

I have the same problem with my front door - it is only a few metres from the footpath and it would be most unsafe to leave parcels there. I've put a note there to say not to leave anything but its amazing how very few notice it. Sigh.

But as far as Aust Post are concerned the AP contractor who delivers the parcels has more brains than some couriers, and he puts my parcels in a more logical place. It's so safe in fact that I heartily wish he would 'forget' the requirements of SOD and just put those parcels where the rest of them go.

Re: Unauthorised 'Safe Drop' item stolen.

lyndal1838 — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 06:40:10 GMT

As far as StarTrack is concerned there is no lack of consistency.....they do not Safe Drop unless the parcel is untracked (that is, it is a parcel that was put into the AP system rather than the StarTrack system).

StarTrack is a courier service and therefore it is tracked. If not deliverable it goes to the local PO.

Recently the powers that be have been insisting that StarTrack should deliver the overflow from the AP system.....those can be Safe Dropped if the receiver so orders if they are untracked.

And StarTrack drivers do not do their own thing.....there are very specific rules to be followed.