Push Australia Post to allow others to deliver to their PO Boxes - Sign a Petition

[urbanlabaustralia]

Tens of thousands of ordinary Australians and small businesses pay Australia Post handsomely to rent PO Boxes so they can receive their parcels and mail in a secure location.

In many cases, particularly for those people living in rural Australia, it’s their only option. But what most people don’t realise when they sign up for their PO Boxes is that only Australia Post, and their subsidiary StarTrack, are allowed to deliver to them. What is shocking, is that Australia Post do not mention this limitation in the PO Box terms and conditions.

This anti-competitive practice is hurting many of the two million small businesses in Australia that want the ability to deliver to Post Office Boxes and, most importantly, it’s hurting everyday Australians who can’t get fair value from the PO Box they’re paying for.

You can help put this right by signing our petition to take to the ACCC.

https://www.change.org/p/australia-post-stop-hurting-small-businesses-let-sendle-deliver-to-po-boxes

[pennyforum14]

I don't think it is likely to happen, it's not a matter of anti-competitive practices, the PO boxes have to be loaded from inside the POs. There would be major privacy and security issues involved in allowing third parties access to their premises to put items into boxes, and even more issues involved in giving them access to the customer's entry points on the outside of the buildings.  I know I wouldn't want all and sundry having access to my PO Box.

[lyndal1838]

It is not going to fly.  Australia Post will just tell you that they do take deliveries from courier companies.  What they don't tell you is that they will only take deliveries from companies who are willing to pay the surcharge that AP demands....last I heard it was around $13.50+

No buyer is going to pay that sort of surcharge, no matter how convenient it is to have their parcels delivered there.....and the courier companies will not hand it over without getting it from the sender or receiver.

[go-tazz]

The petition was started by Sendle to gain an edge and it has no merit.

Australia Post customers that have a PO box know that they will not get deliveries from couriers as that's not

what they paid for.

If you sign this then you are assisting a company that doesn't care about AP's customers,(they just want an

easy way to deliver parcels with less stress and let AP pick up the extra cost).

Sendle should be the one being reported for trying to implement unfair practises,

[andjoh.x0laq]

I disagree - I bet AP doesn't charge their own company Startrack to deliver to Post Office Boxes, which gives Startrack a competitive advantage over everyone else - the whole definition of using monopoly power to distort a market!!  

And who says that the courier has to actually put the item in the box - again, I bet the startrack employee doesn't.  That is what people pay Australia Post for when they get a PO Box - to accept letters/parcels and put them in the box.

I say good on these guys for taking AP on.  About time! 

[go-tazz]

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@andjoh.x0laq wrote:

I disagree - I bet AP doesn't charge their own company Startrack to deliver to Post Office Boxes, which gives Startrack a competitive advantage over everyone else - the whole definition of using monopoly power to distort a market!!  

And who says that the courier has to actually put the item in the box - again, I bet the startrack employee doesn't.  That is what people pay Australia Post for when they get a PO Box - to accept letters/parcels and put them in the box.

I say good on these guys for taking AP on.  About time! 

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Why would they charge their own courier?

Startrack delivers AP packages so they are part of AP.

Sendle wants to put AP further into debt so that they gain an advantage,(that is a stupid business plan for

AP or the ACCC to agree to so it has no merit).

This would make it cheaper for Sendle,but more expensive for AP so it's a ludicrous petion started by

Sendle so they can make more money.

[lyndal1838]

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@andjoh.x0laq wrote:

I disagree - I bet AP doesn't charge their own company Startrack to deliver to Post Office Boxes, which gives Startrack a competitive advantage over everyone else - the whole definition of using monopoly power to distort a market!!  

And who says that the courier has to actually put the item in the box - again, I bet the startrack employee doesn't.  That is what people pay Australia Post for when they get a PO Box - to accept letters/parcels and put them in the box.

I say good on these guys for taking AP on.  About time! 

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What do you disagree with?  You have already stated that StarTrack couriers can and do deliver to post offices and I have just added that any courier company can deliver there is they are willing to pay the surcharge.

StarTrack couriers only deliver to post offices if the recipient is not home.....like AP contractors they have to deliver to the home/business address first and only if there is no-one there do they card the parcel and leave it at the local post office.

StarTrack drivers do not even go into the PO through the front door....they deliver to the mail receiving area at the back of the PO.

[digital*ghost]

The thing is, although I have a PO box and I would be thrilled if it was viable for couriers to deliver to them, it opens up a bigger can of worms than you might expect.

For a start, I pay insurance on all of my courier deliveries, and never (ever) give ATLs (authority to leave) so that I can personally check the condition of the package before signing for and accepting it (as soon as I sign for a package, I accept it and the contents in as delivered conditon  and the insurance I pay for generally expires). So, in order for that to remain in place, you would need AP staff to facilitate an additional service on behalf of the couriers - that's one of the reasons they charge an extra fee for it, I expect, because they then need to provide the last bit of service that the couriers were paid for - and what would happen if I reject a package after it's been technically delivered to a PO? 

The other thing is, it's a bit like taking my friend into a hairdressers and asking to sit in one of their chairs and use their facilities while my friend cuts my hair (ok, not a perfect analogy, but the first one I could think of  what I mean to say is that post office boxes are a service provided and maintained by Australia Post - another business can't really expect to take advantage of that service just because they want to - it's not like letter boxes and the like which is provided by homeowners etc for the express purpose of accepting mail from any and everyone.

If being able to deliver to more Australian addresses is that important to them, there's nothing stopping them from providing their own box services - maybe they could all band together and fund the cost, so they can ensure no one is excluded from being able to deliver to said boxes (except for maybe Australia Post, just to spite them  ).