Fake signatures, courier packages left at the neighbours', all part and parcel of service

Friday, 25 May 2018

'I've had NZ Couriers climb a gated fence to access my property rather than leave a card,' claimed Nell Smith-Hughes. NZ Courier did not want to comment.

Fake signatures, disappearing items and parcels thrown over fences have left some Kiwis wondering whether they can still trust courier deliveries.

In particular, the 'signature required' option is supposed to offer security, but Aucklanders claim couriers are using it as an opportunity to practise their own autograph.

Destri Head, a Snells Beach resident, said a driver for Post Haste not only forged her partner's signature, they also left the parcel at an address across the road.

'My partner's name is Daniel Ward and they signed for it [with] 'D Ward,'' Head said. 'I got the print-out of the receipt [and] they just guessed what the signature might be.'

**READ MORE:

Several courier companies have been called out by the public for taking shortcuts in delivering items.

* Courier driver alleged to have stolen 'big swollen satchel' of cash

* NZ Post errors 'maddening' to Auckland neighbourhoods

George Tubby said Courier Post threw this box of frozen desserts over a fence, even though it required a signature.

* 'Snail mail' postal experiment finds it takes a letter eight days to travel 200 metres**

Head was united with the item thanks to an honest neighbours but, after a number of calls to the company, the only explanation she was given was that a fill-in driver had been responsible for the delivery.

The box received damage, even though it was marked fragile.

She said the company insisted the parcel 'was was delivered to the correct address'.

'Not true!' Head said, adding there were 'no apologies or anything.'

A copy of the fake signature used for the delivery of a parcel to Destri Head's address.

Whangaparāoa resident Rob Mortensen also had an off-track experience with signature-required items when a recent purchase went missing even though it was recorded as 'delivered'.

After a number of phone calls, Mortensen was still unsure where his phantom polo shirt had landed.

'The courier said it was signed for by someone who I've never heard of,' he said.

'Then the courier said it was left under the barbecue … but if it was left under the barbecue, why was it signed for?'

Mortensen said the courier company couldn't answer that question and he'd been forced to order the item again.

'I don't know whose barbecue they left it under, but it certainly wasn't mine.'

George Tubby regularly received courier packages for work and said a package last week had been thrown over a fence without a signature and marked as 'delivered'.

The frozen desserts had been sent through Courier Post with an overnight sticker, perishable label and section asking for name and signature.

NZ Post General Manager Mark Baker said he was sorry to hear of Tubby's experience and they would investigate the case further.

Baker noted perishable items were prohibited from being sent on his company's network.

NZ Couriers said they did not wish to comment and Post Haste did not respond with a 24-hour deadline.

Tubby said courier drama was an ongoing problem but believed some companies were doing their job properly.

'Just today we had a courier from PB Couriers who delivered directly to our door and waited two minutes while the person ran down the hallway,' Tubby said.

Overall, though, positive experiences appeared to be on the decline, according to comments on Neighbourly.co.nz.

Margaret Stine from Birkenhead, Auckland said her signature had been forged 'numerous times', including one occasion where the 'signature required' part of the box had been blacked out by the courier and left in the rain by an unused back door.

Nell Smith-Hughes, also from the North Shore, said she'd had an issue with couriers letting themselves onto her property.

'I've had NZ Couriers climb a gated fence to access my property rather than leave a card,' Smith-Hughes said.

Other complaints included couriers arriving but not attempting to ring the doorbell, items left in the rain and a number of deliveries that never arrived.