How to stop your parcels being pilfered

Sunday, 14 July 2019

With online shopping driving a rise in courier deliveries, consumers are being urged more than ever to protect their parcels from potential theft.

The advice comes after reports of parcels going missing from Nelson homes, leaving customers without the items that they paid for and no clue as to who had taken possession of them.

Parcels need protection to keep them from 'porch pirate'.

One woman, posting on Stuff's Neighbourly website, said while waiting for an expected delivery of a parcel to her front door, she checked the tracking of the package online and realised that it had been delivered.

However, on arrival the parcel was found to be missing.

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Consumers are being reminded to be vigilant over where deliveries are left and how they can protect themselves from theft.

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On reporting the incident to police, she was told that other parcels had similarly gone missing and a person on a push bike was seen following couriers around, taking packages before they were taken inside by the intended recipient.

New Zealand Post delivers well over half of all parcels bought online in New Zealand.

A police spokesperson said that two reports had been received so far in relation to missing parcels. However, such incidents were a reminder for people to protect themselves from this type of offending.

She advised consumers to have packages delivered to a place where someone will be home to receive or sign for them or a secure location where they can be left.

'If you're not going to be home when the parcel is delivered, it is best to arrange to collect your parcel from the depot, or have the parcel redirected to the address of someone you trust.'

Police also advised people to be smart when disposing of packaging, so as not to advertise any new purchases.

Any suspicious behaviour should be reported to Police, such as a vehicle following a courier van in an unusual manner or an unexpected visitor knocks on your door asking for someone you don't know.

New Zealand Post is delivering well over half of all parcels bought online in New Zealand.

A spokeswoman for the organisation said while there had not necessarily been a growth in theft of parcels, there had been a noticeable growth in the amount of parcels being delivered due to online shopping.

Its eCommerce report 'The Full Download' showed 1.8 million New Zealanders chose to shop online last year, spending a total of $4.2 billion.

The 2019 report was undertaken by NZ Post due to courier delivery now surpassing mail as the largest contributor to its revenue, while online shopping grew eight times faster than shopping in-store in 2018 at a rate of 16 per cent versus 2 per cent.

'We encourage customers to contact us via our website as soon as possible if they do not receive a parcel they are expecting. For security and convenience, we have a range of delivery options available for our customers, including the ability to have parcels directed to a one of our nationwide parcel collect locations. You can also give us the authority to leave your parcel somewhere safe every time we deliver something and you're not home.

Fastway couriers national franchise manager Carl Simons said his company had not experienced any noticeable increase in parcel interception, although 'it is something we are more conscious of given the increase in parcels we are moving through our network'.

'Online e-commerce shopping has transformed our sector,' he said. 'We now transact 80 per cent to and from residential addresses and 20 per cent for business, when it used to be the opposite.

'The key is to make sure we follow the receiver's and sender's instructions. Fastway Courier drivers always make sure parcels are left in safe places and we also take photos of where we leave the parcels.

Simons said it was important as a courier service provider to explore new and creative ways to allow customers to easily manage how their parcels are delivered such as SMS messaging and its recently introduced Parcel Connect agency system.

'Fastway aims to get the parcels delivered to where you want it to be delivered too, such as your place of work rather than home. If that's not possible we recommend secure lockable mail boxes as well as getting the items delivered c/o their closest Parcel Connect agent.'

'In New Plymouth, for example, we have partnered with the local Pak n Save so customers can do their groceries, buy a Lotto ticket and pick up their parcel. It's really easy.'