Package twerps?

[ellkaiesse5.livejournal.com]

Has anyone else seen groups of kids stealing packages during the day? A package of mine disappeared last week (the third since Christmas!), and I got an extraordinary call from DHL that made me wonder if this is an epidemic around here. The woman who called said that her delivery guy passed by my house (on Holland Street) again 10 minutes after delivering my package, noticed that it was gone, and spotted a group of "kids" hanging around nearby. Apparently the DHL guy "knows people" in the Somerville police dept., who somehow knew who to talk to, and they actually found the little twits and got my package back! I'm thrilled to have it recovered, but I can't expect to get that lucky every time, and I'm pissed that apparently deliveries aren't safe around here. I read someone's post about missing packages from the Teele Square area, and I'm wondering if the culprits are the same...

On a side note, I'm moving this summer (hopefully to a place out of the range of the mail thieves!) and I'd love any suggestions of who to contact for nice, modern apartments in the Davis area. I love the look of some of the loft complexes around the T and Minuteman trail, but I'm having a hard time finding info about the cost of renting!

Comments

[kidsmokes.livejournal.com]

what street do you live on?

[m-b-w.livejournal.com]

The post says on Holland Street.

[kidsmokes.livejournal.com]

oop. i should slow down.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Holland is such a high traffic area (and most of the porches are pretty close to the street), so I would strongly recommend using an alternative method for package delivery. It's just too easy to swipe and keep walking.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I'm placing an order for DHL delivery right now, and getting my baseball bat all warmed up, mwah hah hah hah.

[ellkaiesse5.livejournal.com]

Water balloons, perhaps? ;)

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

I also live in a high-traffic area and get anything bigger than my mailbox delivered to work. So far, so good.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

From what I understand, it's somewhat regular practice for people to follow DHL trucks on their delivery routes and steal packages. DHL in particular is singled out -- it has something to do with their franchises being privately owned and insurance policies.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Either that or mail thieves aren't terribly bright, and the big yellow truck is easiest for them to see.

[ellkaiesse5.livejournal.com]

I think these particular thieves actually pulled their heist with the truck parked right across the street - it sounds like the delivery guy parked so he could go to the bank. Idiots.

And yeah, I had the same story from UPS at Christmas when a gift I'd ordered went missing - people follow the trucks and help themselves. :/

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed nobody's swiped a package off of my doorstep yet, considering we seem to get every goddamn trashpicker in Somerville.

[lidiya6.livejournal.com]

oh-oh, I have something coming to my house in north Cambridge later this week(from DHL). I usually get things shipped to my work, but these are 2 shoe racks which will be heavy, so I didn't want to deal with bringing them home. should I try to change the shipping address to my work one?

[ellkaiesse5.livejournal.com]

Might be smart. If my work allowed me to receive personal packages, I'd definitely do the same!

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

If at all possible have them shipped to your office/workplace or to that of a friend.

Happens in Winter Hill too

[winterhill.livejournal.com]

We see it in cycles. Packages are just fine for a while and then the "kids" remember to swipe them off the porch when they are bored. With 6 neighbors in the building, and one woman who gets a lot of packages, mine is a place I would case if I was looking for packages. I usually get delivery confirmation if possible, because then the package people have to give it to a person. I've also tried speaking directly to UPS and the USPS about my preference not to have packages left but that doesn't seem to stick. But it SUCKS and I'm fascinated that someone at DHL knows someone in SPD and the culprits are known to the police. Can't they talk to the parents and make it their business too?

Re: Happens in Winter Hill too

[ellkaiesse5.livejournal.com]

The DHL guy stopped by yesterday and left the package with my boyfriend, who was home. He was hesitant to say too much, but he seemed to know where he thought these kids were hanging out, and he said he was going to stop by and say something to "the manager". I don't know who these people are, but I hope they've learned the error of their ways after their police visit last week and maybe the DHL guy (apparently a big, burly sort!) stopping in to have a few words!

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

Who can I talk to to get more information on this? I mentioned it on another board and basically got back "you're full of shit unless you can provide statistics," and I'm sure there must be statistics somewhere! But DHL wouldn't want to divulge them, and the cops aren't allowed to - where should I look?

package twerps

[farmgirl1k.livejournal.com]

Last evening two women came to the door and asked my husband if he was [name] and said that they had found these two open boxes on Murdock Street that were addressed to him. They handed him the boxes and the stuff was still inside! Apparently whoever had stolen them wasn't interested in his eBay purchases, so they just dumped it. However, we didn't get ANY mail yesterday either, which makes me nervous. We've had other boxes go missing, and with no response from the Post Office. Anybody know where to find a cheap security camera?