Stolen Packages

[toastygw.livejournal.com]

Hi Folks -

Just wondering if anyone else has had packages stolen from their house recently?  In the past 2-3 weeks I've ordered a few things online (3 packages) - of those only the one small enough to fit in my mailbox made it into my eager hands...

2 packages were left on the porch (according to USPS and FEDEX) but I never saw them.

I would suggest that whenever possible you request a signature is mandatory for delivery of your packages or have them delivered somewhere else where they will be safe.

I live on Appleton street between willow and college ave - Anyone else since an increase in missing packages lately?

Comments

[ron_newman]

I made a similar post back in July.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

This comes up every few months, as Ron noted. It'll become more common as the holidays get closer.

Luckily, DHL, the most problematic carrier in terms of getting packages stolen (the bright yellow truck and packaging), no longer delivers in the US, so the package thieves have a harder job.

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

Umm, I just got a DHL package last week. Since when do they not deliver in the US?

[jennyelfenmass.livejournal.com]

They will be shutting down their operations in the US in the near future. Link (http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2008/11/10/DHL_closing.html)

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, OK. "January 30" is a bit different than "no longer."

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/10/news/companies/dhl/index.htm

Perhaps they're still winding down operations, I'm not sure of the full details. But, yeah, they're no longer delivering within the US.

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

"But the company said it was dropping "domestic-only" air and ground services within the United States by Jan. 30."

My point being that "shutting down in the near future" is a bit different then "no longer delivering" which I took to mean as today they aren't. Looks like they're just winding down though.

[sapphira-altair.livejournal.com]

They're doing it location by location slowly until the end of January, as far as I know. My company's contract with them will cease as of the end of the month; I know another friend's company was informed that DHL will be terminating their contract as of mid-December.

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

They still have a box outside of my work building, and I saw a guy there last night emptying it. We don't use them from shipping though.

[sapphira-altair.livejournal.com]

Yup, same here - I overheard the facilities guys saying they had to figure out whether they have to take it down, or whether DHL will collect the boxes, so who knows how long they'll be around. :)

[ron_newman]

It would be pretty bad if DHL stopped collecting from the boxes but people didn't know that and kept depositing packages in them!

[sapphira-altair.livejournal.com]

Considering that this is the same company who, a couple years back, instead of taking my brand new iBook to the apartment office (as they were instructed to) left it in the middle of the breezeway of my apartment complex, and didn't collect a signature for it, I wouldn't be surprised if they just let people drop off packages that will never be collected. :)

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

Oh jeez! As Ron said, that's a bit... problematic.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I know of about three companies in the area where the contract was literally terminated day-of-announcement, including my own (not that we ever used them, because honestly they were kind of awful).

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

>SHRUG< Honestly, my assumption was based on the article combined with a few friends telling me their DHL boxes were gone. Hopefully I wasn't projecting an air of ultimate authority, because I wasn't trying to. :-)

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

And I'm telling you you're wrong. So there. :P :P No big deal, I was just confused a bit.

[ron_newman]

from DHL's web site, it looks to me like they will still do international shipping from (and to?) the US, but not domestic shipping, after 1/30 next year.

(I suspect the OP is tired of getting these off-topic comments in his/her e-mail, though)

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

Yes Ron, I do believe all of that was cleared up hours ago.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

yeah, where i work we still have quite a few manufacturers that drop ship with them.


[and also quite a few who have told us NEVER to use them.]

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything delivered to my street address in Somerville, ever. The US Post doesn't care if they get your mail in your mailbox or not; as long as it's in a mailbox (or on the porch below a mailbox) that seems to be good enough. I've seen mail left in piles on our open, unprotected porch with absolutely no regard for weather conditions. I had my neighbour's VISA bill for two weeks (good thing I'm not an identity theif, isn't it?) and I've gotten mail for people at [my address number] [completely different street].

The package deliveries are just as bad. They'll leave the packages when you don't want them to. When you beg and plead with them to leave a package, they will refuse. And (this has happened), if you're home waiting for a specific delivery, they will leave a "we tried to deliver your package" tag on your door without ringing the bell or knocking!

This is why I have a PO Box at Fort Point Station (open 7 days a week 6am-Midnight) and get any UPS/FedEx/DHL shipments sent to my office. Because I actually want my mail and packages delivered. To me.

[ron_newman]

6 to midnight only? Not 24 hours anymore?

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

Ha ha, once I saw on Day Street a letter carrier who stood at the sidewalk-edge of a patio and tossed a package at the door, like he was playing skee-ball or something! I guess walking up three stairs and across the patio was too much for him. Hope someone didn't lose their Hummels!

Mail delivery in Davis is ridiculously awful. I don't count on it for anything of importance.

[panda681.livejournal.com]

I also had a couple packages go missing and when I called UPS, they were helpful and said to call the original shipper who can file a missing package report with them. Each time, the company I had bought the things from offered to ship me a new one right away and then if the missing one turned up just to ship it back to them. I felt like this must happen all the time and they have some way of working it out with UPS. I imagine FEDEX works the same way so I would call the company you purchased these things from.

[splityarn.livejournal.com]

Yep, I had a missing USPS package at the beginning of October. Marked as delivered, the postie doesn't remember anything unusual and the Somerville post office now considers it stolen. We're on Willow close-ish to Appleton.

My only hope is that the thieves were disappointed to find a few dozen fifteen inch zippers inside.

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

Yes, I had one stolen off my porch a few weeks ago. The best part? The driver had ignored the fact that a signature was required, and left it on my porch ANYWAY. Thanks, UPS!

[truthspeaker.livejournal.com]

I just had a package listed as delivered but nothing arrived for me.

The trick is that the delivery was to work (in Cambridge).

WTF? Are these "stolen" packages actually being left in the first place?

I had a similar problem about a year back. The driver said it was delivered but they got the address wrong on the label -- in fact, no such address existed, so it couldn't have been delivered to that address.