Australia Post customer disappointed with 'saturated' delivery
An Australia Post customer has lashed out after she was delivered a parcel that had been water damaged.
The woman, who says she lives less than two hours from Perth, wrote on Facebook her parcel was damaged by water during the delivery process.
"Can it really get any worse?" she said.
"They sealed [an] already saturated item in plastic and attached letter to explain what has happened."
In the letter sent to the woman, Australia Post informs her that regrettably due to bad weather conditions, her item was damaged by rain as it was transported through the mail system.
"Australia Post sincerely regrets having to deliver your item in this condition and apologises for any inconvenience caused," the letter said.
"We would like to take this opportunity to assure you that Australia Post takes this seriously and its obligation to ensure the efficient delivery of all mail and has various safeguards in place to protect the integrity of the postal system.
"Incidents of this nature are extremely rare and not taken lightly."
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The woman said in her Facebook post the letter informed her she could take the parcel to the nearest post office to make a claim if it was damaged.
She didn't however understand why she had to make a claim when Australia Post had admitted it had been damaged.
"Everyone can see the packaging is soaked and then you seal it up in plastic [and take] two weeks to deliver, I wonder if it's damaged, really?" she said.
The unhappy customer added her local post office was a community postal agent, a branch that often operates out of another business like a general store.
According to Australia Post, they offer basic postage assessment, stamp sales and over-the-counter mail acceptance and delivery.
The disgruntled customer claims her only option to was to travel half an hour to "make a claim they have already admitted fault to".
"Time and fuel worth more than the item," she wrote.
"Really, Australia Post, disappointing."
An Australia Post spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia something had "gone wrong" in the delivery process.
"While the vast majority of mail arrives safely and on time something has gone wrong here and we have already been in contact with the customer to apologise and advise of appropriate actions to address the situation," the spokesperson said.
Customer's slam 'ridiculous' service
Other customers also expressed dismay at the customer's experience, with one dubbing it "ridiculous".
"That is really poor," another said.
"These people need to be brought to task," somebody else added.
"I have had an ongoing problem with them and they use every excuse in the book to get out of it and treat you like you are stupid. I am sick of them."
The WA woman is not the only customer to have received damaged goods from Australia Post.
Last week, a frustrated Queensland resident says an irreplaceable, century-old artefact had been destroyed by staff from Australia Post after her package was "thrown" at her door.
She claimed the vinyl record she ordered arrived with obvious damage to the packaging and was snapped clean in half when she opened it.
In August, a customer claimed several Christmas presents arrived completely destroyed when she mailed them with Australia Post.
In June last year, a man who ordered a LCD panel for his computer had it delivered in a box that had been punctured.
Does Australia Post compensate for damaged items?
The postal giant says on its website it exercises due care and skill when delivering a package.
“However, the nature of postal services is such that circumstances may impact on the successful delivery of your article,” it says.
“If your item is valued over $100, you should purchase Extra Cover which provides compensation for loss or damage for up to $5000 (or $500 for some services).
“Should your item be lost or damaged, and you haven’t purchased Extra Cover, you may be entitled to compensation of up to $100 and a refund of postage.”
Australia Post says claims are assessed on a case by case basis.
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