Australia Post customer fumes over ‘shocking’ parcel ordeal

An Australia Post customer has lashed out at the postal giant online, after waiting two months for her package, which arrived damaged.

The woman shared photographs of her item with the 8,000 members of the Australia Post Complaints Facebook group on Wednesday.

“It’s been two months and I finally got my parcel but it has a damaged box - I hope everything is ok inside.” she said.

Her photos show a large box that has been partially cling-wrapped, with bursting flaps and multiple holes and tears.

The woman told Yahoo News Australia that despite her package’s appearance, the contents of the box were luckily still in working order.

She also claimed that the person who sold her the product was worried about the packaging, and said that the seller “won’t use Australia Post again”.

The woman also slammed Australia Post’s delayed delivery, telling Yahoo News: “realistically, taking just short of two months is shocking".

Earlier in November, the woman shared a separate post to the group regarding the transport of the same item.

“My parcel was sent on the 17th of September. I lodged a complaint but now they have closed the case - I can’t fathom why it is taking so long,” she said.

“It sat in South Australia for three weeks, then got to Sydney and was sent back - it’s now just sitting there, ridiculous.”

Australia Post’s Executive General Manager Gary Starr has also previously told ABC Breakfast that parcels had been moving interstate due to Melbourne’s Covid-19 restrictions.

He also said that new processing facilities in South Australia and Perth were intended to be utilised to ease demand.

"We will use the firepower across the country and make a decision around what will be the fastest way to process and get the parcel to its final destination,” he said.

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‘Worst I’ve seen’: Group responds to delivery fiasco

Australia Post Complaints group members have added quite a few comments to the woman’s posts about her delivery.

“It looks like the seller put the item in without any protection? I could be wrong but from the picture where there are holes I can't see any packing,” said one person.

In response to an image of her parcel’s re-routing, a group member commented: “Congratulations, you have the worst one I’ve seen so far; travelling interstate 4 times has got to be a record.”

Another group member took to the comments section to share a similar experience with their own parcel.

“Mine arrived in similar condition yesterday after 7 weeks at Dandenong South depot,” they wrote, sharing a photo of their item.

“Dusty, wet, squashed - it looks like it’s been used as a football.”

Australia Post responds to delivery gripe: ‘Something’s gone wrong’

A spokesperson from Australia Post has told Yahoo News that they are sorry to see what happened to the woman’s parcel.

“While the vast majority of our mail arrives safely and on time, something has clearly gone wrong here and we apologise,” the spokesperson said.

“We always recommend that parcels are packed appropriately in sturdy undamaged packaging suitable for what's inside, and when reusing packaging all previous address labels and barcodes should be removed to avoid items being incorrectly scanned, which can cause delays."

“Australia Post accepts parcels enclosed in plastic wrapping only if it meets certain requirements as some plastics can cause issues with reading address labels, such as domestic cling wrap which is not suitable for wrapping packages.

“Customers with concerns about their deliveries are encouraged to get in touch with us via our digital channels or 13 POST (13 7678) for help and support.”

The Australia Post website also has a handy section which advises customers on how to safely package their parcels.

The webpage encourages senders to “help us get your item to its destination in tip-top shape”.

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