Online shoppers warned to watch out for Christmas parcel thieves
With Amazon on the doorstep and the buying frenzy underway, daylight robbery is rife in the suburbs with thieves helping themselves to parcels.
New research has found 17 per cent of Australians have had parcels or mail stolen, and it's problem that's expected to only get worse.
With the arrival of Amazon in Australia and one-off sale events such as Click Frenzy and Black Friday, online shopping is booming.
Last year, Australia Post delivered more than 34 million parcels over Christmas - a record that will almost certainly be broken this festive season.
There are steps shoppers can take to ensure they get what they paid for.
Fair Trading Minister Matt Kean told 7 News he doesn’t want to see customers not getting what they paid for.
“People need to be careful when shopping online. The last thing we want this Christmas is for people to be ripped off.”
“It's common sense just to make sure that you're home when the delivery's going to arrive.”
Australian Retailers’ Association Executive Director Russell Zimmerman advised online shoppers to be more logical with their delivery options.
"You can have the parcels delivered to a box, you can have it delivered to a post office, or you could have it delivered to work,” he suggested.
The advice could save you time and money.
Keen online shopper Stephanie Rice told 7 News she has had packages taken at least three times.
“It makes me not want to order anything online that's remotely important.”
Ms Rice has been trying to get a refund for missing items for months, but says it’s “a big hassle.”
“Because it was marked as delivered, the company didn't want to send me a replacement or give me my money back because they've met their obligations.”
