Bring back chopping off hands for thieves.
this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2024
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It baffles me that "delivering" packages like this is a standard practice over there. I'm in the EU, and if I'm not home by the time the delivery is attempted, the company would call and ask when is a good time to try again, or would leave the thing to be collected at an office.
I'm in the EU and I don't have to be present for anything.
My guess is that wherever they is more prevalent they would require signatures/presence.
It used to be that they would not leave packages unattended at a residence, they would leave a note on the door about an attempted delivery. I suppose with the rise of online shopping things had to change. I don't see American delivery companies bothering with trying to contact you/retrying deliveries, they just want to get out as many packages as possible... and there is a LOT they have to deliver in a day.
You do have a lot of choices in how you want your items delivered depending on the delivery company. Most of the have apps/websites where you can choose to have them hold the package, or deliver it to a specific location on property. By default packages will be left at the door.
Personally I have never had a problem with porch pirates, and if a package is expensive or important I will have the delivery company hold it and pick it up there.
The seller can mandate a signature. I've had to sign for valuables like laptops, phones and ammo. (That last one was to prove I'm American.)
So it's possibly cheaper for the seller not to require a signature (since it's an extra service), but it's no biggie if the package gets stolen? Seems logical...
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The other thing that's quite common is to require proof of delivery. Always fun because now the delivery driver has to take an awkward photo of me holding the box.
🤣damn
Yeah, same up here in Norway. If I'm not home they will offer to leave the package at a collection point, or drop it off at my place of work. As far as I know, they're not allowed to just leave it at my door step and hope for the best.
When I had my phone delivered it was from a special courier, not the normal post. I had to show ID in order to accept the delivery.
(EU)
In Germany you have to give permission in the tracking menu to have them drop the package off somewhere else. I live in an apartment building so I usually tell them to drop it in the hallway of the building, since there's usually someone at home to at least open the door downstairs if I'm not at home. I've seen packages outside the front door only once here and it is not a place I'd ever choose.
In my region, I see packages in front of doors in a lot places 😂 guess I live in a peaceful country.
We can even leave cars unlocked, and they don’t get stolen, but we don’t, out of fear that a kid may loosen the handbrake in play..
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We UPS drivers at least get signatures for the damn things. Who would have thought the delivery drivers getting paid shitty wages would be working with thieves to augment their wages lmao
That is why apple is sending iPhone using UPS, I guess..
Really? Where at? Every phone delivery I’ve gotten via UPS does a ding, dong, dash (and sometimes not even ringing the bell). No I don’t have a release signed.
I have to either redirect it to UPS store (hard to do since it’s overnighted and I don’t want to pay an additional fee), or make sure I’m monitoring my camera for motion alerts all day.
FedEx too, even for packages marked signature required I've waited at home for them and the driver leaves the package and rushes off before I can even get to the door.
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I really do think UPS does a better job than FedEx overall, but I gotta say the last time UPS delivered a high ticket item to me, it was supposed to be signed for. The driver dropped it off, gave a knock on the door and immediately left. Did not wait, didn't leave a tag, didn't take it back. I reported it to them. I was across the country at the time and the original delivery estimate was supposed to be two days later, after my return home. It's possible Best buy was the one that fucked up and gave wrong info to UPS though.
In the UK you’re not getting a phone delivered to your house and left without providing a pin to the delivery driver.
I’m all for leaving low value items outside but phones and stuff, come on people.
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Why do package delivery companies in the United States seem to just leave the package on the doorstep when the person isn't home. That seems like such an obviously stupid thing to do.
Pretty much everywhere else the package delivery companies would either take the product back with them and deliver it on another day or contact the person via the contact details they have and request a safe place to leave it. Most delivery companies will let you specify this when you make the order.
Or if it's not bin day they can just put it in the recycling bin.
Because if the delivery requires you to sign for it, the delivery driver will just walk up to your house and slap a “we missed you” sticker on your door and get right back in his truck without even attempting to deliver it. If they even bother getting out of the truck at all that is.
We don’t have enough PTO time to take entire days off from work just so we can be home for a delivery that doesn’t show up over and over.
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I'll tell you why. Time.
I used to live two hours away from a UPS delivery hub. it could take weeks for me to get a delivery from UPS after I was supposed to get it.
they used to not deliver packages unless you were there. I missed the first delivery, the next two times they never showed up and said they did.
over two months later I finally had to drive two hours to the distribution hub and claim my package.
I had no option of who to ship my package with. that was entirely left up to the seller.
I now live 15 minutes away from the same distribution hub and it STILL takes a month extra to get my packages.
this is why I tell every delivery service to just leave it at the door.
our options suck, sellers refuse to use USPS because we have a corrupt bitch running it that's running it into the ground, and I just don't have the time to wait 3-4 times the shipping length for products I bought.
Wow, you must live in the Bermuda Triangle or something. The latest I've had a package be delivered is like 2 days, and usually my packages get here early. It doesn't matter if it's USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, OnPoint (or whatever it's called), or some other random carrier, I've never had a package stolen, lost, or significantly damaged. FedEx seems more likely to be a day or two late, Amazon, UPS, and USPS are usually a day early, and the others are less consistent.
That said, I live pretty close to an Amazon warehouse, my USPS office seems to be a regional hub, and I'm just outside the area for the worst FedEx in the state. It's probably because I'm just outside a larger metro area of a smaller state, but honestly, my delivery service rocks.
In Germany they give it to your neighbor. Kinda drives me crazy, especially for security hardware
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Aren't these things trackable? Don't phones have an IMEI and can't they be remote-bricked if stolen?
I mean, police don't care, but Apple could render these useless if they wanted to.
Not completely bricked, but they can be blacklisted from all carriers
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Thinking when the "leaving packages before door" will stop (by shops refusing to send it that way due to cost related to stealing)
It's a bit of a rock and a hard place for then. If you won't leave my package and I have to be there or go somewhere else to pick it up? I'm not ordering your shit.
That's pretty much how the rest of the world works, either delivery to pickup points or delivery to person only
Really? At least 90% of packets I get are deposited without signature.
I think it is necessary to make a difference between delivering cheap stuff and a new iPhone or laptop.
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I for one prefer pick-up spots as there's "always" someone there, convenient for the driver and myself.
Big steel box with a one-way door and keyed access anchored into concrete next to your door, with a sign saying to drop packages into it. That's what I've started seeing some people do. Basically, a personal mail deposit box.
Won't they just put the package in front of the box?
Yes, if they are working with the thief. I'm dumb. It's still early.
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Generally, phone delivery requires the residents signature at the time of delivery. At least that has been the case with T-Mobile and Verizon in my experience. Does AT&T not require signature?
It's in the article. Most of the time they don't, but in areas where theft is an issue they do. But I'm guessing they haven't caught on yet to change the signature policy.
It’s unfortunate that the signature requirement isn’t a standard policy for all.
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This just happened to a friend of mine on Wednesday. Had a new phone from AT&T delivered, and was almost immediately taken from their porch. Their doorbell camera caught both the delivery and the theft.