Outrage over Australia Post auction
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Australia post have been slammed for auctioning off undelivered wine, surf-boards and TVs as the postal service grapples with delays.
The postal service commonly puts unclaimed items up for auction, but a sale in Western Australia has angered Facebook users.
Ever since the start of the pandemic, Australia Post have experienced delays. As warned on their website, the pandemic “has led to a major surge in parcel deliveries, as well as causing disruptions to delivery operations”.
Many mail and parcel processing facilities have been affected by temporary closures. There are also fewer flights available to transport parcels.
Nevertheless, the most recent auction has angered those on social media.
“This is totally unacceptable. Most of these items were lost by Australia post and now they’re trying to sell them back to us. How disgraceful,” one person said.
“So this is what’s going on. Australia post ‘loses’ heaps of parcels then miraculously ‘finds’ them only to auction them off,” another added.
“Maybe they should just deliver the parcels. I don’t know how many times in the last couple of months they have said we don’t have your parcel and then it has been delivered that week,” a third said.
The items for sale include TVs, computer monitors and alcohol. Along with assorted kitchenware for $70, a pack of 25 caps for $115 and an 11-foot tall surfboard for $725.
“If an item can’t be delivered due to incorrect addressing and can’t be returned to sender, it is sent to a Mail Redistribution Centre,” Australia post said in a statement to The Daily Mail.
“At the MRC, the item will be opened, catalogued and stored for two months. This catalogue is accessible by our contact centre team who will use it to reunite customers with their missing mail.”
“If the two-month retention period lapses and the item hasn’t been claimed, all identifying markings are removed and the item will be auctioned with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to charity.”
In rare circumstances, when the original intended recipient recognises an item listed at auction, the customer service team works to establish “proof of ownership” and return the item.
Last month a photo emerged showing an Australia Post warehouse with a huge number of undelivered parcels. The photo was taken inside Australia Post‘s Sunshine West distribution warehouse in Melbourne.
Australia Post recommend all Christmas parcels be sent by December the 13th for them to arrive on December 25th.