Parcel Theft

[jmh119]

Just got this notice today from the Wash. Co. Sherrif's office. Thought I would share.
James


Washington County Sheriff's Office
Community Notice




DATE: December 14, 2009
FROM: Patrol Commander Jeff Mori
SUBJECT: HOLIDAY DELIVERY CAUTION


Your Sheriff’s Office is fielding numerous calls about stolen deliveries.

According to our Property Crimes Detectives, thieves in Washington County are already shopping for parcels left on your porch by delivery services. If possible, please do not authorize package delivery without a signature, or ask a trusted neighbor to watch for expected deliveries and hold them until you return home.

The problem is not isolated to one area, and in some cases, it appears that the thieves may be following the delivery trucks.

Please watch out for your neighbors and report any suspicious activity by calling 9-1-1.

For more information about your Sheriff’s Office, visit www.co.washington.or.us/sheriff.

Read More

 

[Natty Bumpo]

Following delivery trucks......what a way to fill your Christmas list.

 

[56kninja]

Note to self: Collect packages on porch with brand new shotgun.

 

[Walter Sobchak]

Note to self.... Don't move to Washington County.
(Something of this nature could never happen in my quaint neighborhood)

 

[56kninja]

Note to self.... Don't move to Washington County.
(Something of this nature could never happen in my quaint neighborhood)

An effective tactic as well. My neighberhood is a good one.. But I could see this form of crime striking very easily. It's pretty common to walk down the street mid day and see packages sitting on the porches.


Which is why I check every couple of hours if we're expecting packages and I'm home.

 

[STNOSU]

This happens every year, when I worked a couple of holidays for UPS as a Holiday Helper we would see people follow us but we were not allowed to do anything about it. The drivers told me it happens and that the insurance should cover it.

As a side note you should see how they treat Dell computers...

 

[SonicBlue03]

This happens every year, when I worked a couple of holidays for UPS as a Holiday Helper we would see people follow us but we were not allowed to do anything about it. The drivers told me it happens and that the insurance should cover it.

As a side note you should see how they treat Dell computers...

That's why I had my new Dell (Alienware) delivered to work. I figured they'd pretend to treat it better if they knew it was going to a business.

It's unfortunate the theft happens, but like STNOUS said it happens every year. Probably a little more frequent this year than others given the financial straits some find themselves in, and Oregon in particular has taken a vicious beating in terms of unemployment.

 

[Cougfan2]

Thanks for the heads up on this. I just called my brother and told him not to ship anything just to be dropped off at the door. I don't mind going to the post office or the UPS terminal to thwart the scumbag contingent here in Hillsboro.

 

[Gunner69]

Note to self.... Don't move to Washington County.
(Something of this nature could never happen in my quaint neighborhood)

You forgot the sarcasm smiley.. unless you truly believe your little bedroom community is crime free... You might want to give SPD a call and see just how many cases they have had so far this year...

 

[husker]

Just put my plan to work.

Rattle snake, Check

Brown box, check

Fake senders address, Check

Box on pourch and wait.

 

[Will]

It happened to us last year. The security camera recorded Fed EX drop a package and less than a minute someone walked up and took it. It wasn't much, stuff from my parents but thinking about these jerks following the Fed Ex truck eating my Mom's cookies burnt a whole in me. They weren't caught and a vid that honestly expresses the ugly people in life.

 

[STNOSU]

Yeah I know for us at our apt complex UPS and USPS take packages to the office, but our new Fedex driver is lazy and just dumps packages at the door. Luckily our complex is in a decent area of Corvallis. For UPS its kinda of funny seeing the helper on a bike with a trailer hitched to the back delivering the packages for the holidays.

As for Dells it doesnt matter where its delivered, they get thrown and kicked all over the distrubtion center and on the trucks. When I asked about it they said that they are packed so good that it wont hurt them.

 

[SonicBlue03]

As for Dells it doesnt matter where its delivered, they get thrown and kicked all over the distrubtion center and on the trucks. When I asked about it they said that they are packed so good that it wont hurt them.

True on the packaging. I had to remove my desktop from some of the most comprehensive packing I've ever seen. The machine was 60lbs, so I think if they tried to kick it they probably didn't do themselves any favors. Box showed up in great shape and everything looked like I'd picked it up off the shelf.

Plus I told our Dell rep our future hardware order was going to depend on how their products are properly prepared and delivered. I wouldn't be surprised if he had someone from Dell sit on the FedEx truck all the way here. Losing a million bucks would kinda sting.

 

[TonsOfOregonBrass]

I ask everyone who ships to me to require signature. I am a little

 

[soberups]

As for Dells it doesnt matter where its delivered, they get thrown and kicked all over the distrubtion center and on the trucks. When I asked about it they said that they are packed so good that it wont hurt them.

As a 23 yr UPS driver I will weigh in on this one.

Do we treat packages roughly? Yes. We handle up to 16 million packages per day that travel over many thousands of miles of conveyor belts and chutes. Its no different from any other production line. And it is a statistical fact that a certain percentage of these packages will get damaged.

We could reduce the number of damaged packages by hiring more people and slowing the entire process down...but then our rates would go up. Like anything else in life it is tradeoff, a balancing act between quality vs. quantity.

I can tell you that the cheapest shipping insurance one can buy is a new or like-new box of the proper size and weight rating, with adequate packing material and tape. Something like 95% of the damages in our system occur to items that have been packed with insufficient padding, in used boxes that were never designed to be used for shipping. Recycling is a great thing...but not when you are shipping a heavy or high-value item.

I deliver a lot of boxes that look like they were thrown off of a roof and used for target practice on the way down...because they were packaged that way by the original shipper who was too cheap to spend $3 on a new box for a $200 item. But of course, I am the one that the customer blames for it...until I show them the 3 or 4 old labels on the various sides of the box that indicate how many other times that box has been sent around the country.

And as far as Dell, or Gateway, or any of the big-name electronics retailers go...their packaging is designed to take a beating so that the contents dont. They have spent a lot of $$$ on research and design for their packaging because we are very clear in our shipping guidelines that anything in our system must be able to survive a 3 ft drop onto one corner...which can happen when the box falls off of the shelf due to the delivery truck hitting a pothole or swerving to avoid a traffic hazard. That isnt negligence or intentional mishandling on our part, it is just a reality of life in the shipping industry.

 

[Gunner3456]

Well just this week I got a package from Newegg.com with a new high quality computer monitor in it. Professionally packaged by the manufacturer, of course.

It had a hole punched dead center in the box, clear into and badly damaging the screen.

Am I to think that Newegg gave it to the shipper that way? Am I to believe that the shipper accepted it in that condition? I don't know what to believe.

Luckily I was home and the driver rang the doorbell. The instant I saw the box I hollered and waved and stopped the driver. I refused the package and it's on it's way back to Newegg.

I don't know who's fault it is. I'm just getting a credit and I went right down to Costco and bought another monitor. Enough's enough.

 

[86-0134]

Note to self.... Don't move to Washington County.
(Something of this nature could never happen in my quaint neighborhood)

i would move to silverton but i dont want to be offended by your transvestite mayor's revealing clothing styles

 

[Scrammer]

Worked tech support for a computer company that delivers products to your door.
Loved the guy that called for support for his "slightly warm" new computer, as he is being assisted by a tech, another tech calls the local police at the source of the call. The service tag at tech support reported the computer stolen.

 

[elsullo]

I lost a FedEx package a year ago. They have excellent package tracking so I eventually learned all about the shipment and delivery.

My package was dropped outside the door around 3:00 PM (when the schools get out.) That door is to a lobby entrance to a SIXTY-unit apartment building, where a few kleptomaniacs live. That door is right ON the eight-foot-wide sidewalk, NEXT to a cafe for low-income folks, with a busy BUS STOP in front! Next to that door is the electronic voice apartment number call unit---just push a button and my phone rings for voice announcement and door-buzzing to open it. Both I and my apartment manager were home at the time, but the FedEx contract delivery person did not even BOTHER to push a button to get the door opened even to toss the package into the lobby, or to notify me that my package was lying on the SIDEWALK!

So I NEVER will order anything from a seller that uses FedEx again! And I preach that resolution to all of them.

My friendly UPS driver brings everything into the building and upstairs right to my door. He always at least KNOCKS even when no signiature is needed and he can just drop and go. I have never lost a package with UPS................................elsullo