Packet stolen from drop bag

[ysbrydtawel]

I normally work at a post-revision office, but for about a month I've been loaned out to a pre-revision office to cover someone's sick leave.

Anyway, this round is a foot round, and there are several different drop points around it where a driver leaves my bags every day. The specific drop point that is relevant to this is in the stairwell of a block of flats - and the door is locked.

Now, there are 2 bags left there - you get there, take the first bag and do a 30 minute loop, then you take the second bag and head on. I had a Signed-For for somebody in this block of flats, they weren't in so I left them a card and put the packet inside the 2nd bag (so I wouldn't have to carry it round that loop). By the time I had done the loop, the packet was gone.

I tried the door again - still no answer, however the P739 card was no longer in their postbox (you can see through a little glass window).

I obviously reported this to my manager and we agreed that the resident must have looked through the bag in the stairwell and taken the packet (perhaps they didn't even see why it would be a problem).

Well, this was all yesterday. Today, I knocked on the door and a girl answered, and I asked her if she had taken a packet from the bag yesterday and she said she hadn't. She just had the P739 card... she said sometimes the front door is left off the latch so anyone could get in... but she didn't seem at all bothered when I told her the parcel had gone missing. She just told me she'd claim for it... but first she made sure I wouldn't get into trouble (I told her I wouldn't).

Now, this smells a bit fishy to me. This is in a relatively quiet area of town, not rife with thieves, I'd have thought. I reckon (and my manager agrees) that she ignored the doorbell, waited until I was doing my loop, then went and took the parcel. She then ignored the doorbell again when I came back, so she can make a false claim against the Royal Mail.

What do you guys think? Also, if this is the case, wouldn't it be unsafe to continue leaving drop bags there if there is a dishonest person in the block of flats who knows where the bags are left?

[arnold cheshire]

i can not believe this is true two bags in a block of flats

[steven100]

This is safe in rm management eyes .

[clashcityrocker]

It would be interesting to see the security risk assessment that took place before deciding that bags can be left unattended for that long, while a locked HCT can only be left for 15 minutes at the most.
It is simply embarrassing.

[krussel]

I doubt it was her. My money is on another resident in the block.

Unfortunately this sort of thing does go on with un official drops which is fine until things go wrong. Some managers throw it back on the driver or postie so be aware.

[dvbuk55]

Well it's a great deal more secure than many of the drops there used to be - behind garden walls, open porches, in a hedge. One I had was in a toilet block at a factory - the ladies, believe it or not, considered to be more secure than the gents. It turned out not to be as secure as it was thought.

[ysbrydtawel]

I doubt it was her. My money is on another resident in the block.

Unfortunately this sort of thing does go on with un official drops which is fine until things go wrong. Some managers throw it back on the driver or postie so be aware.

The manager there is decent, he won't do that but he won't do anything else either and they'll carry on using that drop spot.

Also I reckon it was her - she didn't seem at all phased when I said her parcel had gone missing, and it was just hers that went missing (there were 3 in the bag).

[ysbrydtawel]

Well it's a great deal more secure than many of the drops there used to be - behind garden walls, open porches, in a hedge. One I had was in a toilet block at a factory - the ladies, believe it or not, considered to be more secure than the gents. It turned out not to be as secure as it was thought.

One of the drops is next to an open porch, in more or less plain view. The usual postie who I'm covering doesn't use any of the drops... she drives her own car round the whole walk, every day.

[catch22]

then why didnt the other go missing too? why wold she just take one when she could get away with all of them... what a ridiculous situation

[ysbrydtawel]

then why didnt the other go missing too? why wold she just take one when she could get away with all of them... what a ridiculous situation

The one she took was actually for her. She might have planned it... she knew it was coming, so just ignore the doorbell, wait till the postie goes away, steal parcel then claim for it.
Her 'morals' might distinguish between stealing her own parcel, and stealing someone else's.

[wiganpostie]

then why didnt the other go missing too? why wold she just take one when she could get away with all of them... what a ridiculous situation

She might have got caught in the act stealing three, which she wouldn't have been able to explain.. if she was caught 'stealing' the one addressed to her though, she could just wave the P739 in whoever's face and say she was just retrieving it to save herself a trip to the DO.

[catch22]

and how would she know it would be left there?

[ysbrydtawel]

and how would she know it would be left there?

Well she'd know the drop bags are left in the stairwell of her block of flats because she'd walk past them every day - so I suppose she just decided to look in case it was there, and Hey Presto, there it was.

[britwrit]

My take? She took her packet but was too embarrassed/guilty to admit she rummaged through your bag to get it. One of those things where kids do stuff on impulse ("Great! My stuff is here!") and think through how it might look later (i.e. like stealing.)

[steve1873]

This is incredible - why, when we are as a company being told that the integrity and security of the mail is THE priority and us doing anything to jeapordise this can and often does result in dismissal are,

a) management (and presumably the CWU rep) allowing unsecured drops like this?

and

b) why, as is the delivery person not refusing to have anything to do with it? If I was placed on a delivery and a drop point was identified to me that I personally felt was insecure, I would be approaching management and ensuring they put other measures in place.