Thread: Australia Post - value for money?

Originally Posted by DiscoClax

* rant warning *

So, had a minor glitch with my new Nanocom and after a bit of to-and-fro it was decided it was best to return it to Cyprus to have the boffins look at it and rectify as required. Fair enough, these things happen. So, I packed it up well and my missus trundled off the the Post Office to sort that out. After having my wallet lightened by just over $100 ( ! ) for the premium, 5 days or less, insured, registered, etc service. Ow, ow, ow.... but at least it'll get there quickly and it's covered. Their non-premium offering was only $15 cheaper and had no delivery timing at all. Just "more than 5 days". And that's for a parcel about the size of a tissue box weighing in at under a kilo.

That was Thursday a week ago (03May). Still hasn't arrived! Latest tracking shows it arrived late on Friday (11th) Cypress time and was cleared promptly by their customs within two hours. So I guess BBS will see it on Monday. So much for "5 days or less". And that was quoted as a true 5 days, not 5 business days, or approximately 5 days give or take. It was clearly stated as being delivered "within 5 days or less". So it should have arrived on Tuesday last at the latest by my reckoning.

I'm getting used to Aussie Post's relaxed attitude to delivering anything using their standard services, but I paid over $100 for their premium service and really feel that I got stooged. Next time it'll be DHL, FedEx... anyone else. Would be cheaper, vastly more convenient and they stake their reputation on getting it there as promised. If they don't deliver on time you can open a claim and seek some sort of redress.

So.. does anyone think I have any come-back at all with Aussie Post given they didn't go close to meeting their contracted timing? Or do I chalk this up to experience and just avoid them like the plague in future?

I think you will find once it leaves Aus it will have nothing to do with Aus Post it will be in the hands of some forwarding company .
Don`t like your chances for any compensation just suck it up in short

Once it's winging out of the country it's petty much out of AP's control. I'd say AP will use that as an out.

Aussie Post burned up two days before it even left their sorting facility in Melbourne. No detail on when it first went on a plane, but it wasn't processed until Sat morning.

As you've both said though, just suck it up Princess. Maybe I just needed a rant. I will, however, contact them and leave some feedback. Probably do no good but rolling over and just taking it isn't in my DNA. Hopefully they'll send me one of those insipid surveys?

Try living out here & relying on anything either arriving or going by mail!
Some stuff turns up so fast you nearly cark it from shock,
Other stuff takes actual weeks,
And yet other stuff just disappears into the vapour of AP.

I just can't figure out the system (assuming there is one?) some stuff comes through Mt Isa, some Cloncurry & some Cairns?
Just had $3000 worth of pre-paid phones go somewhere but not here.
Supplier got another shipment out ASAP but we were still without phones to sell for 2 weeks while we waited, because we are used to waiting, before we realised the order had disappeared.

Bloody annoying to say the least.
They don't call the Gulf "The Land of Wait Awhile." for nothing!!

Jonesfam

My opinion is that all Australia Post services are sub-standard. Even letter delivery times are appalling. Take these examples. Norman Park PO to Ferny Hills 6 days, to Upper Mt. Gravatt 4 days. Cannon Hill PO to Manly West (two suburbs apart!) 4 days. I could have walked and hand delivered the letters in less time. My West Australian customers consistently complain about parcel delivery from the eastern states. They say they get parcels from USA and UK in less time. AP charges for any overseas mail are eye-wateringly expensive as per the example of the OP.

The US Post Office have provided me with consistently good service far cheaper than Fed-Ex and UPS. I get all my small tools delivered from the USA by post office in flat rate boxes. All o'seas parcels from the US are air mail and a 20lb flat rate box is US $95. They usually take 8-10 days out of New Jersey. Compare with FedEx US$125 for two special sealed beam light units for a classic car. OK, they arrived in three days but $125? The two lights were US$17.

In the late 1960's AP instigated a programme called Operation Post Haste and letters between major centres were to be delivered within two business days. What has happened since? I send greetings cards to my grand-children in Sydney and I have to allow 8 days for the cards to get there on their birthdays.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

My West Australian customers consistently complain about parcel delivery from the eastern states. They say they get parcels from USA and UK in less time.

\.

Maybe they are using the cheapest road freight option? We send heaps of stuff over to the West and it get's there in a day or 2.
but some locations can take longer eg. Road freight to say Wadeye NT can take 14 to 16 days basically because it's in the middle of no where, mail truck probably only comes once a week. it's subject to road conditions and whether the driver wants got go fishing that day etc etc. Certain things have Aviation bans and cant be flown in so must go road.

It takes 10 days to get stuff from UK, US 21 days sometimes to me, so some are luckier.

Not just AP. About 10 weeks back I bought some records off the discogs site. All were to be delivered to Toronto. First from east coast took a week. Not bad for Canada post I have been told . The others were from LA and Chicago to Toronto. The LA package about 10 days. The one from Chicago, the closest of the three is still in transit , having travelled to Miami , LA , Miami again then Quito Ecuador, back to Miami , and as of Friday somewhere in Canada customs. Who knows what will happen when I put them together for posting to either Brisbane or Melbourne?

AusPost in NSW. Totally unreliable and totally unpredicatable. Teh only thing you can rely on, is that you cant rely on them.

Their mega expenisve sorting facilty, your mail may come out that day, it may come out a month later. Its insane and if you need anything reliably or urgently AusPost shouldn't be depended on at all any more.

Its a shame, because they used to be really good. Now, try to lodge an investigation ticket for lot mail and my experiences are the although there is a system, there is actually no way that you can access that system, its actually impossible as a recipient.

Hopeless. Even when bills turn up that are due the next day or the first you hear is when you get an overdue notice.