AusPost customer in tears after ‘irreplaceable’ items destroyed

A devastated Australia Post customer has slammed the postal service online, after 30 ‘irreplaceable’ items were damaged in transit.

Posting to the Australia Post Complaints Facebook group, the woman said she had posted 30 vintage Enid Blyton books, only to have them returned in a shocking state.

“Apparently this left Australia and made its way to Belgium and the damage was reported in customs when it came back to Australia,” she said, posting a photograph of a waterlogged box.

“These books are irreplaceable, it doesn’t matter who is responsible, no amount of compensation will be enough.”

“They’re all individually wrapped in plastic and from the eroded corner of the box I could see 3 of the books had their protective plastic torn and the books were literally leaking water onto the counter,” she said.

In a comment, the woman stated that the vintage books were published between 1958 to 1963, and were carefully covered in ‘Fragile’ tape prior to sending.

She also confirmed that each book was then bubble wrapped and placed in a black insert, but she was unable to see any bubble wrap in the package when it was returned to her.

The woman has since posted a comment saying that she has been in touch with Australia Post who agreed to pay compensation for the damage.

‘Choked up’: customer reveals toll of damage

Among the many comments on her original post, the woman has told of the emotional toll of the incident.

“I actually choked up when I saw it,” she said.

“I have Addison’s disease, so my body doesn’t make energy. And whenever I get upset, excited, shocked or anything that uses any amount of energy, I go into shock.”

“Luckily I had my support worker with me,” she said.

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The woman also said that the staff at her local post office are aware of her condition, and commended them for their soft approach to revealing the damaged package to her.

Upon reading these comments, a thoughtful commenter offered to replace the books.

“Do you have a list of what they were? I also collect Enid Blyton books and have a few left,” the Facebooker commented.

“Thank you so much for your kind gesture, but I had finally built up the courage to sell some of my own collection, and these ones were posted to a buyer,” the poster said.

Damage slammed in comments

Facebook users have slammed the condition of the package in comments, speculating on the circumstances surrounding the damage.

“Someone has gone in for a look-see it seems, when it was scanned for drugs and sharps at customs perhaps,” one person said.

“Australia Post sometimes leaves cages outside in the rain due to lack of space in the warehouse,” claimed another.

“Fragile tape doesn't mean anything, Australia Post is not legally obligated to be careful despite the labelling,” said a third.

In response to comments, the original poster said: “if I were to open or shred a letter not addressed to me it is a criminal offence, but this is okay?”

Australia Post comments on incident

An Australia Post representative has confirmed with Yahoo News that the customer’s package dilemma has now been rectified.

“We have been in touch with our customer and have provided compensation for the damaged item and postage costs,” they said.

“The customer is also able to collect their parcel to determine if any of the contents can be salvaged.”

“We always recommend that parcels are packaged appropriately, with adequate protection to prevent damage,” the spokesperson said.

“Our drivers and posties are working hard delivering a record amount of parcels, and while we do not offer a fragile service, the vast majority of items make it to their destinations safely, and our processing and delivery teams work hard to handle every item with care.”

The spokesperson also encouraged customers with delivery concerns to get in touch with Australia Post through their digital channels or by calling 13 POST.

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