Christmas gifts left on doorstep after mail delivery, Winnipeggers say

At least two Winnipeggers are concerned with how Canada Post delivers packages, with one woman saying her holiday order was left on her front porch and another saying her parcel disappeared sometime after it arrived on her doorstep.

Sara MacArthur says she was not expecting Canada Post to leave her parcels, which included a $600 baby stroller and some sweatshirts she had ordered online, out on her porch on Monday.

"We came home to find it sitting on the front doorstep, and someone could just come along and take it," she told CBC News on Tuesday.

MacArthur said she thought the mail carrier would have left a note saying they would come back later or she could pick up the parcels at a nearby post office.

Meanwhile, Marta Vodrey says the Christmas gifts she had ordered online were supposed to be delivered to her River Heights home last Wednesday, but the parcel never arrived.

​Vodrey said when she checked its tracking number with Canada Post on Friday, she learned the item had been shipped successfully. She believes the package was stolen while she was at work.

"It's shocking, it's sad and I'm concerned, obviously, because it's broad daylight — you know, people are around," she said Monday.

"It's more, I think, disappointing that someone would just kind of come to your doorstep and take something of yours that's of value to you."

A Canada Post spokesperson did not comment on Vodrey's experience but says door-to-door mail carriers will try to "safe drop" parcels so customers don't have to travel to a post office.

Carriers will make a safe drop if there's something nearby, such as inside a porch or on the other side of a storm door, that is sheltered from the weather and isn't visible to passersby.

Customers can ask the sender not to allow the package to be delivered via safe drop.

As for residents who use community mailboxes, Canada Post says about 80 per cent of packages will fit in the secured parcel storage spaces.

'Lesson learned'

Vodrey said fortunately for her, the company she ordered the gifts from has offered to re-ship the items, free of charge, to her workplace.

"Lesson learned for me: I will just ship things to work from now on, because I know that I'll just get it in my hands rather than, you know, risking having it just left at my doorstep," she said.

She advises others who are ordering items to request that a signature be required upon delivery, even if that means paying an extra fee.

As well, she said homeowners could post a sign on their door asking delivery companies not to leave their parcels unattended.

As for MacArthur, she said she will request that delivered items not be left on her front porch.

A spokesperson with UPS told CBC News that it has a service that lets customers select a delivery option that works best with their schedule.

If a customer won't be home when their parcel arrives, they can pick it up at one of 700 UPS-affiliated retail locations, also known as Access Points, across Canada.

As well, UPS says it offers "signature required" services if customers want a signature at the time of delivery.

A FedEx spokesperson said the company's policy is to require a signature from the recipient of a package.

FedEx carriers will not leave parcels unattended if no one is home, the spokesperson said. Instead, a note will be left with the nearest pickup location.