Australia Post has found itself on the wrong side of the law.

Together with its subsidiary, StarTrack, they are set to pay $2.9 million in compensation to business customers for lost or damaged parcels.

This comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed that the Australia Post Group (Australia Post and StarTrack) had denied compensation requests from businesses over a four-year period ending in October 2022.

The ACCC stated that in some instances, Australia Post Group informed customers that they were not eligible for any compensation.

Australia Post will be compensating eligible business customers for lost and damaged parcels. Image source: Australia Post.

This is in direct violation of the Australian Consumer Protection Law, which stipulates that customers may be eligible for compensation 'if a product is not of acceptable quality or a service is not performed with due care and skill, fit for purpose, or supplied within a reasonable time'.

The Australia Post Group self-reported this breach of consumer law in May 2023.

The failure to provide compensation affected approximately 10,500 business customers and less than 1,000 recipients of StarTrack deliveries.

Business contract customers, or businesses that have a contract with Australia Post Group for the delivery of at least 2000 parcels per year, were particularly impacted.

'Business contract customers who sent goods to customers without a business purpose which were lost or damaged in transit with the Australia Post Group have been entitled, and continue to be entitled, to consumer guarantee rights,' ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.

'The failure by Australia Post Group to provide business customers with the remedies they were entitled to is extremely concerning, but we acknowledge that Australia Post self-reported this conduct to the ACCC.'

In response to this issue, Australia Post Group has initiated a remediation program to compensate eligible customers.

They have also implemented a compliance program and will train staff to avoid future breaches.

Customers will be contacted within two weeks or will automatically receive compensation.

According to an ACCC spokesperson: 'Eligible customers may receive a credit to their account with Australia Post Group, a credit to their nominated bank account, or be sent a cheque.'

For people seeking more information or wanting to make a claim, Australia Post Group has also launched a claims portal.

The ACCC has also warned people to be vigilant of scams following the announcement and said Australia Post Group will not be asking for email or text message responses or sending clickable links.

This news comes after Australia Post warned its customers that it would 'never contact anyone via SMS or email asking for personal or financial information or payments'.

'We’re seeing a greater public awareness of scams and cybersecurity. However, we encourage customers to be aware of how to spot a scam, including looking for a non-Australia-Post web address and unusual sense of urgency,' a spokesperson said.

Australia Post also urged customers who receive suspicious messages appearing to be from the postal service to report them to [email protected] and delete them immediately.

You can read more about AusPost’s warning here.

Key Takeaways

• Australia Post Group is set to pay $2.9 million in compensation for lost or damaged parcels.
• The ACCC found that Australia Post Group wrongfully denied compensation claims from businesses over a four-year period up until October 2022.
• Australia Post Group self-reported the breach of consumer law in May 2023 and will compensate around 10,500 business customers and recipients of less than 1000 StarTrack deliveries.
• Australia Post Group has set up a remediation program and a claims portal and will be proactively contacting eligible customers or providing automatic compensation.

Members, have you experienced receiving a damaged parcel from AusPost? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

 

[Terry Woodyatt]

We had a parcel left on our front verandah. We live on a main road and the parcel was c
Early visible by all. We were not at home that day and the parcel went missing some time after delivery. We did not get home until very late that night so didn't know it had been delivered until the following day when we recieved the message saying it had been delivered. I went out the front but couldn't find it. We contacted the company who sent it and was told by them delivery confirmation from aust post had been received by them so we would have to take it up with australia post. This was now the 2nd parcel we had go missing from our front verandah. When we contacted aust post on both occasions we were told that they had been left in a secure spot and they had photomproof the parcel had been de
I've Told them I don't consider leaving a parcel on a front verandah in clear view to anyone walking down the main road past our front yard no more than 20 foot away from the verandah. Their answer was the photo says it was delivered so there was nothing they could do about the lost parcels. Both parcels were worth a few hundred dollars. Where and how can I put in a claim formcompensation please. Thanks in advance.

 

[siameezer]

We had a parcel left on our front verandah. We live on a main road and the parcel was c
Early visible by all. We were not at home that day and the parcel went missing some time after delivery. We did not get home until very late that night so didn't know it had been delivered until the following day when we recieved the message saying it had been delivered. I went out the front but couldn't find it. We contacted the company who sent it and was told by them delivery confirmation from aust post had been received by them so we would have to take it up with australia post. This was now the 2nd parcel we had go missing from our front verandah. When we contacted aust post on both occasions we were told that they had been left in a secure spot and they had photomproof the parcel had been de
I've Told them I don't consider leaving a parcel on a front verandah in clear view to anyone walking down the main road past our front yard no more than 20 foot away from the verandah. Their answer was the photo says it was delivered so there was nothing they could do about the lost parcels. Both parcels were worth a few hundred dollars. Where and how can I put in a claim formcompensation please. Thanks in advance.

The compensation is only being paid to businesses and not customers. The company you bought the items from should have taken it up with Australian Post, sadly.