What to Do If a Package Is Stolen on Your Porch
Whether you’re shopping for gifts for other people, taking advantage of seasonal offers, or experiencing a pandemic, you may have a surge in parcels being delivered where you live. Shopping online is convenient – and now often necessary – unless the package is stolen.
Several years ago, San Francisco had a weeklong heatwave, with temperatures around 90 degrees every day. This heat is normal in the south where I grew up, but in San Francisco, where it never gets hot and no one has air conditioning, it was reason enough for the city to send out emergency alerts to the phones of everyone in the city. It was also reason enough to finally break down and buy a tiny air conditioner for my stuffy top floor apartment. I ordered the air conditioner through Amazon Prime, and even though I was at home and anxiously awaiting its arrival, the UPS driver decided to leave the package on my busy SF Street and it was stolen right away.
At least I think so. The package was marked as delivered at 5:05 pm, and when I descended at 5:08 pm it was nowhere to be seen. So now what? Theft of a package is a huge pain and it happens quite often, especially in big cities like New York and San Francisco, where you often do not have a veranda or a separate place for delivery and you have to rely on the patience and kindness of your delivery service. to actually call you when they arrive (mine didn’t call in this case).
So what are you doing?
Look for your package
This may sound obvious, but if your tracking information says your package has arrived and it’s not on your porch, look for it. This was not the case for me, but depending on your home, the delivery man may decide to put the package somewhere rather than right in front of your front door.
The UPS website recommends checking “especially on back porches, bushes, garages, trellises, or other places that might protect your package from theft or weather.” It is also suggested to ask neighbors who may have mistakenly received your parcel.
Think about where you could place the item if you were a courier driver who wanted to hide it. In some cases, you will also see somewhat detailed information in the tracking, such as “left in the garage” or “left on the back porch.” The UPS website also states that “Drivers can also use plastic bags to protect your package from the weather,” so watch out for plastic bags that might otherwise look like trash.
Contact your salesperson
Once you are confident that the package is MIA, there are a few things you can do next. At this point, it is best to simply contact the seller. I contacted Amazon and they actually told me that my air conditioner hadn’t arrived yet despite being tracked and that I could expect it the next day. I thought it was great news until I came and went the next day and the package never arrived.
However, when I contacted them the next day about the problem, they immediately offered to send a replacement or refund my money. Since the replacement did not arrive until after the heat wave ended, I opted to get the money back.
But not everyone will refund your money. I have a long history of shopping on Amazon and this is the first time something has been stolen from me. If you’re used to contacting them about missing packages, I can see that they were somewhat more hesitant than my sales rep to offer refunds.
However, larger companies have better access to shipping companies than the average person and can help make it easier to talk to FedEx or UPS about what happened to your shipment. It would be nice to at least mention the problem to them as soon as you understand what happened.
Contact the transport company
If you can’t get over the seller, try a shipping company. All major shipping companies often offer package insurance. If they can’t help you track it down, they can help you apply for package insurance (or at least point you in the right direction) so you can recover the value of your lost item.
Depending on the company, they may also speak to the driver and determine that your package was indeed left in a strange place, such as under your back deck or behind a potted plant on your porch.
Talk to your credit card
If for any reason the other steps here don’t work, please review the card agreement for the credit card you used to make your purchase. In many cases, purchases are protected by your card agreement, so if you can’t get a refund or replacement elsewhere, you can get one from your card provider.
Avoid future problems
Theft of a package is one of those things that happens quite often, most likely to you. In the future, consider sending your packages to the office rather than home (if you are still going to the office) or to a neighbor who will be at home when you are away. Amazon also offers the option of sending items to Amazon lockers, although this is not always an option depending on the size of the package. You can also check authorized delivery locations where your package can be placed until you reach it.
CCTV cameras or video intercoms can also come in handy. I have seen dozens of videos of people stealing packages, so this is not a completely reliable plan, but a visible camera located in front of your house may be enough to deter a potential bandit from attacking.
This story was originally published in 2017 and was updated on February 2, 2021 as per Lifehacker’s style guidelines.