NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – We’ve seen them flung, swung, and thrown onto porches, but now some Middle Tennessee residents have a new complaint about package deliveries.
News 2 spoke to neighbors from Goodlettsville to West Nashville who said packages are being delivered outside of mailboxes and even left near the street, some out in the rain.
“Come get me, I’m free,” Everett Head said of the not so special deliveries.
It’s becoming a regular issue for Head and his neighbors.
“It’s got worse since the pandemic and I guess it’s cause they are probably short handed like everybody else,” he explained.
Now he keeps his eyes on the road and makes the trek, a good distance from his front door to retrieve his packages.
“It’s 1/10 of a mile, just a hair under 1/10 of a mile,” he explained.
Porch pirates were already a concern, but with deliveries left like this, packages can get snatched right off the street.
“I don’t want my packages left at the mailbox. It’s bad enough they might take them at the front porch,” said Head.
He also said a FedEx package for his son was found sitting on his neighbors mailbox in the rain.
“It was sitting right here in the rain, no bag,” he pointed while showing News 2 the damaged box. “It was soaked, just soaked. When I picked it up, I kind of grabbed it from here and water just done dropped out of it.”
It’s an issue neighbors in West Nashville told News 2 they have been dealing with as well. A resident in Hillwood said her package was left on top of her mailbox, and across the street a package was left at the bottom of her neighbor’s mailbox near the street.
“People are depending on their packages. When there’s a package out here and they get stolen off front porches you know they are going to get these,” said Head.
Around 260 million packages disappeared from porches across America over the last year, according to a report by safewise, and their data shows no signs of online shopping slowing down. With more packages come more problems.
“These guys work hard,” Head said of the delivery drivers. “They got a big job to do and if they are short handed they’ve got a bigger job. I understand that, but if they are in a hurry they should just drive up and sit it right there on the sidewalk. That would be a lot better than it would be at the bridge.”
News 2 reached out to FedEx, UPS and the United States Postal Service about their delivery policies.
FedEx released the following statement:
“The safety and security of our customer’s shipments is a top priority. Customers can utilize FedEx Delivery Manager to provide delivery instructions, schedule a delivery, redirect a package to a different address, request a vacation hold on a package or send a package to the nearest FedEx Office location. Any customer who suspects that a package has been stolen should contact their local police.”
A UPS representative told News 2 the standard practice is to leave deliveries at the front door out of sight, but in rural areas it is up to the discretion of the drivers. They also have a free service “UPS My Choice” that gives customers delivery options and alerts.
USPS sent the following on the company’s behalf:
The security and sanctity of the mail is of paramount importance to the U.S Postal Service.
Regarding policies on where packages can be left, please know that some senders (especially businesses) may utilize a special endorsement, instructing USPS delivery personnel to leave an item, if no one is available to accept it. Postal Service employees will leave packages, if they feel the area is safe and secure, and if the mail piece does not include special instructions. Carriers may also leave an attempted delivery notice for the customer with further instructions for retrieving their item.
The Postal Service offers a free feature, Informed Delivery, that provides customers with a preview of their incoming mail. Customers may also use Informed Delivery to track packages and leave specific delivery instructions for their USPS carrier. More information can be found here.
