Parcels being left on doorsteps and in wheely bins is "reckless and irresponsible," a leading journalist has said.

On Moncrieff today, The Irish Times’ Conor Pope said there are “systemic failures” within Ireland's urban package delivery system.

The consumer affairs correspondent believes this is due to the scrapping of the signature requirement for packages during the COVID pandemic when there was a shift towards contactless delivery.

Mr Pope said he has been inundated with bad package delivery stories from the public after he wrote about it on X last week.

“Hundreds of people contacted me to say they too have had the experience of seemingly reckless and irresponsible deliveries,” he said.

“I did a little more digging and one of the reasons for it is some delivery companies pay their drivers per package delivered.

“Drivers are under real pressure to deliver so if they’ve driven 10km or 5km to your house and you’re not in, and they drive away with the parcel still in their van – they’re not getting paid for it.

“It’s much better for them to leave it at your doorstep and hope you pick it up when you get home.”

Have you had online orders left on your doorstep open to the elements and to anyone who might want to thieve them? And have you noticed the practice increasing in recent times?

— Conor Pope (@conor_pope) April 2, 2024

Unfortunately, Mr Pope said this leads to delivery drivers taking risks with your package.

“People contacted me to say they had phones and computers left at the doorstep - books and clothes too,” he said.

“The Irish weather is not brilliant so if you leave something outside in a flimsy old cardboard box for an hour or two hours and it starts lashing rain – there’s a good chance that product might be ruined.”

Packages on a doorstep. Image: Beton studio / Alamy Stock Photo

Leaving packages in wheely bins has also become a major issue for consumers in urban Ireland.

“Some people who contacted me only realised the products were in the wheely bin when they put rubbish in the bin,” said Mr Pope.

“A couple of them only found out the products had been left in their wheely bins after the bins had been collected by refuse companies and they were gone.”

Couriers

Mr Pope said he has personally experienced couriers taking risks with packages at his Dublin 7 home.

“It’s a lovely part of the world but not exactly crime-free,” he said.

“Six or seven parcels have been left on my doorstep in the past two or three months and I live on the street, we don’t have a driveway.

“Sometimes they’re hidden by a plant pot or sometimes just on the doorstep but none have been taken and I walk around my neighbourhood and see similar parcel placement everywhere and nobody has taken them.

“Maybe we’re all becoming much nicer and leaving the parcels for those who they are intended for.”

Retailers

Mr Pope said retailers are forced to take the hit on lost packages.

“They basically have to take it on the chin because it’s not worth the time or hassle of arguing with the courier company,” he said.

“I’m not giving out about individual delivery drivers; they’ve been given a job to do and they’re under huge pressure a lot of the time.

“It’s more the system and the systemic failings that are in place that make people's parcels and packages vulnerable.”

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Main image: A package left at a doorstep. Image: Kevin Britland / Alamy Stock Photo