I'm really sorry to read about your troubles May. Further to what I have already posted, my suggestion is to generally balance effort and rewards. It's easy to say not to lose sleep and get upset over a missing a parcel. But I am a lot like you and do lose sleep over these sorts of things. This is why I don't trust anybody any more. To err is to be human; we don't live in a perfect world; and that sort of thing. I do trust the system though. Unfortunately this means having to do a lot oneself and not relying on others. People in business are obliged to abide by relevant laws and policies an...

Yes, Callum is right (refer below to Terms and Conditions about deliveries). Too late now though. And a lot of mucking around. But it might prove worthwhile in future. Keep in mind that an Authority to Leave (ATL) is not intended, as Callum is saying, to get the courier to pay if they leave it somewhere else. They might leave the parcel in the designated place and it still disappear. Unfortunately, then you won't have a leg to stand on. So best not to apply for an ATL at all. An ATL is intended for a parcel that requires signature to be delivered without signature. This is risky. I wouldn't...

My sympathies May. Yes, I think that's how the refund will pan out. Keep us posted. Can't blame the sender for not including delivery instructions. Can't blame the courier either for leaving the parcel. If I was you then I would have included delivery instructions to not leave the parcel outside but to leave a note in your letter box instead. Paying extra for signed delivery is also advisable. Above all else, do not pay anything until everything is sorted out. I know this is a real hassle for everyone but less of a hassle if things go wrong. Have you considered making use of the NZ Post Sho...

Thanks David, It's a pity we can't all use a plain and simple system. Collect is an option woefully underutilised. Trade Me should give it a nudge IMHO. Nudge Theory is a tried and proven concept and part of modern behavioral economics. From what you are saying, TM should at least Google it. I was nudged into using collect when ordering from a well-organised major online supplier who offered collect as an option. I wasn't aware NZ Post Shops offer this service before that and have never looked back. Satisfaction guaranteed.

OK. So the general consensus is that I stick with what I have been doing and that is to ask sellers which courier service they intend to use before placing any bids in order to know which delivery address to specify if/when paying. It's just that emailing sellers is a bit of a chore for both of us and thought there must be a better way. The other thing I wanted to mention is that I use collect because it's reliable and secure. I personally recommend it from experience. I've been through what a lot of other people have gone through, are going through and will go through. I pity them all. Jus...

Hi Callum. Good points. I was thinking of the average punter who uses the same old courier over and over again. After my posting my comment I thought that the system could remember the courier service from the previous listing and assign that as default. Call it Artificial Intelligence if you like. Then I thought that a preferred courier could be assigned at the seller level and default to that. Either tweak will streamline the listing process without impacting on big players like you who need agility. All I am trying to do here is work around the problem of missing parcels. Collect is the ...

I don't trust anyone. I direct all parcels to the local NZ Post Shop (COLLECT) and pick them up in person. Trouble is they only accept parcels from NZ Courier Post and turn all other couriers away. There are two other collection points shared by the other couriers. I have to ask sellers which courier they use before buying anything so that I know which delivery address to specify. It would be much better to see in the listing which courier service the seller intends to use. All it would take is to add one question during the listing process. Perhaps select from a drop-down list just to keep...