The very fact that an estimated 23 million Americans have had at least one package stolen from their front porches or mailboxes is scary. With 77% of consumers wanting their online shopping purchases delivered to their homes, package theft is a problem that is unlikely to go away any time soon.
Package thieves or “porch pirates” will tell you that package theft is the perfect crime of opportunity. They can clearly see when a package is sitting on a porch or doorstep. When they are planning to steal packages, the visibility of the packages makes it easy for them to determine which homes to target. Sadly, the capital city and federal district of the United States is not spared from brazen incidents related to package theft.
With detectives from the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department’s Sixth District seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating suspects in Package Theft offenses that occurred more than once in the Sixth District, it is high time that this issue is addressed proactively.
What are the common package problems encountered by consumers in Washington DC?
Package theft is a staple of the e-commerce age and is more common in some states than others. The crime is difficult to track and there is no rock-solid way to know how often “porch pirates” strike, and upping the punishment is a controversial move.
Wjla.com has video footage of 2 men caught on camera stealing packages from porches in Southeast DC. Elaborating further the article goes on to add “The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is asking the public’s help in finding two men who stole packages off the porches of residents in Washington D.C.”
The key parties involved in getting a package to a consumer are the Seller, the Delivery Company, and the Buyer. Unfortunately, if the package cannot be retrieved, there are no clear laws that put the onus on any one party. As a whole, the Buyer is largely put in the position to resolve the issue by reaching out to the Seller or making a claim with the Delivery Company. The Buyer is also responsible for reporting the crime to the local police.
Fox5dc.com reports of “Northeast DC neighborhood fed up with serial package thief.” People living on Isherwood Street in Northeast, D.C. say they can’t catch a break – or keep a package.
Annoying instances of package theft like these are on the rise, thanks to the convenience of shopping online and having packages delivered to your home, which in turn has created an opportunity for thieves.
On the other hand, misspelled, incomplete or outdated addresses, incorrectly completed order forms, package redirections, customs, and poor weather conditions attribute to missed deliveries. The most common reason being the unavailability of the recipient.
Consumers do end up waiting for longer duration for re-delivery of their packages in case of a missed delivery scenario. Also, an additional task of following up with the delivery agency is a cumbersome process in itself with a hectic schedule in place.
Neither retailers nor delivery companies are responsible for packages after they have been dropped off and may or may not offer to replace the product. Therefore, it is up to consumers to get their act together in order to avoid having packages stolen in the first place.
Precautionary measures undertaken by recipients to avoid Package Theft and Missed Deliveries
Many buyers who see the inconvenience and financial loss of package theft are beginning to take preventative measures. A report by Value Penguin and LendingTree reveals that consumers are doing several things to combat porch piracy, including:
- Setting up tracking notifications
- Installing a doorbell camera
- Requiring a signature
- Purchasing package insurance
- Changing the delivery time and place
There is no denying that these measures are helping consumers and they are successful to a certain extent in combating issues related to Amazon missing packages, FedEx stolen packages, UPS missed deliveries & USPS lost packages. However, they are not one hundred percent effective in preventing unfortunate instances of stolen packages and missed packages altogether.
The easiest way to avoid package theft is simply not to have packages left on your porch in the first place. This alternative may not be practically possible to follow every single time, as there can be instances where you may not be able to physically receive parcels directly from the delivery agent. You can miss the delivery agent dropping the parcels while being caught up with something urgent. Unfortunately, that very blink of an eye moment can cost you your packages.
The best possible solution is to utilize package receiving and package acceptance services. These are nothing but physical stores or shops that are located closer to you, who promptly receive and hold packages on your behalf to be picked up by you at your own convenience.
Stowfly’s functional Package Receiving and Package Acceptance Services in Washington DC
Stowfly with a widespread network of package acceptance services is an ideal spot for you to choose as a secondary address to receive your packages. These package acceptance and package receiving locations in Washington DC can be anywhere from a restaurant or coffee shop in your neighborhood or even a convenience store in order to facilitate an easy pick up for you on your way back home from office, travel or work.
Booking Stowfly package receiving service is easy. All you have to do is find a location that is convenient for you in terms of distance and trading hours from your home or office and let them begin receiving your packages there.
Reasonably priced rentals of $4 for each delivery or $7.50 per month for a subscription keeps it easy on the pocket while safekeeping your precious parcels at the same time. Along with this every Stowfly booking is insured up to $1000 to give you that extra peace of mind.
The safety of your packages is extremely important for Stowfly, therefore a unique pick-up PIN code generated specifically for you and no one else can pick up your package from our location partner unless the correct pick-up PIN is shown to them.
Stowfly’s package storage makes no distinction while receiving packages from Amazon, UPS,Fedex,USPS and any other package delivery companies. This makes your job easier as you can have parcels from multiple shipping companies delivered at one single location and pick them up at one-shot.
Package woes are now history in Washington DC with Stowlfy package acceptance diligently involved in the task of package receiving for you.
Check this blog for more details on how travels can benefit from Stowfly package receiving and package acceptance services all over the USA.