Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
Franklin launched into his "something is wrong" bark a while ago. I went to look out the living room window and expected to see a cat. Instead, I saw three police cars and a dilapidated truck stopped in the road only a few yards from my palace.
I spied with my little eye a police officer going door-to-door, so I went outside to try to find out what was going on. An officer told me that they had caught "the group" with the truck. They had stolen the stuff in the back (furniture, from what I could see) from "around the corner," and then they were going around stealing boxes left by UPS at houses in the hood. The police did not have any packages with my address on them.
I am not going out to take photographs. I don't want to get in the way of what appears to be an ongoing investigation.
I'm grateful to Franklin for informing me about this bad behavior. He probably saw the whole thing.
All I can tell you is that this business of stealing packages seems to be gearing up along with the holidays. Watch out!
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
My motto as an editor: Authors are the authority on their work. I'm a full-service editor. For a reasonable fee, I'm your writing coach from the first suggested revision to the correction of the final typo.
Glad nothing of yours was taken, Janie. Good boy, Franklin. Here they steal anything that isn't nailed down. Stay safe, Janie.
ReplyDeleteMore happening in your town than mine xx
ReplyDeleteMy town has a million people and a highly transient population.
DeleteI've seen many articles about this becoming a common thing. To think that people are so brazen as to walk right up to someone's door and steal a package . . . I'm glad you had nothing stolen and are safe.
ReplyDeleteI live on a couple of acres with 300 homes. UPS and other delivery services leave porch packages daily and I've never had one go missing. Keep those crooks down by you.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Franklin will be subpoenaed to give his testimony about the theft.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning. Packages are disappearing around here.
ReplyDeleteBravo to Franklin! I hope he got an extra treat :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Glad they were found and arrested!!
ReplyDeleteWow I am sorry that happened. Good boy, Franklin!
ReplyDeleteThat is a big problem where I live as well. I'm in a development of 3000 homes. Packages, lawn and garden equipment, bikes, whatever is left out in the open, is getting stolen. They catch one thief and there's two more to take his/her place. Yes, women steal too! It's very sad and probably why Amazon wants to be able to deliver packages inside homes. My thought is that soon homes or mailbox posts will be designed with some kind of package chute. Or maybe I should invent that? lol
ReplyDeletePlease, invent it. It's a brilliant thought.
DeleteThat's pretty rotten, stealing people's packages. Glad you have Franklin there to keep you abreast of what's going on.
ReplyDeleteFranklin earned his kibble today!
ReplyDeleteThe package stealing is going on in my neighborhood too and it's pathetic. I have to sound the alarm on something and I hope people will join me in contacting the major delivery companies because, at least in my area, the UPS and the FedEx drivers are NOT ringing doorbells when they drop packages at the front door! Over the last few months, since July actually, I have received numerous packages and each time, I've been home and each time, the doorbell hasn't been rung. No knock either. I was expecting a very important package back in July, something that could've been a bad situation if stolen, and I called the UPS customer service number. I explained the situation and they transferred me to the local route supervisor and I told him his guys weren't ringing doorbells and we have a lot of package thefts in the neighborhood. I had 2 packages coming. He said he'd talk to the driver. The first package arrived and it was just dropped at the door, without any notification: no doorbell, no knock. I called the supervisor back and told him, "Hey, your guy didn't listen to you." He'd talk to him again. And then the next day, my other package (the critical one) arrived. Same thing! WTF?!
ReplyDeleteSo I am now on a mission to get to the corporate headquarters of these companies and talk some sense into them, that they need to stress the importance of training their people to ring the damn bells! I'm going to send a certified letter too, alerting them to the fact that that I have made several complaints and if their drivers continue to drop packages without knocking or ringing the doorbell and something of mine gets stolen, I'm holding them responsible for complete and full reimbursement.
If you are experiencing this same problem, please consider contacting the corporate headquarters of both UPS and FedEx. (Thankfully, my local USPS carrier always rings the bell. YAY for the USPS!).
I'm curious: are any of you having this problem? Obviously people that aren't home when deliveries are made have no idea if their doorbells get rung or not, but for us folks at home, I'm wondering if you are experiencing the same thing...
Michele at Angels Bark
My mailbox is at the front of my apartment building. Despite this, I absolutely never use the front door! I have a sign attached to the inside of a window on my sun porch, which is in the front of my building. It specifically instructs anyone who has a package for me to bring it to my back door. And unfortunately, UPS is notorious for just dropping things off -- sometimes in the front, and only sometimes in back as instructed -- without bothering to knock. I'm always concerned with possible theft, so I find this practice to be infuriating. The local branch of the USPS has been informed that anything too large for my mailbox is to be held for me at the post office, and even though I have to make a special trip for such items, I know the item is safe. No such luck with UPS. I usually insist that the item to be delivered has to be signed for, but UPS drivers have been known to sign for items themselves!
DeleteFedEx rings the bell AND knocks when they leave a package. The last time I got something from them it was very heavy. The delivery person actually waited for me to come to the door and then put the box in the house for me. UPS and USPS don't ring or knock. Another problem I have with UPS and USPS is that they leave packages directly in front of my storm door. I can't get the package without knocking it over when I open the door. Sometimes the package is marked FRAGILE, yet they still leave it where I can't get it without knocking it over. It's true that I can go out my backdoor, open the gate, and go to the front door to get the package, but it's very difficult to open my gate and sometimes the packages are heavy, which is hard on my back. Michele, I'll join you in requesting a doorbell ring or a knock. UPS drivers used to wait for someone to come to the door. Now they drop the package and dash away. I think they're under orders to "save time." It doesn't matter to UPS if our packages are stolen.
DeleteThanks Janie! I'll get started on this next week and keep you in the loop...
DeletePS: I just received a package today via UPS: no knock, no doorbell ring! I'm expecting several more this week...
DeleteMost delivery drivers from FedEx and UPS are good here but we do get the occasional package just dropped off in the entryway of the apartment building. I am home all the time, too, so I know they aren't buzzing me. But USPS never lets you know. They have a box for packages with a key but they can only leave one person's packages in there at a time and it is only so big. Now that I'm in a senior building they don't seem to think there's any stealing issues. In my last building the stealing was so bad that USPS wouldn't leave any packages at all. They'd buzz you to tell you that you had a package but if you didn't make it down there by the time they left they took it back with them. For FedEx and UPS if you wanted them to leave packages outside your door you had to sign a waiver. Here they can leave packages in the entryway and I haven't had one package stolen in over two years. In fact I had two ladies bring a package to my door for me once when I was sick and didn't get down there and they noticed the package had been there overnight--LOL! Like a different world! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you got to move.
DeleteMichele this has been happening in Tucson for years. The drop off and seconds later a car or van usually drives up and package gone. it is both adult thieves and children. They don't even run they walk ! A doorbell ring helps but if you are not home you will miss it.They are very brazen here along the border with mexico, they know they can and will get away with it.
ReplyDeleteThat's just awful. One of the local towns around here (Round Rock, TX) put out an announcement on the news yesterday: residents can have their packages delivered directly to the town's police station and they will hold all packages to be picked up, now through the holidays. How cool is that?! I was impressed with that. What a way for local law enforcement to come to the aid of the community!
DeleteThat is cool.
DeleteHi Janie - good for Franklin - but glad you didn't lose anything. It does seem to be a thing that's happening - easy pickings, unless caught ... take care - Hilary
ReplyDeleteThis must be the new thing, because it is going on here all the way on the other side of the continent, and with super efficient speed. We don't have Franklin and my kitties are too discreet, but the neighborhood website has neighbors reporting on such almost daily. Since many have video cameras, the thieves faces are for all to see. But, sadly, our police is so overwhelmed with violent crimes they no longer investigate or pursue property crimes. Putting the thieving-in-action clips on the internet seems to bring them bragging rights, not shame.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky your police still go after these slimeballs.
I was shocked to see THREE police cars. I think these thieves had stolen a lot of stuff.
DeleteGood grief! Thank goodness you weren't affected!
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful, but I told my new neighbor what had happened. She ordered a vacuum cleaner (an expensive item) that supposedly was delivered on Wednesday. She never received it, and I noticed that the police went to her door. She's going to call to see if she can find out what happened to her vacuum. She works a lot. I told her I'll try to keep an eye on her house.
DeleteThanks for the alert - it's only a matter of time before it's happening everywhere, even in our small town, I imagine. I'm glad you weren't caught in the middle of it. Scary. But having dogs is helpful. They usually do a good job of noticing people coming and going. Cats are not very reliable that way.
ReplyDeleteFortunately I'm usually home when packages arrive and the delivery folks normally ring the doorbell to alert me if something has been left on the porch. So far no problems. Hopefully we won't have any of that nature.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Franklin would make a great witness. I can see it now. ..."Place your paw on the Bible. Do you swear to bark the truth..."
ReplyDeleteI can picture that. Franklin is honest and trustworthy.
DeleteUgh, I hate that. Stealing packages is so low, but also so desperate. Like they couldn't think of any other way to get out of their sad situation and saw this craven opportunity to wreck other people's day. It makes me wonder if Universal Basic Income would help with something like this?
ReplyDeleteI think people are sick and tired of the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer, especially with the tax plan that was just passed.
DeleteJanie, don't even get me started on that effing tax plan! Oh. My. God! How this thing passed is proof that the GOP is overrun with heartless politicians who would rather sell their own mothers than cross a party line vote! May they all rot in Hell!
DeleteWe just had our first (that we know of) package stolen off our porch yesterday!!
ReplyDeleteThey went up all those stairs?! Sorry to hear about it though.
ReplyDeleteThey used to put my packages on the other side of my gate, as I live at the end of a long, long road I never had any problems. But last week, FedEx dropped off my package at the post office and left a message in my email. I don't know if it is a new policy or what.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little surprising that more packages aren't stolen. Used to be, the deliveryman would ring the bell and wait until someone actually opened the door to accept it. Just abandoning packages on a porch or front step and then walking away seems to be a recipe for disaster. We get quite a few packages delivered here, and the guys don't even ring the darned bell any more. One of us opens the door to go somewhere and surprise! There's a package sitting out there. Some of them are even supposed to be SIGNED for... but do they bother taking that extra few minutes to do it properly? Nope. Gotta go, gotta go... I'm grateful we haven't had a problem with people snitching packages in our neighborhood. I'm sorry you had an issue in yours.
ReplyDeleteThat is happening around here. So sad.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I'm very glad that none of your things were taken. I'm also glad you have Franklin.
ReplyDeleteLove you.
Stay safe.
It happens around here as well. Security cameras showing brazen thieves, stealing anything from packages left on the porch to lawn chairs and potted plants.
ReplyDelete