NZ Post courier drivers caught on camera throwing parcels into van

A Waiheke woman says she was shocked to see NZ Post courier drivers crudely throwing people's parcels into their vans.

The woman, who didn't want to be named, filmed the workers tossing boxes and packages so that they bounced along the postal van's floor.

NZ Post has apologised for the courier driver's behaviour after viewing the footage.

It comes as businesses and Kiwis in lockdown are relying on online deliveries and courier packages more than ever as the country enters alert level 3, and many stores remain closed except to customers buying products over the internet.

"Packages shouldn't be thrown," the woman said.

The courier driver was caught on camera throwing parcels into the back of his van.

She was concerned because she had previously on multiple occasions received parcels that were broken.

"I've had a dinner set from The Warehouse that I've had to replace twice," she said.

"And when we got to the third one that was broken they just didn't believe us, they were actually like, 'are you breaking the plates to get more plates?'.

"So we ended up with no dinner set."

If packages needed to be separated, the workers should put them into a container and then move them to the next van rather than throwing them from van to van, the woman said.

NZ Post has apologised for the "mishandling" of the parcels.

"This doesn't meet the high service standards that we pride ourselves on," a spokeswoman said.

"We are speaking with the people involved and will continue to support our people to continue to meet service standards."

The video was later posted on a Waiheke community Facebook page and drew mixed responses.

Some commenters said the men involved were nice and well respected.

Another Facebook user said that they used to run a courier company and the policy was that everything should be wrapped to withstand a 1.2m drop.

This was also a requirement listed on the NZ Post website.

"When sending an item, it is your responsibility to ensure packaging is secure to prevent damage to the contents, postal equipment or other mail, and injury to people handling it," NZ Post's website states.

"Inadequate packaging could result in you being liable for damages.

"It is your responsibility to ensure that any item is well packaged and can withstand a 1.2m drop. It is not enough to put fragile or handle with care labels on your items."

It comes after a Māngere woman spotted parcels from a different courier company strewn on Retreat Drive.

The local said she flagged down a council employee in the area who then collected the parcels and notified police.

Her cousin, Shane M, shared a photo of the pile with the caption: "Cousin out on her morning walk found these parcels dumped. If your delivery hasn't arrived, it's probably here."