SALT LAKE CITY — If they’re not your friendly neighborhood delivery driver or the big man coming down your chimney, chances are you don’t want them near your home, let alone absconding with your packages!
But every year, these bad bandits bah humbug their way onto 28 percent of Americans' porches, leaving them the victims of porch piracy.
And Christmas time is prime time.
“What the retailers will tell you is the less time it spends on the porch, the better,” said Michael Giusti, an analyst with InsuranceQuotes.com. “You’ve got to know what’s being delivered, you’ve got to know when it’s being delivered.”
But that’s not always possible. One thing to consider if you don’t have eyes on your home at any given time of day, have it delivered to your place of work if possible.
Your porch may be a convenient place to drop your packages, but it’s not always the best spot.
“A lot of these shippers also have alternate drop-off locations, so if you go to the UPS store, they’ll sign for it,” said Giusti. “Some of the pharmacies will sign for your packages and you just go and show your I.D. and you can pick it up in some of the lockers.”
You can also give instructions to your delivery driver. Many websites have a section at checkout that allows you to edit where you want your package left, whether it’s behind a plant or maybe the side door instead of the front door.
Some consumers even opt for lockboxes with a code that sit on their porch.
But let’s say a grinch does make off with your would-be presents, then what?
“Call the retailer. The retailer doesn’t owe it to you. It’s not legally their responsibility, but a lot of places will refund you just because they want to keep a good, happy customer,” said Giusti.
Another niche alternative: stand-alone package theft insurance policies.
Or if you’re worried about big ticket items:
“More common is your homeowner’s or renter’s policy that would actually protect from stolen items, but it’s only really going to apply to high-dollar stuff because you’ve got a big deductible,” said Giusti.
Other items to note: if you use a premium credit card, many of them have purchase protection, and that sometimes includes package theft. You can also file a police report. They may not go looking for your package specifically, but if they notice a string of missing packages in one area, they might investigate.
