21 January 2023
CORNELIUS, N.C. (WJZY) – The residents of a neighborhood in North Carolina say they’re experiencing a delivery dilemma.
The issue has been going on for about two weeks, according to several residents of Cornelius, a suburb of Charlotte. Locals who spoke with Nexstar’s WJZY say it usually occurs on rainy days, and goes something like this: A neighbor will get a notification that their Amazon package has been delivered, but when they get outside, the package is not on the porch.
Video captured on a Ring doorbell shows an Amazon delivery driver chucking packages out of her truck’s window. Those packages ended up in the middle of the road and strewn about lawns.
“As I’m looking up and down the street, everybody’s packages are in the grass,” said Jennifer Kolkhorst. “And they’re not just little packages. They’re little packages and big packages, too.”
One neighbor said on Facebook they found their $500 laptop on the curb next to their mailbox.
“Also found my packages thrown into my front lawn, scattered and wet from the rain,” the commenter said.
Not only are the packages wet and often damaged, but neighbors said the driver reports the packages were delivered in safe places, or even directly to the homeowner.
“I called Amazon, and that’s when they said,” said Virginia Murray. “They said it was marked as directly handed to the household member.”
Katherine Armitage is one of the locals whose packages are shown in the Ring video. The video was apparently taken at her neighbor’s home, two doors down. She said four or five packages were thrown out of the driver’s window, and only one or two actually belonged to the addressee.
Packages (Courtesy: Katherine Armitage)
“Literally in the middle of the street in the soaking rain with tire marks on it,” said Armitage, who ordered a laptop protector that ended up shattered.
Armitage said Amazon offered her a refund and, in an email, told her they had filed a formal complaint against the driver.
“It’s important because it’s easy and convenient. That’s what they sell us on,” Armitage said of Amazon’s services. “But yet, if my packages aren’t arriving on time, or if they’re not even here, then it’s just a delay for me.”
That same delivery driver in the neighborhood again just days ago, WJZY later discovered. This time, she hand-delivered each package to the recipients’ porches.
“I’m hoping that it’s just burnout and not someone who is going to do it all the time,” said Murray.