A horrified homeowner claims he caught a Parcelforce driver stealing a package from his house – and was then offered £150 by the company to ‘be quiet’.
Home CCTV footage shows the driver snooping inside the porch of James Harris’ house when he arrives to deliver a massive parcel and doesn’t get an answer.
Shockingly. the deliveryman appears to steal a second smaller parcel left in the porch by Royal Mail earlier that day – before he heads back to his van with both.
The driver re-delivered the bulkier parcel the next day but James, 36, claims the smaller package – a £25 dress for his partner’s birthday – was never found.
James went to the depot to complain and claims a man calling himself the manager called at his home and offered him £150 cash as a “bribe” to keep quiet.
He refused and called in police who have picked up his CCTV footage and are now investigating the allegations.
James, an auto electrician, from Patchway, Bristol, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.
“I was expecting to see that some scallywag had taken it – not a Parcelforce driver.
“These guys are in a position of trust and he has clearly abused that.
“And to make it worse I have seen him delivering parcels in the area every day since.
“I feel violated that somebody in a trusted position can enter my property and steal from me.”
Father-of-one James and partner Tara Gleeson, 37, were expecting two deliveries on November 22 – one via the Royal Mail and another from Parcelforce.
The House of Fraser dress – an outfit for Tara’s birthday – arrived first and was left inside the porch, as pre-arranged, because nobody was at home.
Two hours later the Parcelforce driver arrived with a huge parcel – a windscreen Tara bought for James’ Christmas present.
James said: “He opens the porch door, steps inside the porch with the big parcel, knocks on the front door again and there’s no answer.
“He puts the big parcel down in the garden and proceeds to go into the porch.
“He’s in there for the best part of a minute, looks around, picks up the black flappy package, tucks it into the lining on the big parcel then fills out a delivery card and shoves it in our door.”
The windscreen was re-delivered, but when the Royal Mail told James the dress was recorded as delivered he checked his CCTV.
James then took his footage to Parcelforce’s major depot nearby at Patchway.
“The manager was like ‘oh dear’ and said not to worry about this.”
James said he was then told the driver had “picked the dress up by accident” – but no longer had the package.
The manager visited James’ house to apologise on December 2 but “put £150 on the coffee table”.
He added: “He said ‘this is out of the driver’s pocket, £25 for the dress and the rest is for the inconvenience’.
“He proceeded to get a piece of paper out of an envelope to sign. I was expected to be quiet. I said ‘if you think I’m signing that, you can do one’.
“He said ‘I will have to take the money back’ and picked up his £150, his bit of paper and scurried out of the door.”
Avon and Somerset police are now investigating the allegations.
Parcelforce, who are part of the Royal Mail group, said they could not comment while a police investigation was ongoing, but that it was cooperating fully.
