South Africa - Post Office auctions unclaimed parcels

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Ever wondered what happens to parcels that are never collected from the post office? They go under the hammer.

The Post Office has announced big plans to reach communities that have been neglected in the past. Pic: KEVIN SUTHERLAND. Circa July 2008. � Sunday Times.

'People pay little for great items'

At least most of them do.

On Wednesday, hundreds of items stored in a Return Letter Office warehouse in Cape Town will be auctioned in Belhar.

According to Frans van Jaarsveld from Auction Alliance, a myriad of items are up for grabs - from expensive jewellery, cameras and cellphones to "drinking games", shoelaces and books by L Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology.

"We conduct these auctions in the poorer communities and have one about every three months. The items come from all the post offices in the Western Cape and some in Port Elizabeth and Durban," said Van Jaarsveld.

Spokesman for the South African Post Office Lungile Lose said items are sold after they go unclaimed for "at least a year".

Lose said items from around the country are sent to the RLO in Cape Town if addresses are incomplete or incorrect and can't be delivered to the desired recipient. Items are also sent to the RLO if there is no return address or the addressee fails to collect the parcels.

"The Returned Letter Office receives around 30000 items a year," he said.

"The cost of redirecting mail with incorrect postcodes comes to roughly R4-million per year, and the proceeds from the auctions are used to defray some of this cost."

Letters, which cannot be auctioned, are destroyed.

When asked whether the steep levies that have to be footed by the recipients is a deterrent to fetch parcels, Lose said: "Import tax must be paid on all postal items that are imported into South Africa, and the amount depends on taxation legislation. The Post Office acts as collection agent on behalf of SARS, but has no control over the amount levied.

"Parcels from abroad normally have a very clear return address, and in most cases unclaimed parcels can be returned to the sender.

"This means that they do not end up at the Returned Letter Office."

The post office donates books and stationery to schools. It delivers about 5.3-million "mail items" in South Africa every day, including 5000 parcels and 15000 by registered post.

Van Jaarsveld said they have held several successful post office auctions, which bring in more than R100000 every time.

"It is difficult to say how many items are auctioned, but I would estimate it is between 600 and 700. All the items are locked in cages. We only unpack everything an hour before the auction starts. People manage to pay little for great items and we have never had any problems in the past," he said.