As Sparky stated, the parcel with the cash was bound for Puerto Rico. An IP check confirmed the lad was actually in Nigeria, as Sparky suspected. The Puerto Rican address is most likely a mule, which we will treat as an ITP. This means no shenanigans.
We decided that this would be a problem free delivery (fairly unique for Plog). If the lad thought the parcel had been delivered, while the mule would say there was no parcel, it might cause the lad and the mule to fall out.
The parcel begins it journey in Canada and found it's way to the Dominican Replublic, via New York, Miami, During this trip, the parcel is tracked from US, Puerto Rican and multiple Nigerian IP's. As the parcel is at Santo Domingo (Dom. Rep) harbour, Plog contacts the lad.
Mr. Cumberband, manager of the regional hub wrote:
Dear Mr. John,
I am the manager of regional Santo Domingo hub for Plog. We have a parcel on it's way to you!
For security reasons, please confirm the delivery address and recipient of the parcel. After we have received the information, we can schedule the parcel for delivery. We might even be able to squeeze in a delivery today, as we have recently brought several high-speed hydrofoil ships into service!
Cheerio,
mr. Cumberband
Dear Sir,Ma,
In response to your mail, here is the delivery address and recipient name below:
NAME: Marie Smith
ADDRESS: <vague rural address in Puerto Rico>
It will be really helpful if your reputable organization can ensure the delivery on time today.
Best Regards,
mr. John
Cumberband wrote:
Dear Mr. John,
thank you for your email. The information is correct, so we can now move forward with the delivery of your parcel.
Regrettably, our shipment for Puerto Rico has left port not 15 minutes ago, so we are unable to deliver the parcel today. However, we have another haul scheduled for tomorrow, so you can expect your parcel at the end of the day.
As rural Puerto Rican addresses are notoriously unclear, could you perhaps give us some specifics about the address?. Is there a landmark near the address our driver could use for reference? A picture of the delivery address would be very helpful too.
cheerio
Mr. Cumberband
dear Sir,Ma,
In response to your mail, this address will give a better direction.
Address: <somewhat less vague address>
If your dispatch officer would go by the above address with (Marie Smith) name, almost every body knows her.
However, you firm should be able to locate the initial address but then follow the new address to enable you locate the main delivery address. Try as much as you can to get the parcel delivered unfailingly tomorrow as stated in your mail.
and later:
Dear Sir,Ma,
This information below should be helpful;
Shared Route From Home to the United States Postal Service by PR-757 11min (5.6km) 11min with the current traffic 1. Drive to the south east to PR-757 2. Turn the left to PR-757 3. Turn the route izquierda to continue along PR-757 4. Access the location: Puerto Rico 757 5. Drive to the south east by PR-757 6. Turn the left turn to Av La Colonia 7. Turn the right direction to the PR-3 S 8. Location: United States Postal Service To obtain the most convenient route according to current traffic, visit <google maps link>
However, try as much as you can to deliver the parcel on time.
I await your response afterwards.
(the google maps link was really helpful, as I now could pinpoint the location of the "delivery" on Plogs tracking map)
The next day, Plog writes:
Dear mr John,
Good morning!
Thank you for the information. I will forward it to our driver immediately.
Everything is on schedule. The vessel bound for San Juan is about to depart, and should reach it's destination in a few hours. You can expect your parcel to arrive somewhere this afternoon.
cheerio
mr Cumberband
The parcel makes it way from Santo Domingo to San Juan port.
Lad wrote:
Dear Sir,Ma,
I noticed from the tracking info that your vessel is very close to San Juan port, I hope the parcel will be delivered to the post office address which the send gave you?
I want to know please.
I await your response.
Cumberband wrote:
Der mr John.
Thank you for your email.
Your parcel will be delivered in only a few hours. Delivery will be at the address given to us by the Sender.
Cheerio,
Slowly making it's way to the delivery address, Plog receives a couple of emails from the "recipient", mrs Smith about the whereabouts of the parcel. We kindly inform her that tracking info is available online! Then, in the afternoon, the parcel is finally showing as 'Delivered'. Within a few minutes, the lad writes:
Dear Sir,Ma,
I just checked with the tracking number and it shows that the parcel has been delivered.
I contacted the recipient and she told me that she did not receive any parcel. I need to know;
Who was the parcel delivered to?
What address was it delivered to?
Who signed it?
I would like you to also provide me the evidence off the delivery.
Treat as top urgent.
Best Regards,
Mr. John
Dear mr John,
thank you for your email.
Your information is correct! The parcel was delivered successfully around 4:30 PM local time at the specified address. Mrs. Smith took receipt of the parcel. A proof of delivery has been sent to the Sender, as she is our Customer and paid for the shipment.
cheerio
mr. Cumberband
Dear Sir,Ma,
The information you just feed me is wrong! She has since yesterday be around the given address waiting for the dispatch Officer but it wall all in vain.
Mrs Smith is still asking the the whereabouts of the parcel.
You need to be honest and don't wait my time. I need to know the truth.
What was the color of the house you met with Mrs Smith?
What type of clothes was she wearing at that time you saw her?
What is the house number?
Why can't you send the receipt to me?
I'm yet to believe that you did deliver any parcel. However, I need response to the above question.
Treat as top urgent.
Best Regards,
shortly after this, another email
Dear Sir,Ma,
Please be fast about this because this misconception is about to cause some issues between us am our client.
I would need the proof of delivery.
I await your swift response.
Best Regards,
Cumberband wrote:
Dear mr. John,
thank you again for your message.
Let me make things perfectly clear: while we strive to provide a 5-Star service for both our Senders and Recipients, I must point out the fact that you are not our customer. The sender of the parcel, mrs. Watson, is our customer. She has paid for our services, while you are merely the recipient of those services. Please adjust the 'tone of voice' in your messages accordingly.
While I have no obligation to do so, I will try to contact the driver who delivered the parcel and ask him for the specifics you requested. I am not sure if this is possible, as the delivery took place in a rather remote region for which we work with local contractors who, sometimes, use sub-contractors. It might take a while for me to find the actual driver.
From the GPS tracking data I can confirm that the parcel was delivered at the specified address. At the moment of delivery, the parcel is scanned and the GPS-tracking is disabled automatically. This can not be done manually by the driver. This means that the last shown location of the parcel is the location of delivery. Because of COVID-precautions, we currently use a 'no contact delivery' policy. This means that the driver signs the parcel digitally, after the recipient has been properly identified. This prevents our drivers from being in unnecessary close personal contact with the recipient during delivery. In short: there is no signature. However, I can see in our system that the parcel was delivered to a mrs. Marie Smith, after proper identification.
With the information available to me, I am 100% sure that the parcel was actually delivered, at the specified address, to the correct person. I am unsure why mrs. Smith would state otherwise.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know
Dear sir,ma,
This was the response from the recipient below;
To WHOM MAY CONCERN MARIE SMITH DID NOT SIGNED NO PAPERS WITH THE DRIVER PLOG HE NEVER CAME TO THE HOUSE AND BESIDES IT IS IMPOSIBLE BECAUSE MARIE SMITH IS HOSPITALIZED HER SISTER INLAW WAS WAITING AND THEY NEVER CAME TO THE HOUSE.
This is a problem!!
Dear Mr. John,
thank you for your email.
As stated before, as we use a no-contact method of delivery, we currently do not require a signature. This corresponds with the information in the message you forwarded.
However, the next part of the message greatly concerns me!! The person that took delivery of the parcel identified herself as mrs. Marie Smith. If what you are telling me is true, this person committed identity fraud! If this is the case, we will have to inform Law Enforcement. Thank you for bringing this to our attention!.
I will keep you updated about our investigation.
cheerio
The lad had been silent for the last couple of hours.......