Posties have been slammed as “lazy” by furious customers for leaving “sorry we missed you cards” rather than delivering packages.

There are a flurry of comments on social media from customers complaining they took a day off work to wait for a parcel, only to end up having to collect it from the post office anyway.

“Typical Australia Post. Notification that my parcel was delivered ‘left in a safe place’ but here I sit, working from home and NOTHING,” one angry customer wrote on the postal giant’s Facebook page on Thursday.

“No knock, no attempted delivery. This happens all the time to so many different people. There should be more accountability.”

View photos Australia Post has copped a barrage of criticism over posties leaving "sorry we missed you cards" rather than knocking. Source: Change.org More

Another customer claimed the same thing happened to him on Tuesday.

“Car in the driveway, three people and a dog home. No one heard anything. Slip under the doormat when we left at 10am,” he wrote.

Another annoyed customer said they also experienced the issue “all the time”.

“We have a long driveway and dogs behind the gate further up, but there’s a doorbell at our mailbox with a sign saying to ring it and they just ignore it so we’re always having to pick stuff up from the post office,” she said.

Last year a Change.org petition was even started by Australians claiming to be “disgusted” by Australia Post’s failure to deliver parcels.

View photos There are a number of reasons why a postie may not be able to deliver a package. Source: Getty More

But as posties are being dubbed “lazy”, there may actually be a few good reasons why they have to leave you a “sorry we missed you card” without actually knocking.

While Australia Post confirmed to Yahoo News Australia posties and drivers must knock at the door three times and call out before leaving a card or safe-dropping the parcel, there are instances when leaving a card is the only option.

Yahoo News Australia understands posties’ safety is priority when delivering mail.

If there is an off-leash dog behind a front gate, posties are not required to knock on the door.

Similarly, posties will just leave a card if a property has a high entry gate they can’t see over or open.

It’s also policy for posties to ensure bikes are always in their sight, so if a front door requires them to leave it alone they will just pop a card in the mailbox.

For those who live in apartment buildings, if a postie can’t reach a resident via the intercom, then signature items and packages too large to fit in the mailbox will be carded.

View photos A resident complained previously about a postie dropping a package at the mailbox rather than placing it in the allocated spot. Source: Reddit More

“Our people work hard to deliver mail and parcels safely and on time, and our posties and drivers should knock at the door three times and call out before leaving a card or safe-dropping the parcel,” an Australia Post spokesperson said.

“Sometimes our people will leave a card without knocking because of access or safety issues – such as an off-leash dog – and this could happen even when a customer is home.

“If you’re expecting a delivery and believe your driver didn’t knock at your door then please let us know by calling 13 POST so that we can look into it.”

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