Would you let Amazon leave a parcel in your car boot? Retailer will allow its packages to be dropped in vehicles
- Amazon’s latest scheme to allow parcels to be left in the boot of a customer’s car
- Online giant is running trials of its Key In-Car system in 50 cities across the US
- The technology lets Amazon drivers open up a car boot using a keyless entry
Their drivers’ delivery methods can sometimes leave a lot to be desired – with packages thrown over the garden fence or simply left in the porch for any passers-by to help themselves to.
So Amazon’s latest scheme – to allow parcels to be left in the boot of a customer’s car – will be greeted with scepticism in some quarters.
The online giant is running trials of its Key In-Car system in 50 cities across the US and, if successful, it is expected to come to Britain.
The technology lets drivers open a car boot using keyless entry, in a similar way to the existing Amazon Key service for homes – in which packages can be left inside front doors and garages in properties with compatible locks.
Amazon’s latest scheme will allow parcels to be left in the boot of a customer’s car (file photo)
Customers will need to opt for ‘in-car delivery’ when making an order and leave their car in or close to an approved location, usually home or work.
Delivery men are provided with a car’s GPs location and licence number in order to find it. They can then open the boot using wireless technology connected to a car’s computer.
At present the service is limited to newer cars by a few makes, including Ford, General Motors and Volvo, enabled with a mobile phone app such as FordPass Connect which owners use to unlock or find their cars.
Customers link this app to their Amazon Prime account – which lets them know when a delivery is due and when it has been made. At any point customers can choose to block access to the car or change the delivery location.
An Amazon spokesman said that the delivery driver will ‘default’ to leaving the package in the boot, although it could go inside the car if it didn’t fit.
Last month, after trials proved successful, Amazon launched its Key services for parcels in the US which allow delivery drivers access to the houses and garages of customers with home security systems linked to the internet.
Amazon said it was designed to stop ‘porch pirates’, the rising problem of people stealing parcels which have been left on people’s doormats.
Horror stories about Amazon delivery drivers include the courier who was caught throwing a package 25ft across a garden on to a balcony.
On another occasion, a homeowners’ CCTV caught a driver pulling down her trousers to relieve herself on their drive.
And last week in Tamworth, Staffordshire, a delivery man was pictured stealing building materials including a spirit level from a home he had just made a delivery to.
Key In-Car delivery is among a wave of FordPass Connect services the car giant is trialling. They include Spiffy, which allows car washers to gain access to a vehicle to clean it inside and out.
Source: Read Full Article