In article ,
, a.k.a Conor says...

[...]

My local CL depot is bigger than my local Royal Mail collection office.
It also has a lockable cage where non-deliveries are stored.

Well aren't you lucky? Just how big is the secure storage cage? Big
enough to handle a thousand parcels?

How big is a parcel ... how long is a piece of string?

I was making the point that what you suggested wasn't necessarily
applicable in all instances.

I don't have access to statistics, but i personally doubt many courier
firms would amass a huge collection of undelivered parcels, quite simply
because a high % of the recipients would be expecting them / make
arrangements to take delivery / collect them. There would undoubtedly be
a few that would have to be stored for a period of time.

One would hope each depot has adequate insurance against theft, fire,
flood etc ...

Oh yes and thats great. Something I'm depending on getting delivered
for a customer is stolen from the depot. OK I get my money
back...eventually but I've lost a customer.

It could be stolen if it was an insecure or secure depot.

If i were the customer, i would want the courier company to have
adequate insurance whether they achieved delivery or not, along with
suitable arrangements to ensure the safety of my goods whilst in
transit. I doubt very much that companies would go elsewhere simply
because one depot had the misfortune to get burgled!