'It was not me': Winnipeg man says package picked up by thief

A Winnipeg man is voicing his concerns after a major purchase went missing.

Amit Bindra and his family were excited to order five new iPhones from Rogers when their old contract expired.

On August 25th, he got a call from Purolator saying the phones were being delivered. He wasn't home to accept them, so the company told him to pick the package up at its Pembina location the next day.

"And I said, 'You know what, I'll gladly do that, but I can't do it today, so I'll do it the next day," said Bindra.

Bindra said when he went to get the phones, the person working said someone had already picked them up an hour earlier.

The problem -- no one from his family had stopped by.

"It was not me," said Bindra, "and she said then if it wasn't you, then somebody from your household must have picked it up, and I'm like no."

Bindra said the Purolator employee told him someone with a paper ID from Ontario picked up the phones.

He was then directed to call Rogers and the Purolator loss prevention, a department he's had to call several times now.

"We are aware of the matter and currently working with authorities and affected parties on this incident," said Purolator in an email to CTV News.

"As we continue to innovate our shipper and recipient solutions, such as automated kiosks and parcel lockers, we anticipate these fraudulent activities will decrease over time," read the email.

Bindra said the ordeal has put a damper on the purchase.

"You know, either Rogers cancels my accounts, I don't want it, I could just go get another contract, or just give me the replacement phones, that's all I'm looking for," he said.

PREVENTING PACKAGE THEFTS

Winnipeg Councillor Markus Chambers says more and more people are getting packages delivered.

He believes the city needs to work to ensure they don't go missing.

"Well, you know, for me, I've always been a proponent of working with the community and working with the police service to come up with creative ideas to keep our community safe and remove the stigma of crime," said Chambers.

Partnering with Canada Post, Chambers worked to get "super mailboxes" installed in River Park South that allows for courier delivery.

"Once you get a parcel in the mail, you'll receive a key in your mailbox allowing you to access the courier parcel pick up, explained Chambers, "So it's making it much safer to order online and deter thieves from stealing things right off the porch."

For those who can't avoid getting a package delivered while they aren't home, the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) recommends people buy a lock box, install video surveillance or get a neighbour to grab it.

WPS notes package thefts occur year-round but are most often around the holiday season.

-with files from CTV News' Kayla Rosen