It wouldn't surprise me if they do very little vetting, especially this time of year, and just suck up the cost of packages that contractors fail to deliver. Perhaps for large shipments they go after the contractor legally if they can find them but for smaller shipments they probably just blacklist the person and move on. Taking an extra ten days to get my order via replacement shipped by a reputable delivery service was mildly annoying but I certainly never would allow Amazon's random hodgepodge of contractors enter my home.
Incidentally, this is in the Pacific Northwest, not far from Amazon HQ. S
They may drive trucks with the Amazon logo; they may tell you they are delivering for Amazon; they may be driving around with an app made by Amazon that gives them step by step instructions of what to do. But they are not legally employed by Amazon. Not in the US or UK. I spent some time as a part of their software organization, and have been inside the delivery stations. As far as I know, there are no employees delivering packages.
You can speculate as to why Amazon would want things setup this way. I don't speak on the company's behalf.
As long as Amazon knows their name, has them tracked and my Key takes video, it seems like there's near zero risk of that person doing something illegal. It's just too easy for them to get caught.
And they hire independent delivery companies (who themselves can hire contractors to work for them) as well.
> As an independent contractor, you are responsible for your own expenses.
> Delivery providers are local companies that Amazon uses to deliver packages from a central location to our customer's door.
Are you 100% sure about this or is it a guess? There’s no evidence I’m aware of that goes against Amazons statement.
> Drivers are independent contractors with a delivery provider.
> The programme is open to single driver owner-operators as well as larger companies.
I've certainly had deliveries come in unmarked white vans without the driver displaying any sort of company affiliation.
Are you sure about that because all deliveries I have had are clearly not from any of the regular companies you mention?
Amazon doesn't have employees delivering packages. They are all contractors, and often contractors hired by contractors. The concerning thing about this is that it literally means Amazon may have only learned the name of the person who is accessing your home 30 minutes before they are inside it.