It's always frustrating when you order something expensive and it gets thrown over the fence or put in a bin. But what's even more frustrating is when it's left out in the open and you return home to find it's magically gone. That's what happened to Reddit user mdumtshali, who ordered a £1,000 (about $1,300 USD) Steam Machine only to have it pinched from their doorstep.
“Ordered a Steam Machine, but was at work when the delivery driver arrived,” they explained. “Quite annoyingly, I saw the doorbell alert just as I was coming out of a meeting. The driver left my box outside my door – I actually have video of him trying to cover the box with a plastic bag lying around – but it was finally gone when I got home.”
Initially, the OP contacted Steam Support, who asked them to check with their neighbors to see if anyone had received it – they hadn't. The community implored them to keep talking to support and not to contact Royal Mail, with a Reddit user who works in the industry rightly pointing out that Valve is the one responsible for the delivery, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Thankfully, they came back with an update confirming that Valve is “sending out another one.”
Valve is pretty lax about refunds, which is hardly surprising given its consumer-friendly refund policy. Just last month, the company sent a new Steam Deck case to a father after he wrote that his newborn had vomited on his original one.
But even with a new Steam Machine on the way for OP, the community is urging Valve to take more precautions with such expensive technology.
“Had similar with Parcelforce,” drewsausage commented. “Valve needs to label these as high value! When RM/PF delivers something to me and I'm not there, they take it to the post office for me to pick up. In fact, they're usually the best at not just leaving it outside my door.”
Reddit user Zoopmittyzoop, who claims to be a delivery driver in New York, also claimed that “none of the deliveries so far required a signature”, which would have prevented Royal Mail from leaving it on mdumtshali's doorstep.
So, there's a lot Valve can do to prevent similar disappearances from happening, but for now at least the OP gets his Steam Machine – while a stranger makes off with some free tech.
