A group of 2000 Sydneysiders who live in the same block are outraged after being forced to share a postal address.
The residents have endured years of failed deliveries, missing parcels and denied government requests because of the development oversight.
Harikrishna Gavanahalli, who has lived in a unit there for three years, said he is stuck in a “dark hole”.
“The developer has not put in place the standard Australia Post service,” he told news.com.au.
Around 30 different sites are home to 2000 people including townhouses, duplexes, houses and apartments, which have to share just six postal addresses – listed as 81-86 Courallie Ave, in Homebush in Sydney’s west.
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Instead of having different numbers on the street, the complexes have different letters.
Mr Gavanahalli lives in block ‘M’.
However, the letters do not appear on Google Maps and some buildings have the same letters.
In total, the six street addresses stretch for more than a kilometre along the block, according to Mr Gavanahalli.
He said it poses a problem for delivery drivers and official government forms where you need your own address.
“Postmen and drivers get confused,” he explained.
“(It’s) very hard for the food delivery drivers to work out the streets.”
Not only that, but he says he has to “manually” call up services like the Roads and Maritime Services, Medicare and even passport services, because he has to explain why someone else has inputed his address.
“Medicare, banks, utility services like gas, electricity, Woolies (and) Coles,” were among those affected, he said.
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The father-of-one, 38, bought an apartment three years ago. If the problem isn’t fixed soon, he’s planning on selling up.
But to make the situation even more awkward, he said that the postal issue would become glaringly obvious if he ever tried to sell.
“The address is the first thing (you’ll notice) when you’re getting a visitor, if you’re selling your property as well,” he said.
He sometimes finds visitors “more than a kilometre away” and has to direct them into the building.
Many residents, including Mr Gavanahalli, blame council for allowing the developers to give them the bizarre postal addresses.
“The councillor should have stopped (the developers),” he said.
The complexes were developed by Telmet Ventures Pty Ltd and Hallmark Construction Pty Ltd, with the plan first lodged in 2013.
In a statement to news.com.au, Strathfield Council said it had received multiple “enquiries” about the issue.
However, the council said it wasn’t up to them to change the postal addresses – it is up to the Owners Corporation or the Strata Manager.
“Given the obvious confusion by incorrectly addressing deliveries identified in reports, Council would be happy to discuss with the Strata Manager strategies to help their residents manage their deliveries correctly,” a spokesman added.
“Council acknowledges the frustration and inconvenience this is causing residents.”
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