26 replies to this topic

[Thinkingoutloud]

This time of year you get people follwing FDX and UPS tucks around, noting where they stop and going back and picking the packages right off the porch.

Some people just steal. It sucks, but that's the way it is. I had stuff delivered to woerk once trying to get around that, but the secretary ended up stealing them!

[MrsTuffPaws]

Several months ago, I ordered something, and Fed Ex delivered. Except, Fed Ex just delivered it to the post office, and the post office was supposed to bring it to the house. Why? I don't know, seemed strange to me.

I saw that it was scanned as delivered, but I was home all day, and it was not delivered. I went to the post office, and they looked into it. I got a call that afternoon that the postman meant to scan it as attempted delivery, but messed up and hit delivered instead, and I was told a weird story about how the postman wasn't sure who lived at this address.

Anyway, I got the package the next day.

[Oldschooler81]

Just noticed this from the board index.

To the OP, sorry to hear about the package. Good luck and I hope it turns up at some point. That would be pretty heartless to steal a personal thing off someone's porch, but nothing really shocks me anymore. I always thought UPS or whoever else should make sure someone's home before just dropping it off, for that very reason!

I've sold on Ebay for 2 years and sent tons of stuff out USPS. Luckily nothing bad has ever happened, but I'm always checking the delivery confirmation numbers. One pet peeve I have is that oftentimes it stays at "acceptance". I read somewhere that's because it doesn't always get scanned when it passes through sorting facilities and such. I live in an apt and I've accidentally gotten some of my neighbor's mail (and vice versa) so I guess you gotta be twice as careful there.

[eVader]

I did a seasonal stint with UPS a long time ago in Folsom around Nov to Jan and the rule of thumb was deliver as many as fast as you can during the holiday crunch. Our route was ARC and F\A Rd area and it was safe to leave packages behind if the neighborhood was safe and the package wasn't visible to the street (hide behind fence, porch furniture\decorations, building etc) so every if not almost every package was left. Some were left with a friendly neighbor.

Surprised me at the time that they were not stolen but the driver said it is a very, very rare occurrence and people will complain if they missed a delivery especially on the 2nd attempt and have to go to one of the dist sites to p\u on their own. Times have changed and the comment above about thieves following FDX and UPS trucks around is sadly the case today... hate thieves, dishonest people and people lacking consideration for others.

[eVader]

Just thought of a DHL experience several years ago. Ordered a camera from Dell (using a sale and stackable coupons of course) and it shipped via DHL who left it on the sidewalk near the driveway vs. leaving on the door if someone wasn't home. Box was a little beat up (but camera was fine and packaging was as good as one sitting on shelf) but I was thinking there is a fair amount of people on the road and school kids walk past the house that someone could have taken it. Granted this was before the economy tanked.

Pari I hope you get the package and soon. Perhaps it was left with a neighbor on vacation. Check all over your front porch, sidewalk and behind your fence.

[swmr545]

That happened to me earlier this year. They said they had delivered it to our house but we never got it. This one came from Amazon.com. I contacted them and they sent me out a new book and this one was autographed. About 5 days later a young boy brought the package with the original book in it to our house. They live about 7 houses up the street and it was delivered to them while they were on vacation. When they came home they brought it to me.

When my Dell had battery problems and Dell sent me a replacement battery it never showed up. They tried 2 more times, and each time I never received it. On the 4th attempt I told the people to tell UPS to have me sign to verify that I received the package, it showed up no problem.

A couple months later our doorbell rang and it was a family from up the street. They had opened all 3 boxes, said they thought it was for them and didn't know why they kept getting so many (espicially since they are a Mac family). Apparently they had given them to friends/family that had Dells, then they realized the name/address on the box was different.

Also at my first job, a family was going on vacation and grabbed the mail that was on the front desk thinking it was theirs (why I don't know). They ended up taking three paychecks out of country with them.
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Do people really open up (or take) unexpected mail/packages without looking at the address?

Pari, I hope you get your books soon. I know how frustrating it can be to not get a package you are waiting for because it was mis-delivered and the unattended recipient thinks it belongs to them.

[aztransplant]

Do people really open up (or take) unexpected mail/packages without looking at the address?

Sounds like many do, which I find very odd. We moved a while back and kept getting mail for the previous owners. Our realtor thought it odd that I was so concerned with getting their mail to them (not the avalanche of catalogs, but the important stuff like bank statements, checks, etc.). I was afraid that if I just put "return to sender" on the envelopes and stuck them back in a mailbox they'd never get delivered correctly.

Most recently, we received a large package for the previous previous owners (the ones who lived here before those that sold us the house). It was delivered by UPS, so I called UPS and let them know that the people hadn't lived here for numerous years. They made a big deal out of telling me not to open the package (which, I hadn't) and they'd come pick it up the next day, which they did. I hope it got delivered correctly . . .

At our previous home (in Folsom) where we had one of those shared mailboxes (the big box with lots of little boxes inside), our neighborhood's mail was misdelivered ALL THE TIME. We got neighbors' mail (sometimes from different streets) and they'd get ours. It got so that I would have anything important delivered to my office. Now that we live in a neighborhood where we each have our own private (not post-office-owned) mailboxes, the only misdelivered mail we've gotten has been for the previous owners.

[eVader]

When my Dell had battery problems and Dell sent me a replacement battery it never showed up. They tried 2 more times, and each time I never received it. On the 4th attempt I told the people to tell UPS to have me sign to verify that I received the package, it showed up no problem.

A couple months later our doorbell rang and it was a family from up the street. They had opened all 3 boxes, said they thought it was for them and didn't know why they kept getting so many (espicially since they are a Mac family). Apparently they had given them to friends/family that had Dells, then they realized the name/address on the box was different.

Also at my first job, a family was going on vacation and grabbed the mail that was on the front desk thinking it was theirs (why I don't know). They ended up taking three paychecks out of country with them.
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Do people really open up (or take) unexpected mail/packages without looking at the address?

Pari, I hope you get your books soon. I know how frustrating it can be to not get a package you are waiting for because it was mis-delivered and the unattended recipient thinks it belongs to them.

Hmm odd neighbor. They get 3 Dell battery packages and fail to look at the address (immediately after picking up off front step) and fail to promptly deliver it to you after realizing no one ordered anything and their name\address aren't yours. Amazing.

Also amazing is Dell's lack of thinking that wow they sent 3 batteries and the customer didnt get them....maybe we need to ensure they get there like using FedEx or requiring a signature vs. drop n go. In these times, companies have to be smart about costs (vs. laying off employees or moving jobs overseas).

[swmr545]

Hmm odd neighbor. They get 3 Dell battery packages and fail to look at the address (immediately after picking up off front step) and fail to promptly deliver it to you after realizing no one ordered anything and their name\address aren't yours. Amazing.

Also amazing is Dell's lack of thinking that wow they sent 3 batteries and the customer didnt get them....maybe we need to ensure they get there like using FedEx or requiring a signature vs. drop n go. In these times, companies have to be smart about costs (vs. laying off employees or moving jobs overseas).

That's why I thought it was strange that they weren't even expecting a package from Dell since they're a Mac family, they open the packages anyway, then give 'em away to friends/family that have a Dell laptop. Then again I always look at the address on the packages/mail we receive.

And I didn't understand why Dell wouldn't do a required signature until I asked on the 4th attempt. You gotta wonder sometimes about how serious the are about saving money and cut costs.

[U2FORME]

Parizienne,

I'm sorry to hear about your lost package, but maybe there's hope. Two weeks ago I ordered something online and it was sent via FedEx ground with a tracking number. I watched its progress and after a few days, it was shown to have been delivered, according to the FedEx tracking site. It even gave the time of delivery, and I was home then and there WAS no package. I called FedEx, had no trouble getting through, explained the problem and gave them the tracking number. I stayed up until 11pm that night waiting for a knock on the door, which never came and just before going to bed, I took one more look outside but saw no package. The next morning, on a Sunday, I got up early, opened my front door and saw the package that FedEx had delivered either in the wee hours of the night or very early that morning. On Monday, someone from FedEx called to see if I got the package. I was so pleased to have gotten it that I didn't ask what went wrong, but I figure that either the delivery guy marked it delivered even though he hadn't delivered it, which I find hard to believe, or it had been delivered to the wrong address and after my call, he went back to get it for delivery to my house. That's the first time that anything like this has happened (to me) but I bet that the heavy load placed upon the delivery companies in the week just before Christmas makes such mistakes more likely. Anyway, I hope that your story has a happy ending too.

[Parizienne]

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Thanks to those who posted the P.O's direct line. The 800 number wouldn't even let me access a human. I was ready to throw the phone at my postman.

It turns out that it was mistakenly input as "delivered." It was incorrectly addressed. So initially, it was in limbo for a few days. Then the postal service returned it to sender. It finally got back to the kids' dad's house in SoCali on Jan 2nd. They brought me the gifts when they returned from visiting him on the 4th.

Yay!

At least it wasn't theft. That's a relief.


Pari.

[ducky]

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Thanks to those who posted the P.O's direct line. The 800 number wouldn't even let me access a human. I was ready to throw the phone at my postman.

It turns out that it was mistakenly input as "delivered." It was incorrectly addressed. So initially, it was in limbo for a few days. Then the postal service returned it to sender. It finally got back to the kids' dad's house in SoCali on Jan 2nd. They brought me the gifts when they returned from visiting him on the 4th.

Yay!

At least it wasn't theft. That's a relief.


Pari.

Glad to hear your package had a happy and successful, albeit tardy, delivery by the USPS.

I just got my Christmas card I sent to my brother back. It says "No known address" even though a separate package I sent to him got there no problem at the exact same correct address as was on the card. I wonder if they'll refund my stamp?