posted on January 4, 2008 08:19:29 PM
Okay you folks have come up with great solutions when I have screwed up before so here is the new problem. I shipped an item USPS Priority Mail with delivery confirmation and insured to an address in NYC. I didn't check my laser printed label from shipping assistant closely enough and I made a typo instead of shipping to customer name 250 w XXX St APT YYY in NYC I shipped to customer Name 20 W XXX St APT YYY in NYC same zip code everything else the same except I should have typed "205" but accidentially typed "20". The customer emailed and asked where the package was and I emailed the info from USPS.com showing the package had been delivered 4 days ago. Then I thought to check my paper records and discovered my typo. I did email the customer back and explained the error and that I would take responsibility to get her the itemback or a refund (fairly pricey item and one of a kind). So the question is:
1. Am I just screwed
2. What should I do to see if I can get the package back from whoever accepted it and redirected to the right person.
I guess who ever actually got it knows it does not belong to them but they may not know how to proceed. It did go to a very fancy address along Central Park in NYC so is there a chance I can get this back under control? I am also guessing both locations are large apartment buildings as the apartment number would indicate such.
posted on January 4, 2008 08:26:35 PM
Don't like to mention this, but -- If you send me an item that I did not ask for, by law, it's mine. You have no legal recourse to get it back from the person you sent it to.
posted on January 4, 2008 08:37:19 PM
I've done this My solution was to offer the person who received the card a full refund on his card if he would kindly put the missent card in an envelope and send it to the right person. Postcard folks usually have no use for other people's cards and are quite obliging.
Edited to add, I had an insured shipment for a $60 card that I sent to the wrong address. In that case, I asked the guy I sent it to to simply ignore it, not sign for it, and let the postcard be returned to me. The buyer of the card was very understanding. He waited six weeks before receiving his card. I promised him a free card of the same rare locale next time I found one. I found one for three dollars and mailed it to him 2 weeks later. He was delighted.
[ edited by pixiamom on Jan 4, 2008 08:47 PM ]
posted on January 4, 2008 09:18:26 PM
max, What your saying is true, but doesn't that mean if it's addressed to the person who received it.
In postcardman's situation it is not addressed to the person who has it.
postcardman, Some suggestions: send a note to whoever received the package & explain your mistake & offer to pay any expenses for them to forward it on. Include your phone number. Since you don't know their name address it to occupant.
OR better still, you could just come out & say in a letter, politely, that the insured package was delivered by mistake & you are going to have the postman pick it up.
You could also call the PO that delivers to the NYC zip code you used & ask if they could help. Maybe they would leave a note in their mailbox asking for return of the package since the names don't match. This might work because messing with the mail is a federal offense. Not their fault, but may scare them into returning the package.
posted on January 4, 2008 09:45:19 PM
A couple of things - go to the PO and use the Zip Book for NYC and see if the address exists. If not, the item should be returned to you, if you had a return address on the package.
If there is such an address, try Reverse Lookup for a phone number. If available, call the party and explain the problem. Perhaps the item was refused and is being returned to you.
Call the NYC PO and explain the problem to them. The package might be sitting in an 'undeliverable' pile.
Go to your local PO and explain the problem to them.
If you had used Zip +4, there would be no problem, because the item would be returned to you.
posted on January 5, 2008 04:14:09 AM
BillK...I love that reverse lookup...especially with the street address only...you can find all the neighbors. I have used it to find the numbers of people who live with someone else. You search Jane Doe and can't find her number, but then you get the number for that exact address and find out she is living in the same house as John Smith. Freaks them out a little bit that you tracked them down, sometimes they are more helpful.
posted on January 5, 2008 05:17:18 AM
I have had very good luck in getting people to return a wrong package, but I have known the name of the person who received it and you do not. Your situation is different and all the suggestions people have offered about contacting the PO both locally and in NY are good. Wishing you good luck, these things do turn out well more often than not. Keep us posted please.
posted on January 5, 2008 06:12:58 AM
I agree with the reverse lookup. I would politely ask the receiver to send the package back to me, I would do it if I had received an item that I did nto buy /order. Since it is not an Ebayer I would not want them to have the responsiblity to forward the package.It will cost more, shipping in all sorts of directions, but... I would also offer some kind of promo to the buyer as an apology even if they get the item they bought.
posted on January 5, 2008 07:55:54 AM
Bill is right,do what he suggests.
Question-how much is the item?
YOu said it is insured thru USPS??,if it is over 50 dollars,the person has to sign for it and you can call the post office and ask them to find out who signed for it and see if you can give that person a call.
PS.
just because the DC shows it has been delivered could mean it has been scanned at the NYC post office,the doorman could have signed for it and since there is no such person at the building,no one picks it up and it is returned to the post office.
Only the insurance blue slip (if you used that slip) would tell you if it has been accepted .
*
Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 5, 2008 08:31:59 AM
zippy2dah, mcjane:
It really doesn't matter who's name is on a package. If it is sent UNSOLICITED to anybody, it's theirs.
Since the receiveing party is not simply a switched address with another ebayer, postcardman has a slim to none chance that the receiving party will do anything to help.
At least when two ebayers are switched, chances are good they will cooperate.
Pray that it's undeliverable, and returned.
posted on January 5, 2008 09:31:35 AM
You're both being completely absurd.
Opening a letter or parcel that was sent to your address cannot be mail theft. By law, U.S. mail must arrive unopened and into the receptacle for which it was intended. Removal of that mail by a person who is not authorized to open that receptacle is mail theft.
Don't trivialize a huge annual problem (mail theft facilitates identity theft) by referring to an unwitting householder as a mail thief.
postcardman, you screwed up. Accept the responsibility and make your customer whole without further delay. No one is obligated to make this right for you. And consider using PayPal shipping instead -- you can't make a typo unless you decide to alter the recipient's address.
posted on January 5, 2008 10:43:47 AM
I don't use shipping assistant, so I am not sure how that works. I just type my labels, but I ALWAYS paste and copy from the address given. A couple of times there has been a mistake, but I have been able to point the buyer to the address on their invoice. Sometimes people move and don't even change their address on the forms, I have had one of those.
posted on January 5, 2008 01:14:02 PM
It's not theft to open mail sent to one's ADDRESS regardless of the name on the package--address takes precedence over name.
posted on January 5, 2008 01:20:05 PM
has it changed?
I thought every time you use that blue insurance slip,it has to be signed for??
(I dont insure package thru USPS anymore)
posted on January 5, 2008 01:25:12 PM
Yes, insurance has changed, only when it is over $200 does customer/receiver have to sign. Slips are now Black, there are no more green slips for up to $50.
posted on January 5, 2008 01:37:25 PM
"It's not theft to open mail sent to one's ADDRESS regardless of the name on the package--address takes precedence over name."
Let's pretend I move into your old house. When you moved you filed a change of address with the PO but some things still slip through. It happens. One of those things is an antique, heirloom, sterling silver tea set that your senile Aunt Martha has sent you for your birthday. Because she is senile she didn't insure the package so the mail carrier just leaves it on the porch. My porch.
posted on January 5, 2008 01:46:32 PM
Some these issues are ethical / moral issues as well.
If the bank gives you too much money by mistake either in your account or in your hand. They have every right to take it back. If you have spent it and do not have the money to repay the error, you are in deep trouble!!
posted on January 5, 2008 03:39:39 PM
Thanks to all for the excellent solutions. Here is my followup so far. The item was over $100 but under $200 and was insured. The item was send PRIORITY with electronic delivery confirmation.
I did go to my local post office this a.m. with my paperwork and to explain the situation. They apparently were able to confirm the delivery (to someone?) independently using the insurance tracking number. The post office asked me to get a signed statement from the buyer that the package never arrived and a copy of the buyers paypal confirmation receipt to establish the amount of the loss. They said the buyer could fax that to me and they would then try and process the claim or get the item back I guess. I will make the customer whole if the post office does not as it was my error. I will post if anything more develops and thanks again for all the good suggestions and ideas. I really do check my shipping labels against my paypal docs before mailing but I simply just screwed up this time.
posted on January 5, 2008 04:59:40 PM
the bank gives you too much money by mistake either in your account or in your hand. They have every right to take it back. If you have spent it and do not have the money to repay the error, you are in deep trouble!!
/////////////////////////////////////
Once,Merrill Lynch computer made a mistake and shifted the decimal too far,100 becomes 10,000.
When the customers received the statement,some called to verify,some called to thank their brokers,one did no calling and bought a new car,another brought a car and a mink coat for his wife.
When the mistakes were corrected,those who bought car and mink coats which they cant afford will have to return the items,but at least they get to enjoy them while in their possession.
*
Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 5, 2008 06:11:51 PM
Ok - here is some weekend reading for everyone on the topic of misaddressed and misdelivered mail.
The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals addressed these issues in United States v. Coleman, Cite Unknown (2nd Cir. 1999)
The Court states: " ... we agree with Palmer that there is no logical distinction between misdelivered and misaddressed mail. The sender desires the letter to reach its intended recipient, and the intended recipient would presumably desire to receive a letter addressed to her. The Postal Service will attempt to deliver the letter to the intended recipient. See Palmer, 864 F.2d at 527. Most importantly, the unintended recipient of misaddressed mail is in the same position as the unintended recipient of misdelivered mail. Once it is clear to the unintended recipient that the letter has been misdelivered or misaddressed, he knows that he has no business opening the mail and then possessing it. The proper course of action in either event is to return the wayward mail to the Postal Service."
posted on January 5, 2008 08:39:06 PM
First, I sincerely hope all goes well for postcardman. Hopefully it will, the unintended recipient may still be away for the holidays and hasn't yet seen the package.
The Merrill Lynch or bank scenarios are different from the problem at hand because those scenarios have a paper trail. A DC proves that it was delivered somewhere but there is no paper trail to prove that it was delivered to the correct address nor who received it. I came home a few days ago to find a DC package addressed to my neighbor who ia also friend in my mailbox. Of course I gave it to her but if I hadn't, how would the post office prove I received it? The carrier may state he put it in my mailbox but there's no way to prove someone didn't steal it from my box.
posted on January 5, 2008 09:59:37 PMThis is not what happened. The person who has the package is not the person whose name was on the package
Doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the address. Max is correct.
Zippy2dah, you are incorrect. If your address is on it, it's yours.
That's why when you move, the P.O. is adimate that you do your change of address forms ASAP. So your mail get's forwarded to you. The next person living at that address is under no obligation to forward it and can keep it if they desire.
What you can try is to find who is at the address that you sent it to and see if you can work with them to get the parcel forwarded. Technically they have no obligation to do it, but if you are polite, there is a good chance you can work it out. If you start demanding, you can kiss it goodbye.
posted on January 6, 2008 12:53:41 PM
US Code, Title 18, Chapter 83:
Section 1701: "Obstruction of mails generally. Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs or retards the passage of the mail, or any carrier or conveyance carrying the mail, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."
Section 1703: "Whoever, without authority, opens, or destroys any mail or package of newspapers not directed to them, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."
Case Law:
"Protection of mailed material from obstruction and delay does not end when material passes legitimately out of control of United States Postal Service but extends until mailed material is physically delivered to person to whom it is directed or to his authorized agent; this is proper construction of term "the passage of the mail" in 18 USCS § 1701. U.S. vs. Johnson, 620 F.2d 413 (4th Cir. N.C. 1980)"
Note use of the word "person" as opposed to "address."
posted on January 9, 2008 10:53:14 AM
Hmm. now this is interesting. UPS just arrived with 2 packages. I ordered one but BOTH have my name and address on the outside. Inside of one is a vacuum cleaner with somebody else's packing slip inside the box.
My solution was to offer the person who received the card a full refund on his card if he would kindly put the missent card in an envelope and send it to the right person. Postcard folks usually have no use for other people's cards and are quite obliging.
