lost deliveries, will they stop?

I often see the UPS and FedEx drivers as they arrive and I walk to their vehicle to get the package. I think in virtually every case, the package barcode is scanned.

I seem to remember you live in Pennsylvania, I could be wrong. But in any event when I get wine in Pennsylvania, adult signature required according to the label, I rarely have signed since CoVid. Last thing, I would never get wine delivered in July! Too hot!

I had one yesterday with an item I ordered through Amazon that shipped via USPS.

They claim the package was delivered to an address in Michigan. I live in Pennsylvania.

The USPS? Sounds about right.

Phil

My solution to the missing package problem is to have everything shipped to a PO Box at the Post Office several blocks from where I live. Otherwise I would have to deal with stolen packages or need to drive 10 or 15 miles to the UPS/FedEx facility to pick them up when signatures have been required. The Post Office service has deteriorated significantly over the last several years (sometimes two weeks instead of 2 day delivery), but I never lost any packages.
Mark

I was waiting for aa package from Amazon and got a E-mail that it could not be delivred as nobody lived there ( I have owned this house for 25years)
It seemed the regular mail person ws off that day. I went to the post office and they had to send it the next day

These days you can also have FedEx deliver items to Walgreens, Dollar General stores and a few other places. When I've done this, there doesn't seem to be any additional charge, or the seller has absorbed it.

Details at https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/ship-hold-receive-packa...

It’s been more than a couple of years ago when my truck battery died suddenly. I performed an overnight charge using my Battery Tender trickle charger but the battery would not charge….the battery was dead as a doornail. I couldn’t move the truck so I ordered a replacement battery online from Summit Racing, an Optima Yellow Top Battery from a location about 75 miles away.

I’m dead in the water with no transportation so I keep an eye out for UPS tracking and the package showed as out for delivery. I continued to check periodically and then UPS showed my package had been delivered. Immediately I went outside and there was no package delivery…NADA!

I phoned UPS and I was told they would have my UPS driver call me back. About four hours went by with no phone call, I phoned UPS again. It was evident from my phone conversation that UPS showed my item as delivered and they were done with the matter, they had delivered my package and why was I bothering them? Go away!

About six hours after UPS tracking showed my package delivered, my doorbell rings. I’m thinking this must be the UPS guy. It was a woman from my neighborhood that told me she had my package in her car that UPS had delivered to her house. UPS had delivered my battery to 5216 instead of 5276 on the same street. A dyslexic UPS driver I suppose.

I don’t know what recourse I would have had if my package had never showed up, it would have been my word against theirs. With tax the battery was $317, a sum that is not trivial.

Two months ago, I sent a certified letter that should have taken one week max to arrive. Instead, it took 7 weeks. The Post Office blamed it on Covid and the backup of mail going through Memphis. A bad aspect of this is that they would not give me a refund even though they did not meet the expected goals.

Just had something delivered recently from Amazon and I received an email that the item was delivered. The email included photos of my house and the package in front of my door.

I did get the item!

I'm not defending the postal system but indeed if you sent something "Certified" there is no guarantee of delivery date. The Postal system defines "Certified" simply as "Certified Mail provides the sender with a mailing receipt and electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made." There is no stipulation that a delivery will be made in any particular amount of time.

You can obtain refunds in some instances, Priority Mail Express for instance. The Postal system definition of Priority Mail Express is "Priority Mail Express® provides next-day to 2–day delivery service by 6 PM with a money–back guarantee1." The procedures to follow are outlined at https://www.usps.com/help/refunds.htm.

I love that they show you 'proof' but I have a sign on my door not to block it and to put all packages on my porch. I even have that directive on my Amazon account, yet nearly every package is left in front of my door.

My favorites though are the ones that leave a description of where they left it, like left item in residents mailbox, first it's illegal, second most of the stuff I order wouldn't even come close to fitting in my mailbox, which is why I have the sign not to block my door. The porch is even easier, no steps to climb.

When Amazon delivers I get a picture showing the item at my front door. A few times it was delivered by UPS or USPS instead of by Amazon, in those cases I don't get a pic. Never had a problem yet, knock on wood. When it comes by USPS, from the order date it takes about a week to receive.

1/5 of the packages I order from Amazon are lost or late.

Just a week ago I had an interesting Amazon failure. The shipping method was my current usual Amazon situation in which Amazon itself or a contractor transports it from the warehouse to my city (Albuquerque), and then the Postal Service handles the final delivery to my home. All went well with the brown envelope being deposited in my mailbox (legally because this was USPS) just as they said.

Except that the envelope was entirely empty. This was one of those new in the last couple of months brown envelopes with a prominent label urging you to recycle it just like a box.

I drove around our loop to try to catch up with USPS truck, found him and we looked at the envelope together. It appeared that this particular sample of the envelope had a manufacturing defect so that the bottom seam was entirely open. Probably the actual product had dropped out long before the envelope ever got Albuquerque.

After a pretty brief online chat with the Amazon person they issued a refund to my credit card.

I ordered a new tonneau cover for my truck. I waited the required number of days and then started watching for it. Nothing! Then, a couple of days later, my neighbor asked me to come over and help her move something. Lo and behold, when I went around to the back of the house to enter the basement, I noticed a box that looked like it could contain a tonneau cover. I checked and guess what? It had my name and address on it. I said, ‘Looks like my tonneau cover”. Her reply, ‘I thought that it was a hammock’. Now, to be honest, I don’t think that she stole the cover. I think the delivery driver delivered to the wrong address and she didn’t check the box or the address. Also, she was in an auto accident many years ago and sustained a head injury and sometimes it takes a while for her to put things together so there are some things to consider. But, it just goes to show that if a package is delivered to the wrong house, you may never see it.

Regarding deliveries purchased on line, my policy is my I always want a tracking number. As soon as I receive the tracking number I tracking it that would be sent to my email address.
Since I'm retired I'm able to see the delivery date and time delivered.I rarely ever have a problem with using this method.

I must say, in years past I had my great relationships with my mail carrier and UPS driver. Both have left those jobs and transferred. I miss those guys compared to the service that I receive today. This poor service is not due to Covid, it was present way before it ever existed.

I can't recall any Fedex driver ring my bell, just dropped the package off and went to the truck.

In 23 years of living here we have only had 2 deliveries that went to the wrong address. Calling UPS got them delivered here, but late in the day.

We live in a subdivision where most houses are set back away from the road. Makes it hard for a porch pirate to even see a package on a porch.

Thanks for the idea. I'll try it for vendors who refuse to ship USPS. There's a FedEx store across the street and a UPS store a couple of blocks down the road.
Mark

When ordering from Amazon, I have the package shipped to an Amazon locker location at my local supermarket. I shop there every week anyway so it's convenient.

No USPS, UPS or FedEx screwups.

I've done the Amazon Locker quite a few times. Generally, I think the delivery times are much quicker quicker than using the standard shipping options for those of us who are not prime members.
Mark

I'm a Prime member and locker deliveries do indeed take longer. Where I live, it usually isn't more than a day or two longer than normal Prime delivery times.

I started using Amazon locker when ordering from Amazon, Best Buy ship to store, etc.

My packages kept getting stolen or lost. It's really inconvenient but better than not getting my packages.

shipped 2 devices to SoCal UPS ground, dropped them off at the local UPS Store.

The paths were totally different, very strange.

One went via IL, the other had no tracking from Horsham PA until SoCal.

Once in SoCal, they went different ways, until they reached Riverside, CA, and then got delivered safely.

So I purchased a replacement DYSON Battery... Shipped USPS
Ships from Ontario, CA July 18th.
To City of Industry, CA July 20th and sits there 3 days!
To LA, CA July 24th.
Back To City of Industry, CA and sits there 5 days
Then, to Greenville, SC August 2nd
Then On August 3rd, Back to City of Industry, CA and has sat 3 days
Then back to Greenville, SC late August 6th....

Tonight 8/7/21 it Left Greenville, SC.... But doesn't say to where!

EDIT 8/8/21 AM: Package was returned to Greenville, SC!

ANOTHER EDIT! 8/8/21 PM Package left Greenville SC—Destination Unknown!

I live in Waynesville, NC

Needless to say, I've been driving the Seller nuts, and he couldn't believe it could be as screwed up as it is until he checked himself!

I had similar issues, a package ended up in guam for a week, sent to az instead of ia, register mail sat in a rail car in ks. look up usps ig page if you want to really get depressed on how bad the mail system is

It would have been easier to just drive to Greenville, SC to pick up the package!!! You have to wonder why it kept getting sent back to CA???!?!

Eureka!! It arrived!
27 days first class, Ontario, Ca to Waynesville, NC!
I had an EBay from China ship last day of July that I Received Yesterday!

Label is clear and correct.
Barcode not smudged.
?????

Great efficiency, Mr. DeJoy!

The mail lady cringed today when she handed me the mail. Lots of letters today, she made the comment it was bills. I corrected her, "no, my bills are all online".

but it still had delivery problems.

Many years ago I got fed up with mail delivery problems at my home and rented a box at the local Post Office about a half mile from my house.

A few years ago I received a first-class letter in my mail box. The envelope was in perfect and undamaged condition and the correct address, including the Zip Code, was clearly typed on the envelope with no trace of smudging. The envelope was postmarked in Atlanta, Georgia on 30 August and arrived in my California mail box on 24 December.

- Tom -

I have an artist friend who frequently ships & receives rolled up artwork in cardboard tubes. She has a long driveway and her mailbox is near the main road. On occasion, the mail delivery person simply throws the cardboard tube on the ground beside the mailbox instead of delivering it to the house.

After losing several valuable pieces to theft and bad weather, she rented a post office box at the local P.O. Unfortunately, this was of little help. One of the sorting clerks decided to fold the artwork tube in half and stick it in the box! This saved the lazy clerk the time it took to fill out the pickup slip.

She lost more artwork to the P.O. clerks than she did with the mail delivery person. As we all know, complaints to the post office go nowhere so she eventually went back to using her mailbox.

When the need arises, build a bigger mailbox.

I have had packages left on the ground by the mailbox at the curb, nice weather, but he decieded it was too much effort to haul his fat butt out of the truck and walk up the short driveway and put the box by the front door.

I had a trash route in a devolvement in Delaware and I would get complaints that the guys were leaving the empty trash toters in front of the curbside mail boxes, found out that in the mail carriers contract it said they do not have to get out of the truck, they would just skip any house whose box they couldn't reach from the truck.

Since I didn;t mention the mailbox was blocked or had no access from his vehicle, I don't see where your comment has any bearing.

And I do understand the "blocked access" part, but that is not normally the case. I am talking just plain LAZY,

Apparently you missed the part where I said it was in the contract that they didn't have to get out of the truck. I only found out because my guys were blocking mailboxes with cans, but I'd imagine not getting out is not getting out no matter if the mailbox is blocked or not. So in that sense, I feel my comment is germane since your comment was

He may very well have been lazy, but, he also may have the same contract.

I shipped 3 packages UPS ground from Phila. to SoCal again. All 3 dropped off at the UPS store together on Monday 8/9.

This time I created the labels as a 3 package shipment as well.

Two packages went together, 1 by itself (as shown by the tracking), and they all reached the destination's sorting facility 3 AM PDT on 8/13. I've never worked for UPS but I would have to believe it's not intentional? Shouldn't all 3 packages travel together?

Can't make this up--our mailroom manager asked me if 1Zxxx were my package, as he didn't know who initiated a shipment. Here was its status:

"Merchandise is missing, UPS will notify sender with additional details. All merchandise missing, empty carton was discarded..." Have the folks in Hodgkins IL gone buck wild?

I was thinking this isn't Columbo, Monk, or Law and Order, but wouldn't it make sense to keep the empty carton and either deliver it to the receiver, or preserve it as evidence when determining what happened?

OK last story, over the years I've ordered my wife's wiper blades on eBay, often from a dealer in AZ, and we're in PA. Because her wipers have pinch tab blades, using aftermarket needs adapters which change the angle of the arm and lift them up ever so slightly and they tend to be less effective and even fall off. So it's best to use genuine GM OE, and the list price is stupid. eBay is 30-40% off with free shipping.

The wiper went USPS from Chandler AZ, reached Phila. in 3 days.

From here it went to Harrisburg, then to Lancaster, back to Phila, then to our USPS, and I finally got the item 3 weeks later. In the interim my wife had already left me so I really didn't need the wiper blade anymore!

Mailboxes have to be approved by the Postmaster. There are only a few standard sizes available.

If you're lucky enough to have a cooperative mail carrier, you can place a secure container near your door to receive oversize packages. This is not official US Postal Service policy however. In rural areas where mailboxes are located away from the house, you're at the mercy of the type of mail carrier you have.

USPS is nice enough to drive up their driveway to deliver the packages to the house if it doesn't fit in the mailbox. UPS will similarly deliver packages to their door if the gate is open. The other week, they were working on their other farm down the road and the mailman stopped and gave them their package since he knew it was meds from the label and didn't want them to get hot in the mailbox or porch.

Fortunate parents, as you say. Here, if the carrier misdelivers a card addressed to my next-door neighbor to my box, and I put it back in the box, the carrier will not pick up it. By the way, I put it back in the box because our carrier ten years ago told me that was the right thing to do.

We have received the same advice about placing mail back in the box, and our carriers have always picked it up. The same applies to sending mail - if it is put in the box, it is picked up by the mail carrier and sent through the Postal Service to our addressee.

- Tom -

In addition to Amazon, Home Depot also has lockers outside their stores (or just inside the door) for easily picking up their online orders. Never any problems using either company's lockers.

Dropped off (to a teller behind the counter) a small parcel at 8:15am 8/27 from Chicago to Washington state. As of today it just shows arrival in Seattle as of 30 min ago.

Last physical scan was 8/31 departing Chicago. Mind you, it took 4 days to go from the local post office 8 miles to the processing facility.

USPS is great!

I have had missed deliveries. Never for the amount listed above but 20 to 30 dollar value. In each case, the store has resent the package, no questions asked.

at work and this is in the Dallas area, $40k worth of stuff shows signed for by a bogus name (actually ithe carrier uses it regularly as some sort of internal code to themselves like if I said Jolly Roger). GM of the facility says it's all the time just add this one to the list. The problem is getting the vendor, to get the distributor, to file the claim. They push back and say it's signed for by "Goodship Lollipop." Proof of delivery is attached.

But there's no such person, we never got it. I believe the other end because they want the goods, it's not like we're trying to get some monies.

Well, it's signed for and shows delivered. back and forth

I made up Goodship Lollipop but it is a make believe name that's that obvious.

I think the real problem is someone has to take the loss, and everyone knows it's not gonna be FedEx. We don't want any funds, we want the actual goods.

I'm dealing with a lost Walmart refund delivery at the moment. My tracking shows it's going back and forth and was finally delivered to the wrong destination. I'm not looking forward to being on the phone with Fed Ex and Walmart tomorrow.

I had a recent Amazon shipment with UPS delivery which had the driver quizzing me on the item, as it was logged as loaded on her truck but nowhere to be found. Zero scan updates until late Wednesday, when it was logged as "on the way", and Thursday "out for delivery". The driver remember our Friday encounter, and seemed as puzzled as I as to where the package might have slumbered in the interim.

Now, for the first time ever for me in Albuquerque, I have two Amazon shipments en route with TBAnnnnnn tracking numbers, apparently designating that final delivery will not be by USPS or UPS, but Amazon itself (well, a direct contractor anyway).

I have experienced delivery issues as well during the pandemic.

For the past month, I've been getting USPS package deliveries on Saturday and Sunday! This is a first in my rural area.

The deliveries are made with a USPS vehicle by someone other than our regular mail carrier.

The practice may be temporary however until the backlog of package deliveries in our area is reduced.

Anyone else getting weekend deliveries?

imho as long as it's a return tag, issued by Walmart.com, and the item was received by FedEx, it is now Walmart's problem. You are the the shipper, you simply used their label which is return service. Good luck!

(this is why be careful when someone says hey what's your UPS shipper # we need to use your account--it's not the cost of shipping, it's the responsibility. Tell them to bill you)

Here in Albuquerque a lot of my Amazon shipping has been coming by a kind of compound service that appears to start from the warehouse in Amazon contractor vehicles but upon arriving in Albuquerque is handled by USPS. For something like a couple of years that USPS final delivery stage of Amazon packages has included Sunday. I have seen the delivery vehicles from the backend, and so far as I could tell the only thing they were carrying on Sunday was Amazon packages.

I have had 2 separate deliveries on the same day from different trucks/drivers, but the same delivery company. Depends which truck it gets put on and there is apparently some overlap of delivery areas (I guess). Or maybe a special trip since the package that was delivered 2nd was supposed to arrive 2 days earlier. Very odd, but it has happened, but just once.