Canada Post screw up

[Rathji]

So my wife's sister has been expecting a gift package and the tracking says it has been delivered on Dec 21, but the package or the slip to pick it up at a postal outlet was not received. She called last night to see if maybe it was just sitting there, and it turns out they delivered it to the wrong place and they have a signature, but cannot provide an address.

Is there anything that can be done to track down the package? The best they can do is guess the name from who signed for it.

[T@T]

Hopefully the package was insured for 2x it's worth.

[Gundo]

I ALWAYS get insurance for 2-3x's the packages worth for this exact reason. You can put in a claim if you can but it's gonna be hard to get through to Canada post this week.

[3 Justin 3]

Who signs for a package that isn't theirs? A-holes who deserve to get disease of the face, that's who. Seriously, who does this?

Hopefully you get the package or like they mentioned some money from insurance.

[burnin_vernon]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Who signs for a package that isn't theirs? A-holes who deserve to get disease of the face, that's who. Seriously, who does this?

Most people sign without even looking at the package, but who knows.
If it was a carrier who had been on the route at least a week, it would be surprising to me that they have no idea where it was delivered. Does she get her mail at her house or does she go to a community mailbox? How big was the parcel?

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

Most people sign without even looking at the package, but who knows.
If it was a carrier who had been on the route at least a week, it would be surprising to me that they have no idea where it was delivered. Does she get her mail at her house or does she go to a community mailbox? How big was the parcel?

I would never sign a package without seeing if it's actually for me, especially if I wasn't expecting it.

[pylon]

I used USPS to ship a $1600 lens once, and even though I took the initiative to check off signature online, and call the retailer as well to confirm, Canada stupid post, left it on the radiator in the vestibule in our condo complex, even though signature required was on the paperwork, inside the shipping packet, and on the sticker on the box. Thank god one of my neighbors grabbed it and held it for me as I didn't come home until the next day. Sure it was insured, but I have heard any claim over $100 takes months with Canada Post.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

Most people sign without even looking at the package, but who knows.
If it was a carrier who had been on the route at least a week, it would be surprising to me that they have no idea where it was delivered. Does she get her mail at her house or does she go to a community mailbox? How big was the parcel?

The mail goes to the house, and we don't know for sure how big it was, but it contained quiet a few things from the sounds of it so I don't think it was a small package.

I hope her boyfriend had it insured, but if not then, oh well, his loss not mine.

I am just surprised that in multiple phone calls to Canada Post the best she can figure out is that someone probably named Susan signed for it.

[CrusaderPi]

Just ship with UPS. Saves all sorts of problems.

Also, don't waste the carriers time when they're asking for signatures.

[malcolmk14]

In somewhat related news, I ordered something off eBay on December 3rd, it shipped with USPS, and on December 4 was processed through a sort facility in coppel, tx. Nothing reported since then. Is it normal for stuff to take that long to ship?

[octothorp]

She should ask the post office if they can confirm what postal code it was delivered to. If it was delivered to the correct postal code, you're probably dealing with a couple blocks radius, and some signs posted on telephone polls might yield some results. It would probably depend on the contents of the package, as to whether or not it was worth that sort of effort.

[theonlywhiteout]

Canada Post is mostly private. The postal outlets you and I go to are run by the stores that you find them. So 7-11, Rexall, Paragon, Shoppers, etc, they run a significant part of our postal system. They pay some under educated and under motivated putz 8 bucks an hour to handle registered mail and other valuable packages. The mail is delivered to your home is also likely delivered by a contractor who is not a Canada Post employee. They are over worked, under paid, and under contract.

Our postal system is a complete joke, and if people worked even 1 month in it and saw the system behind the scenes they'd never used Canada Post for important parcels again.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

In somewhat related news, I ordered something off eBay on December 3rd, it shipped with USPS, and on December 4 was processed through a sort facility in coppel, tx. Nothing reported since then. Is it normal for stuff to take that long to ship?

100% normal. My USPS stuff will show being handled at a US site- and then not touched for weeks. I receive it and a few days later USPS shows it delivered.

Recently I had an item showing November 28th being handled; then delivered last Monday.

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

Our postal system is a complete joke, and if people worked even 1 month in it and saw the system behind the scenes they'd never used Canada Post for important parcels again.

Perhaps but all my mail gets to their destination in a timely fashion and I've never had any lost mail. Brokerage fees are low... really nothing to complain about. I rather ship through Canada Post than UPS or FedEx. Purolator is probably the only company worth shipping through.

[bomber317]

Originally Posted by CrusaderPi

Just ship with UPS. Saves all sorts of problems.

Also, don't waste the carriers time when they're asking for signatures.

Errr, you're joking right? UPS?

If UPS didn't charge a ridiculous amount for "brokerage" fees I might be ok with them. Getting charged $30 "brokerage" fee for a $40 item last year was horrible. I would have refused the package if it wasn't for the fact that my girlfriend ordered the item. Then my sister getting charged $45 "brokerage" fee for a pair of $60 shoes.

She complained to the company that made the shoes and they have now changed shipping companies from UPS to USPS for international orders.

UNLESS, you're talking about UPS express, the one time I got something shipped from them, there was no brokerage fee at all. Apparently the same thing was said to my sister when she was talking to the UPS driver that dropped off her shoes.

USPS is the best in terms of value but they can get backlogged during the Christmas season since Canada Post needs to handle the customs charges.

[boogerz]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Perhaps but all my mail gets to their destination in a timely fashion and I've never had any lost mail. Brokerage fees are low... really nothing to complain about. I rather ship through Canada Post than UPS or FedEx.

Backed


UPS and Fedex brokerage fees are absolutely ridiculous regardless of what you're sending, not to mention how terrible they are at shipping things. There are more bad stories than good ones about them destroying medium to large sized packages. Awful companies to deal with, especially with cross border transactions.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by boogerz

Backed


UPS and Fedex brokerage fees are absolutely ridiculous regardless of what you're sending, not to mention how terrible they are at shipping things. There are more bad stories than good ones about them destroying medium to large sized packages. Awful companies to deal with, especially with cross border transactions.

Disagreed. You just need to know what service to select.

UPS international saver includes all brokerage fees, and is 2 day service from anywhere in the US. I order at least once a month from BH photo in New York city, and the shipping is always $30-35, and there is never brokerage fees. It is by far the best service to use for stuff from the states, and I have tried every option.

The other thing you can do, is get an e-shipper account. They are awesome for rates, if the vendor will let you book the shipping, and have stuff picked up.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Rathji

So my wife's sister has been expecting a gift package and the tracking says it has been delivered on Dec 21, but the package or the slip to pick it up at a postal outlet was not received. She called last night to see if maybe it was just sitting there, and it turns out they delivered it to the wrong place and they have a signature, but cannot provide an address.

Is there anything that can be done to track down the package? The best they can do is guess the name from who signed for it.

Canada Post needs to ask the carrier who signed for the package. He should then be able to determine the address and then go retrieve it.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

In somewhat related news, I ordered something off eBay on December 3rd, it shipped with USPS, and on December 4 was processed through a sort facility in coppel, tx. Nothing reported since then. Is it normal for stuff to take that long to ship?

PM me with the information and I'll work on it for you.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Canada Post needs to ask the carrier who signed for the package. He should then be able to determine the address and then go retrieve it.

So this is possible? Every contact we have had with Canada Post has led us to believe they have no way to tell where the package had been delivered.

Is this just a case of the person working the counter at the postal outlet not knowing what they are talking about?