USPS Fails to Comprehend Meaning of Return to Sender&q

rose · July 2007

Last week I received a letter addressed to a woman who has not lived in my building for approximately eight years. I don't have a forwarding address for her, so I wrote "WRONG ADDRESS -- RETURN TO SENDER" in large capital letters on the front of the envelope, with an arrow pointing to the return address.

Knowing that this was not enough to prevent the post office from redelivering this letter to me, I took a Sharpie and crossed out the bar code on the envelope, and I inked over the plastic window on the envelope so my address was completely covered. Then I took it to the Van Brunt post office and dropped it in a mailbox there.

The letter was redelivered to me today. The post office had actually removed the inked-over plastic window to uncover the address. Then they put a new bar code sticker on the envelope. So here it is again. What the hell? Why are they so stupid? Why were they so determined to redeliver this letter to a place where it is clearly unwanted? And meanwhile, letters that are sent addressed to me, at my correct address, at a house that has been standing here for 100+ years, get returned to the sender marked "no such address"? Why why why? :evil:

armchair_warrior · July 2007

i get one every other day. they'll return that same letter 5 times or more till they don't bother giving it back to me lol.

shishkab · July 2007

me, too!

homeowner · July 2007

There was a poor lady that had the exact same address as me, except that she lived in MAINE. I got a letter addressed to her which I wrote Return to Sender-Unknown at Address on and dropped in the mailbox. The letter came back. I took a highlighter marked the State and zip code and circled in red, dropped in the mailbox. It came back. I crossed out the bar code and dropped again. It came back.

Finally, I put the letter in an envelope put the woman's name as both sender and return address and included a note saying that I was sorry about the condition of her letter (which by now was pretty ratty) but the postal office kept confusing NY and Maine and dropped it in the mailbox with a stamp. Hope she finally got it.

theoryofpractice · July 2007

Perhaps an e.mail to the Postmaster in Brooklyn?

[email protected]

I have complained with some results.

raw · July 2007

Park Slope's postal service seems to decline as summer's heat and humidity rise.

pureistheword · July 2007

USPS is just full of morons, it amazes me sometimes.
We do alot of mail to our clients at our job, I cant believe how many comes back no such address, etc. when we are sure its correct and we have shipped to it so many times.

opossumqueen · August 2007

I've had the same return to sender problems as well. It gets annoying after a while.

My folks, who live far from here, send me a lot of packages via USPS. After one of the packages didn't arrive last January, my dad went to his post office to inquire. He was asked how he sent it and he just said general post. They said, oh well if you really want the package delivered, send it priority. The next package he sent went priority and I never got it.

At the end of March, the first package he sent (in January) was in the lobby of my building along with several others for other tenants. They all looked fairly rough. I never got the priority package that he spent extra money to send.

My folks now drive to another town to send stuff UPS and I've gotten everything.

I hate the USPS as a business--they are incredibly unreliable.

armchair_warrior · August 2007

using the usps is like playing russian roulette sometimes you win and most of the time you lose. and with precious packages i would never trust them.

amity gal · August 2007

Thank you for the email address, Theory of Practice. I was having a tough time figuring out how to file my complaints about mail delivery.

michaelkeys · August 2007

Yeah, the concept of 'return to sender' is foreign to the USPS.

As for package delivery, the USPS may be idoits but in my experience they're not as evil as UPS, who leave packages without getting a signature and then the packages generally disappear. If its bigger than my mailbox the USPS leaves a notice, just like FedEx. But if no one is home when UPS delivers, good luck. Especially if you have klepto neighbors.

drea · August 2007

UPS *is* evil, lol. I guess they also have their brain farts too-a few Christmases ago, they delivered a package for me across the street, to a totally different number address. It was great, lol. The girl was nice enough to bring it over to me.

filmlover44 · August 2007

My solution is to get as many packages at work as I can, unless it's summertime and the kids are around.

gems247 · September 2007

I was at the 2nd St post office on Friday & someone was trying to give the postal employee a letter for someone that doesn't live in his apt. The postal employee told the guy he had to take the return to sender mail to the 9th St post office. If he left it with her it would be resent to him.

Really? I couldn't believe that was the answer. Yeah, we all have the time to walk blocks & blocks out of our way because 2nd St doesn't want to deal with it.

Thanks for the email address - I will surely send my suggestions their way.

drmcninja · November 2007

1. Cross out the address with a sharpie and remove or obliterate barcode.

2. Write "no such person - addressee has moved" (because clearly the address itself is correct, just the addressee is no longer there, and they are obligated to deliver mail to the right person and address. Nothing about saying "wrong address" tells USPS that there's a name/address mismatch.

3. If they redeliver again, commit the federal crime and (gasp!) throw it away.

michaelkeys · November 2007

DrMcNinja wrote: 1. Cross out the address with a sharpie and remove or obliterate barcode.

2. Write "no such person - addressee has moved" (because clearly the address itself is correct, just the addressee is no longer there, and they are obligated to deliver mail to the right person and address. Nothing about saying "wrong address" tells USPS that there's a name/address mismatch.

3. If they redeliver again, commit the federal crime and (gasp!) throw it away.

The Dr. kicks off his tenure old school-like. Yeah, baby!

bluecat · November 2007

OpossumQueen wrote: My folks now drive to another town to send stuff UPS and I've gotten everything.

UPS has screwed up so many times I've lost count. I've had packages lost at Foster Avenue. I've had packages 'smashed' at Foster Avenue. Any mention of the UPS Foster Ave depot makes my skin crawl. I use FedEx whenever possible.

lanciano · November 2007

Damn USPS!!

In addition to the above crossing out of barcode etc, return to sender, etc I would also write the ZIP CODE for the "return to" address at the very bottom of the front envelope.

Often times, machines read these initially and they look for a zip code at the bottom, which is what the barcode indicates. If there is no barcode or zip, it doesn't go anywhere except perhaps for into the hands of an incapable, lazy human.

I think this way, the letter has a better chance of leaving your zip code and arriving at the sender's zip. HOPEFULLY, someone on the receiving end might be able to put two and two together.

Figuring out how to get a letter to leave 112XX is apparently too difficult for our local post offices.

west meets east · November 2007

Subject: USPS - beyond help

I never like to disparage hardworking service people - being a teacher myself, however anyone who has lived in Brooklyn for a certain amount of time knows that the post office(s) are beyond the beyond in terms of terrible.

There was a lot of articles about the poor service of the Van Brunt station a couple of years ago. The neighborhood was up in arms. I've had checks addressed to me returned but my box filled with people no longer in the building. My netflix always gets to me however. Once I even put a note on the box that I was upstairs waiting for an urgent priority mail (2nd floor) and they put a pink slip in my box and returned it on a Saturday. I had to go to Van Brunt and refuse to leave the loading dock until the supervisor came and tried to tell me I couldn't get my mail. It was a plane ticket and I was leaving the next day. I actually had to yell, scream and threaten them with a lawsuit before the guy was willing to go back inside, get it and give it to me.

After that, I just have a po box which costs me ALOT of money every year so I can get my mail, checks, bills and packages.

Yet, progress came to the Atlantic Ave post office and they no longer offer bootleg videos to watch while you are standing forever in line. Yes, we're talking the ones with the shadows of the audience in them! I always thought that was priceless and something great about the neighborhood. Now they run boring loops of how to use the automated postage machine. But still do not put out envelopes for priority etc.

Just can't get no hep!

youbetcha · November 2007

While I don't have many probles with regular mail delivery (thanks to the same carrier for 10+ years) or going into the branch (PPW), I am missing 2 packages. One shipped USPS from Jersey City on 10/29, and the other came from CA on 10/30. The website gives no details after the pickup.

So, have these packages gone to the black hole of the 9th St. station? If so, what can I do to get them delivered? There have been no delivery attempted notices, so I can't go in there with slip in hand

hamilton · November 2007

Subject: PPW Branch

Whats with that 40+ worker with a do-rag and six strands of hanging corn rows along with those hip hop clown clothes he wears while working.

At one time i thought the Post Office required uniforms?
[ did MTV buy them out]

theory · November 2007

Subject: Re: PPW Branch

Hamilton wrote: Whats with that 40+ worker with a do-rag and six strands of hanging corn rows along with those hip hop clown clothes he wears while working.

At one time i thought the Post Office required uniforms?
[ did MTV buy them out]

I can't remember his name, but he's been pretty helpful and pleasant to me whenever I go in there, and that's really all I care about.

hamilton · November 2007

Subject: PPW Branch

I'm not saying he is hostile or refuses to help when asked.

Actually servicing people is his job,but there is a dress code that should be followed.

I feel when standards are set they should be followed

west meets east · November 2007

Subject: How to get lost packages

Flexichick wrote:

So, have these packages gone to the black hole of the 9th St. station? If so, what can I do to get them delivered? There have been no delivery attempted notices, so I can't go in there with slip in hand

When Van Brunt delivered my mail they almost NEVER left a delivery slip. You can just go to 9th street and ask at the window where they hold packages. Don't take NO for an answer and make them check for your packages. Bring your ID. Sometimes they try to dismiss you if you don't bring a pink slip but I swear one time I could see my package on the shelf and they kept insisting they didn't have it. Finally I asked for their supervisor and they got the package, ID'd me and finally gave it to me.

So just be persistant! You'll get your package.

Good luck!

xbox king · November 2007

Thanks.....I just sent an email thru the website asking where my packages are. If I don't get a response, I'll have to go down there in person

USPS Fails to Comprehend Meaning of Return to Sender&q

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