If a package is misdelivered

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

If a package is misdelivered (UPS, FedEx, Amazon) does the recipient have any legal obligation to get it corrected? Or can they just keep it?

 

(Amazon does it often, but they always give me a refund so I’m not really complaining about them.)

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Good question!  

 

Mebbe we should ask Alpo...?   

[Alpo]

If something is delivered to your house that you did not order, legally it is yours to do with as you will. Keep it, send it back, throw it away, sell it, set it on fire (not recommended if it was a 8 lb jug of powder).

 

 

[Pat Riot]

10 minutes ago, Alpo said:

If something is delivered to your house that you did not order, legally it is yours to do with as you will. Keep it, send it back, throw it away, sell it, set it on fire (not recommended if it was a 8 lb jug of powder).

 

 

This is what I have heard. Well, not the fire part. 

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

I have my doubts about the soundness of this advice.

[Texas Joker]

I usually just walk it down the hill to the neighbor.

 

Put it back in the mailbox with the flag up

[Tequila Shooter]

Maybe this is just me but if I got a package with someone else’s name and address I’d do my best to get it to them.  If for some reason it had my address but not my name I’d ask around to see if anyone knows them.  My thinking is that it’s easy to transpose a number in an address, but my street is not very long and I know most of the folks on it.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I would try to return it or get it to it's rightful owner. I do it all the time with mail around here because our mailpeople can't read addresses plus we don't have the same mailperson everyday it's always someone different! Same thing with Amazon and other delivery places but it NEVER happens with UPS, FEDEX or AMAZON juts the damn USPS! They're just terrible!

[Matthew Duncan]

I ordered a replacement cell phone.  Two days FedEx sent me notification that it was delivered.  I checked the front porch, under the porch chairs and cushions, by the overhead garage door, around the bushes and tress in the front yard and at the back door.  No package.  Maybe FedEx meant they had delivered it ti the USPS for the final leg?  So I waited a few more days.  No package.  I called the Seller.  Seller didn't blink and eye and said they would have a second cell phone on the way and would email me a return label for my first order if it was ever delivered.  Two days later FedEx delivered to me my second cell phone.  

 

TWO weeks later FedEx delivered my FIRST cell phone order!!!  For two weeks it has been bouncing around where?  I didn't open the package just placed the emailed return label and sent it back.  

 

Our house is on the North side of the road and 2 1/2 miles from the New Paris Post Office.  Do we have a New Paris address?  Nope.  Because the USPS requires our mailbox to be placed on the South side of our road we have a Syracuse address.  The Syracuse Post Office is 10 miles from our house.  Sometimes map program can't find our Syracuse address but if you use New Paris the map program can find us.  I'm guessing a new FedEx Driver had trouble finding us and delivered to the wrong address?

[Sedalia Dave]

My boss video taped a delivery driver throw two packages over a fence into a pasture once. Guess their GPS couldn't find the house so the driver took the easy way out rather than ask for help.

[Utah Bob #35998]

No, it ain’t finders keepers. Like when a deposit is made in error into your bank account. You don’t get to keep the money. People have found that out!

 

Here’s a twist. iPad a package delivered once that had me name and address on it but underneath the label was another one that was illegible. It was some kind of water filter mechanism none of my neighbors knew what it was. I took it to the UPS store.

When we were in NC for an extended period of Time I got a call from the sheriff back home that a neighbor had reported a big package by our mailbox that had been sitting there for days. A deputy responded, checked the house and put the package in the barn. When we got back home I checked the 5 foot long box out and the label was completely washed out. No indication of where it was going or where it came from. I opened the box. It’s a nice floor mop. The heavy duty commercial kind like you’d use in a restaurant or warehouse. None of the neighbors had ordered it. It’s still in the barn. I’m going to take it to the VFW post. 
Not that anybody will use it there but it’ll be out of my way. : D

 

This is why I’m nervous about some stuff I ordered. Tracking number stated that the address label was unreadable so “another was applied”. Duh Roh! 

[Subdeacon Joe]

If it has someone else's name and address and was obviously just dropped at the wrong place I'll try to get it to the rightful recipient, sometimes by calling the carrier, sometimes by taking it to them myself.  

If it has only my name and address, is not something I ordered, and does not have an invoice for payment with it I will either keep it, mark it REFUSED, UNORDERED, RETURN TO SENDER if delivered by USPS or call the carrier and tell them to pick it up.  If it has an invoice I will call the supplier, tell them I did not order it, will not pay the invoice, please generate a call tag and get it picked up.  I had one outfit that insisted I had ordered it and owed them the $50-something, pay up or face action.  I told them good luck, please issue the call tag, if it isn't picked up in a week the stuff goes into the trash.  Never heard back.  

[Henry T Harrison]

In Pennsylvania it’s a crime of theft of property lost mislaid or stolen 

Of course if the package has your name on it all bets are off

[largo casey #19191]

I live on a corner My address is 1200 .The house on the corner north of me is also 1200 but my street is northsouth. theres is eastwest.I don't how many years ago this happened but I've lived here since 56.

                                                                                                     Largo

[Ozark Shark]

Living in the same condo complex as my parents, I will get their packages anytime the delivery person can't figure it out or can't be bothered to walk to a second location.  It's nearly a weekly event.  I also seem to end up with any neighbors packages that have an incomplete or missing unit number on them.

[Utah Bob #35998]

23 minutes ago, Ozark Shark said:

Living in the same condo complex as my parents, I will get their packages anytime the delivery person can't figure it out or can't be bothered to walk to a second location.  It's nearly a weekly event.  I also seem to end up with any neighbors packages that have an incomplete or missing unit number on them.

Living in my sister in law’s apartment complex the FedEx dude would just toss the packages up the stairwell. There were two apartments there. I guess he figured that was close enough. He had a pretty good arm. He had to throw em up one handed because he was always on the phone. Well, the heavy ones he would just leave at the bottom of the stairs. 

[Matthew Duncan]

1 hour ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

...If it has only my name and address, is not something I ordered, ...

 

I received a call at work.  Caller wanted to send me a power drill free for being a good customer of theirs.  Just need my name and shipping address, I didn't recall their company but I was busy, ignored the alarms going off in my head and gave them my name and shipping address.  Couple weeks later Receiving asked me about a box of a dozen 4 foot florescent bulbs.  Strange, we buy replaced bulbs from the local hardware.  I called our Accounting Department, did they receive a bill for the bulbs?  Yes $300...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I told Accounting not to pay the bill and give me a copy of the invoice.  I called the number on the invoice.  "Who ordered these bulbs?" I asked.  I was told Matthew Duncan.  I then asked "What is the Purchase Order number?" I was told that Matthew Duncan said that a Purchase Order wasn't needed.  "Well that is strange", I replied.  "You are talking to Matthew Duncan, Purchase Orders are required on ALL orders and I did not order these bulbs AND I'm not paying $300 for $40 worth of bulbs."  Would I settle for $150?  "NO".  Well it will take them some time to generate a return label...no problem I'll send them back to you on our dime!

 

I sent the box of bulbs back to them in their original box and packing.  A week later I got a call, the bulbs were damage in transit and they wanted me to pay for the damaged bulbs.  "They were shipped back exactly as you shipped them to us.  Good bye.

 

Scam!

 

And no I never received the promised power drill....

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

We used to get a lot of scams for various items.

When the city installed an Intranet system, I started broadcasting "Things to Watch Out For" to the requisitioners in the branches and Departments who were responsible for issuing Small Orders.

It cut down on the number of scams experienced and our Auditor was pleased with my efforts as was our Security Coordinator, a retired RCMP Officer; but one event remains etched in my mind.

I had blocked a scam payment, but since the scammer was not in our country and was basically out of reach, he took it upon himself to call the Mayor's Office and complain he wasn't being paid and that I was mean to him.

The Mayor's Executive Assistant, (Who thought his trips to the bathroom didn't cause any objectionable odors called me up and read me the riot act, in a totally unpleasant manner, without listening to the WHY of the matter.

OK. No Problem.

Remember the Auditor? And the Security Coordinator?

They paid a visit to the Mayor's Office and the Executive Assistant and the conversation went something like this:

"Did you call Mr. C.L.Kid and order him to make a payment to XYZ?"

"I most certainly did!"

"How do you know XYZ?"

"They called in a complaint and I acted on it"

"What is your relationship with the company?"

"I've heard of them. What's this about?"

"Well, Mr. Kid and the Ottawa Police have identified XYZ as the perpetrator of numerous frauds in Ottawa and we now need to determine the extent of your involvement with them." 

 

After I retired, things sorta slipped in that regard and people got careless again.

Recently, a hack into the e-mail system ended up with one notable scam that earned the scammer over $100,000.00 that was only discovered when another attempt was made and the Finance Commissioner thought to mention the ordered transaction to the person who supposedly ordered it, only to be asked, "What?"

[Cactus Jack Calder]

I live on the north side of a lake on Shadow Lane. There is a house on the south side of the lake on Shadow Drive with the same street number. You know what happens a lot. I just call them on their cell and they stop by on the way home from work to pick it up. The strange thing is I’ve never had to go retrieve a package Miss delivered to their house, and I’m not missing any deliveries either. 
I wonder why UPS, FEDEX and USPS can find my house but can’t find the one across the lake? Their house is newer than mine (3 years vs 17 years) but come on! Three years and they still can’t tell the difference between Lane and Drive? 
At least I’ve made a new friend.

 

Who knows why the Village felt that Lane and Drive was a good idea. It used to be Shadow Lake North and Shadow Lake South so the Village changed it “To avoid confusion.” To paraphrase Yoda, The idiocy is strong in this decision.

 

CJ