Any advice on this?

[spa]

Hi guys,

i sent a registered express package to U.K. at Nov 5 2009. The guy i sent the package informed

me that he didn't receive yet.

So i went to my local Post Office to ask what happened and found out that the package

was sent by mistake to the United States instead of United Kingdom.

I checked the tracking number of the package i sent with usps.com track and trace online tool and

voila the package is there, arrived at Nov 6 2009 to New York.

I already e-mailed USPS explaining them that i am the sender of the packet and that the packet was destined to U.K. and not U.S.A. (arrived at U.S.A. by mistake). I asked them what can be done for this.

Have you any experience on similar situations?

What's gonna happen? Will USPS send back the package to me?

Will they re-route it to U.K. where it should originally go?

Will they play football with my packet and then trash it?

I need to give an answer to the U.K. fellow about the whole situation and either refund him (it was an eBay sell)

or ask him to wait few days more...

Thanks in advance.

Edited November 16, 2009 by spa

[Demsey]

I asked them what can be done for this.

What did they say?

I have had a similar experience as the 'receiver' of a package that went to the wrong destination via USPS. They rerouted the package and I got it ultimately. It is more cost effective to complete the forward than a return to sender.

Unfortunately, the USPS being a 'governement run' institution there is no motivation, pan wide, for good consideration for work ethic. If your package, luckily, falls into the hands of a conscientious worker, you will be OK. The fact it were 'lost' in the first place was due to an un-conscientious worker. Being 'governement employees' they will be paid come hell or high water, and know to have them 'fired' is almost impossible for PC reasons. Why the hell should they care then?

I am fortunate in that coming from a small town our postal workers are very prideful. They have their own code of ethic amoungst themselves. Unfortunately once a package leaves the jurisdiction, it's a crap shoot. What you may want to do, instead of calling on the telephone or approaching 'counter personel' ask to see/speak to a supervisor. It's amazing how the rhetoric will go from "Gee I just don't know", to "I will personally look into this, may I have your home phone number?" There's a reason they advanced to 'Supervisor' than having spent fourteen years behind the counter.

Good luck!

[spa]

Demsey,

greetings!

Thanks so much for your response.

Actually USPS re-routed the package to U.K. for delivery to its correct destination.

To be honest I was 80% sure that it'd gonna be like that but, when you know that the package you sent to someone

in Europe went to the other side of the Atlantic there are always worries.

Funny thing is that although i sent the package registered (in my country this means that you have to sign to get your package), the guy from U.K. told me that the postman just left the packet outside his door!

Well, lucky he is