Stupid Postage

[Kogo Shuko]

I understand it's frustrating, but you don't have to be rude about it. The person made an arrow to Government of Canada and wrote RETURN TO SENDER.

I'm afraid there is more than one department in the 'Government of Canada', and if the previous homeowner was affiliated with more than one department (which is often the case) then sending it back to one department with a rude message on it isn't going to fix it throughout the entire government. I'm afraid the interdepartmental communication doesn't go as far as telling other departments if someone has moved.

And... postage is so much more cheaper in the US! I had no idea! It's something like 52 cents here. I could be wrong, as I haven't sent out a letter since before Christmas, and Lord knows we constantly up the price of postage here!

[protege]

Ah the USPS. The only place I know of where I've had mail get to *Australia* faster than it does across town! Some of you who I sent Christmas cards to last year know what I mean

[marasbaras]

Ah the USPS. The only place I know of where I've had mail get to *Australia* faster than it does across town! Some of you who I sent Christmas cards to last year know what I mean

Clearly, you've never tried shipping anything into Canada ... Canadian Customs is rather unfriendly when it comes to mail.

[Kogo Shuko]

Clearly, you've never tried shipping anything into Canada ... Canadian Customs is rather unfriendly when it comes to mail.

*nods*

I ordered something from the states in the beginning of November, figuring it would get to me before December 25. I didn't receive it until January 11th.

The company had sent it out on November 20th, I think... and then it was stuck at customs for a month. I think it might have had something to do with the box, though:



I don't think customs took kindly to that. =/

[marasbaras]

I think Canadian Customers doesn't take kindly to actually trying to get things into Canada. That box probably pissed them off royally!

I've had things reach desolate portions of Australia before they reached Canada. And, I'm talking shipping from SEATTLE to VANCOUVER, BC.

Canadian Customs ... working hard to ensure the rush charges on your order were a waste of money.

[zzapp the witch]

A few years ago I mailed a friend in the Navy an afghan I had crocheted for when he was (I know starboard is right, but nautical terms escape me) on top of the submarine.... Took him over 2 months to get it. When he got it he called and told me the box had been opened and reopened about 3-5 times (based on layers of tape). His suggestion was to next time write "blanket" on the customs form, instead of "afghan". He proceeded to make jokes about how I was mailing him Osama bin Laden in a box......

[SuperB]

A lot of the strange routes you see are the fault of the sender. People don't realize that a machine reads their handwritten zip code and if it isn't perfect will send it to the wrong zip. I deal with quite a bit of that for a small office, I can only imagine how many a much larger office has to deal with.

I used to spend the time to go through our books, look up each city and address and correct the zip myself. It's become so old and annoying that I just don't anymore.

[deafcat24]

This is not USPS but UPS.

Let me explain a little. Our town is about halfway between Peterborough and Toronto, so to get to Peterborough, you have to go through us.

My mom ordered a package that came from Winnipeg and arrived in the Concord Center. Our regular UPS center is in Peterborough.

Instead of delivering to us the day before, the driver decided to took it all the way from the other side of Toronto to Peterborough. Then another driver would have to come back to deliver it the next day.

The package was already late arriving in Peterborough, why didn`t they just deliver it as they had to come through my town anyway.

Of course there was missing packages, both then and her most recent order.

[Andara Bledin]

Most POs are great, but there are a few sucky ones out there.

The one that serves my office has a habit of holding mail for anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. This goes for both outgoing and incoming mail. We regularly get auction announcements delivered after the auction has happened.

But the best misroute story I have is from UPS. They managed to misroute a whole container load of overnight packages. Instead of going from southern California to northern California, they shipped them all off to Ireland!

^-.-^

[Gurndigarn]

In fairness to the person returning the mail, I've lived in places for well over a year, only to have mail still coming for the previous occupant.

I've started getting junk mail for a person and his company who left here at least eight years ago, probably more. Some damn idiot started selling mailing lists that hadn't been checked up on, I'm sure.

And... postage is so much more cheaper in the US! I had no idea! It's something like 52 cents here. I could be wrong, as I haven't sent out a letter since before Christmas, and Lord knows we constantly up the price of postage here!

With the price of fuel jumping, we're likely to see more increases soon. I just wish they'ld make the price something that's a multiple of fives, though, and keep it that way.

[dougiezerts]

I'm 100% with Aethian on this one .. in fact, the USPS has to give money TO the US government ... which is why postage went up last time.

I can't stand people who gripe about the cost of a stamp. For 40-something cents, you can drop a letter in ANY MAILBOX in America and in a few days it'll be delivered to ANY OTHER MAILBOX in America. A bloody bargain!

Think about the post office corruption in other countries. I hear that Italy's mail system is notoriously bad.

[froglet]

Gods I'm rambling...I need hugs... *cries and whimpers* Need day off....

I like the fact that the USPS maintains a jet boat for taking letters once a month up the Snake River in Washington/Idaho and also has a mule train that goes down into the Grand Canyon. Can't imagine what strangeness they have for the Yukon.

Erm? I hope you're using "The Yukon" as a generic term...

[Primer]

I've started getting junk mail for a person and his company who left here at least eight years ago, probably more. Some damn idiot started selling mailing lists that hadn't been checked up on, I'm sure.

I grew up in a house in town, and moved out of there in 1978. In about 2004 I received a phone call from a neighbor (the mom of my childhood friend) that still lived in that area. She had been house-sitting for the "new" owners, and received a piece of mail addressed to me. She recognized my name, looked me up in the phone book, and called to confirm that I was the same person. I confirmed, and she forwarded the letter to me. It was a privacy policy from the bank I used to use, whose account had been closed since 1979! Way to keep up with the records there! (BTW, that's 26 years, and about 6 changes of address, all filed with the post office.)

[protege]

We're still getting mail for my grandfather...who died nearly 20 years ago. Nothing really important, except people asking for donations

[Ironclad Alibi]

I like the fact that the USPS maintains a jet boat for taking letters once a month up the Snake River in Washington/Idaho and also has a mule train that goes down into the Grand Canyon. Can't imagine what strangeness they have for the Yukon.

The USPS doesn't deliver to the Yukon. The Yukon is in Canada and is served by Canada Post.