What Happens When You Mess Up A Zip Code? Things Get Messy!

An interesting read as to what happens to a package if the sender inadvertently writes out the wrong ZIP Code ... at this time of year it seems it's not human error but MACHINES that keep bouncing it back and forth to various processing centers like ping pong balls:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/...facility.php

That's insanity!

It's too bad the item isn't cancelled at each stop. It would make it a pretty interesting piece and I would be very tempted to mess up some ZIP Codes on purpose just to see the markings the cover would get.

Yikes is all I can say.
Tom

I think the post office is way over automated for its own good. I had a letter that was sent from Indianapolis to Holland , MI that took 2 days. It was then forwarded to me in North Carolina which took an additional 3 weeks (22 days). That wasn't even at Christmas time. Moral of the story, if you need something forwarded and want it quickly have someone put it in a new envelope and then send it. Their computers are hell bent for getting the mail to an original destination and no where else.

Good advice. When you deal with our government stick to the norm and you're okay. Deviate and your looking for trouble.
Tom

In this case, it's not a ZIP Code issue, but another example of how a piece of mail can be "caught in a loop" ... this time logging over 10,000 miles across the US and back in an attempt to deliver it:

http://www.krqe.com/news/on-assignm...oops-country

I feel like everything is done this way(over automated). I don't know if I've given this story, but I lived 2 traffic lights from a calender warehouse, did they send it to me that way? nope, 300 miles north, 300 miles south, then to me, took over a week. Was one of those drop shippers. For whatever oddness goes into the USPS routing, I still get items through them faster than the other carriers! Go figure.

Actually, this article reminds me of an experience I had last month. They sent my item to the wrong address, some reason the USPS didn't forward and returned it back sender. But the company couldn't guarantee where the resent package would go, the wrong address or the new address, it was up to if the computer was updated with my current address before the thing ships! It was left to chance!

Back to topic, I think I see the issue here, this is a box with those bar codes they stick on, like priority mail(if this is a stock image or not). I am deducting that this is just a zip code, and the machines are reading these only. Versus a bill or other letter where the scanners read your address. Now the question I have is, do those mail sorting machines for regular 1st class mail compare the city/state/zip, or are they only reading the zip I place in there?