The USPS Mis-Directed An Important Package - What Do I Do?

Hi,
I realize this isn't in our normal subject matter, but I also realize this audience would / could be of great help and direction.

On 12/20 I brought an 8x12 envelope, containing my amended 2014 tax return, to the local post office for mailing. It was sent via priority mail with tracking.

This very important envelope was going from north Houston to Austin Texas, and Austin Texas was on the tracking receipt.

Two days later I look and the package was in CHICAGO. Well, a mistake was made and they will return it to Austin - I thought.

Two days later I look and the package is in Jamaica NY!!

For the last 6 days a notice is on the tracking page saying "your package was misdirected and is in route".

OK, if it hasn't been properly routed by Tuesday, I intend to speak to someone at the PO. But what is their procedure? What can/will they do?

HELP !!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

If the envelope hasn't been lost, they'll eventually get it right. If you are/were facing a deadline with your tax form, I'd call the state (?) revenue agency to let them know what has occurred. They may want some documentation of the mailing.

I hope the IRS receives your package. I recently had a rather odd occurrence with the USPS. In late November I purchased a C1 from an ebay seller who promptly shipped the item via USPS with a tracking number and by strange coincidence the number although accepted by the USPS was never scanned from the originating PO all the way to my address. I think these tracking numbers give the sender and receiver a false sense of security.

Go to the post office !

Peter

I found that when printing shipping labels through ebay, in MOST cases the tracking bar code was not scanned until the delivery scan.

My ebay account summary almost a month after receiving the item still lists the tracking number as being accepted and when the item enters the USPS tracking will be enabled. I will take Peter4522's as always good advice.

I would call USPS customer support first (800-275-8777). There's not a lot your local post office can do once it leaves. I'm going to guess that somehow the zip code on the package may have gotten smudged/scraped, and the automated scanners/sorters are having a hard time reading it correctly. That's why it's going all over the country.

If you ever get one of these envelopes, it's a lot of fun peeling off all the white/yellow scanning labels and seeing what the scanner thought it was reading. Of course, until the mail is actually delivered, it's not much fun.

Best wishes... (Things were a lot faster when they still had the downtown facility instead of sending everything to north Houston. Now everything often takes a minimum of 2 days, even for in town items.)

I wouldn't stress too much about it. I've had a couple ebay purchases go astray during delivery this Christmas season. They all got here. One took 2 weeks It went from San Francisco to New jersey to Florida before making it here to Mass

Considering it is a package to the IRS, I would suggest that you do contact USPS, just in case the entire address label is affected (not just the zip code).

Last fall, I had given up on a lost envelope and authorized our NPO to write out and send a replacement check. The next day, we actually got the original check mailing back -- more than 2 months after we mailed it. Apparently the scanning equipment had trouble differentiating between a "2" and a "7" in the zip code. Of course, a postal worker could have simply googled the name of the school on the envelope address and manually enter/produce a scanning bar, but that would be too easy.

Instead it took a tour of America, eventually coming back to us.

Hi, thought an update is in order...........
I called the number provided by khj (Thank You!) and got to talk with a very knowledgeable and helpful fellow. He said my situation was "unusual" and that he would set up a "case" for it. He took down all the info, and said it would be assigned to a supervisor and I should hear back from them within 3 days. The fellow made me feel good about the process, and we will see what happens.

Yeeehaaa !!
Just got alerted that the USPS found the envelope in Syracuse NY and airlifted it to Austin (final destination) and it arrived yesterday morning. Wow, I was sweating that out - having all our personal info floating around the country.

Thanks again for your help, and I have to say, my faith is renewed!
Mobilman44

Hahaha! Which Austin?

Austin, Washington
Austin, Utah
Austin, Texas
Austin, Tennessee
Austin, Rhode Island
Austin, Pennsylvania
Austin, Oregon
Austin, Ohio
Austin, North Carolina
Austin, New York
Austin, Nevada
Austin, Montana
Austin, Missouri
Austin, Mississippi
Austin, Minnesota
Austin, Michigan
Austin, Kentucky
Austin, Indiana
Austin, Illinois
Austin, Colorado
Austin, California
Austin, Arkansas

Oh, there is another Austin outside of Texas? Amazing!!

I didn't realize Stephen F. Austin - hero of Texas - was celebrated in those "other" states...........