This week, Paul received a package back from UPS that had somehow never reached its destination. That’s not so unusual. What was unusual was how long it had wandered off for. He had mailed the next day air envelope at least fourteen years ago.

I just had UPS return a damaged overnight envelope to my business after being missing for over 14 plus years. I could not believe it. The package was torn open and the contents missing. After 14 plus years, I have no idea what we sent the customer as our records are long gone. The only way I could tell that the package was so old was that there was our company label on the package with our UPS shipping number. The address for our company shows my home address where I started the business and ran it out of my home when I first started.

I had to look online at my towns property records to see what year (1995) that I bought my first commercial building to move the business into rather than run it out of my home. I’m in a new location now and still have a UPS account. UPS was able to find me and return the overnight envelope to my new location.

UPS set up a claim number but I called them and explained that this was shipped some 14 plus years ago and that our record are long gone. I even tried doing a UPS track using the tracking number and the tracking number does not even come back to anything. I get a message saying that I need to give them more numbers. The customer service rep. was very nice but was amazed that I was telling her this package was 14 plus years old and that I did not have the paperwork nor the UPS manifest because in those days everything was hand written. The customer service rep. was actually laughing about it.

I couldn’t file a claim if I wanted to since all the records were long gone. I told the girl to cancel the claim. Who knows what I shipped the customer 14 plus years ago. You have to give UPS credit they were willing to pay the claim not knowing that this was so old.

Yes, while it’s curious that the package went missing for so long, lost its contents, and then still found its way back to Paul, we are rather impressed that UPS is willing to pay his claim if he does ever manage to figure out what was in that envelope… a decade and a half ago.

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