Chris lives in a neighborhood of single-family homes and apartment buildings, which pretty much look alike. For a long time, he received packages from a certain vendor with no problems: UPS would leave a “sorry we missed you!” slip, he would sign the slip, and the driver would leave the package the following day. This time, it didn’t work: he only received another slip. Why? Because he lives in a three-family house, which counts as an apartment building as far as UPS is concerned. They can’t just leave a package in front of an apartment building.

One option available to him: UPS My Choice, of course. Chris isn’t the first person who has written to us who feels like that program is more of a protection racket than something helpful to consumers.

I arrive home Monday to find a note on my door that I missed a UPS package. Items from the vendor I ordered from have never required a signature before so I wasn’t expecting this, but gladly signed the slip allowing the driver to leave the package and left it on my door Tuesday when I left for work.

I came home Tuesday night to another slip, and was a bit frustrated. I wanted to give UPS the benefit of the doubt and assume the slip just blew off the door, but called to be sure. This is where the fun starts.

The rep informed me an in-person signature was required due to a contractual agreement with the sender, and gave me the usual “have a neighbor sign for it or pick it up” options. This had never been the case with that company before.

Frustrated, I took to Twitter and was given an email address to send my issue to. I explained my situation, and that the only neighbors I know well enough to ask are elderly and [couldn’t have] make it down the stairs easily to sign, and pickup wasn’t an option for me before the event I needed the package for.

Today, I received an email from UPS that essentially reiterated the neighbor or pickup option. However, I was also told that the in person signature requirement was a UPS policy, not the sender-directly contradicting what I was told on the phone. Apparently it is their policy for apartment buildings. I live in a 3 family house, with the same type of front porch (and obviously in the same neighborhood) as the 1 family house next to me, where they would happily leave a package. On top of that, UPS ground has left packages multiple times (ironically from the same source) without ANY signature at all.

Here’s the kicker, the last email they sent included this: “We do have a service called UPS My Choice that may allow you to request that packages be released without a signature for future shipments.” Isn’t that what the slip that I can’t use is supposed to do?!

In summation, UPS refuses to leave an item that I have paid for on my porch, even with multiple verbal, electronic and written forms of permission freeing them of any liability once they leave it. Yet they have done it before with NO signature, and apparently it depends on which side of the coin their loose definition of apartment building falls on that day.

I can’t understand how something so simple can be so frustrating, and I definitely won’t be doing any business with UPS when I have to ship items myself in the future.

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