Chantell thought that it would be simpler and more efficient to pick up a UPS package declared “undeliverable” at the shipper’s local facility near her home–a large city somewhere in the southern half of the country. Her experience at the local distribution center could be described as many things, but “simple” and “efficient” are not even close. [More]
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Who Screwed Up And Sent Me Some Other Guy's Deodorant?
By 12.16.10
Last week, Jon kept receiving packages from drugstore.com that he didn’t order. He was confused, until some detective work solved the problem: a man with the same (relatively common) first and last names as Jon was staying at a nearby hotel, ordered the items, and an overzealous address correction system at UPS assumed that the package really belonged to Jon. What he wants to know is: who screwed up here? [More]
Man Rigs UPS Package With Car Alarm In Attempt To Catch Thief
By 12.14.10
After receiving a box full of sheets and soda cans instead of a laptop, a man in California became convinced that someone at UPS had opened and stolen his computer. So he took matters into his own hands in an attempt to catch a thief in the act. [More]
Now You Need Photo ID To Ship A UPS Package
By 12.7.10
Because there’s nothing that stops fraud or terrorism like being made to show a photo ID, UPS has announced that customers will need to show a government-issued ID when shipping that tin of cookies to their Aunt Mable for her 90th birthday. [More]
What Did This Woman Do To UPS To Get On Brown's Blacklist?
By 11.18.10
An Oregon woman whose medical problems leave her unable to drive thought that being able to buy almost anything online would make her life easier. That was before UPS began its mysterious war with her. Now, she’s forced to either buy from stores that use a different carrier, or have her packages delivered to a neighbor’s house. Why? The Oregonian tried to find out. [More]
Why Do Stores Keep Sending Me Someone Else's Stuff?
By 11.16.10
Consumerist reader Valerie is in a bit of a pickle — over the last couple of weeks, packages have been piling up at her doorstep, which would be nice if she had actually ordered them. [More]
Ticketmaster Won't Refund Shipping Charge For Unshipped World Series Tickets
By 10.27.10
As mentioned earlier, the World Series starts tonight. Consumerist reader Louis is doubly ticked-off because A) his Yankees aren’t playing and B) Ticketmaster is still holding onto some of the money he paid for tickets to a game he’ll never see. [More]
UPS Shatters Precious Sam Adams Utopia Bottle, Dreams
By 10.15.10
Z. bought a wonderful gift for his sister while in New England: a bottle of Sam Adams Utopia, a strong, expensive specialty brew that you can’t exactly buy at the corner liquor store in California, where she lives. To Z’s dismay, the package seemed to make the cross-country journey just fine, only to have the bottle break shortly before reaching Z’s doorstep. [More]
UPS Refuses To Listen To UPS, Won't Release Package To Authorized Person
By 10.1.10
What is the standard for a UPS store pickup center to release a package to someone who is not the addressee? Ace writes that apparently, one needs more than a signed note authorizing the pickup and an order from a UPS call center. What should have been a routine package pickup turned into a bizarre slap-fight. [More]
Gymboree And UPS Worked Together To Make My Life Incredibly Awkward
By 9.17.10
Caitlin has a bit of advice: if you plan to order from Gymboree and have some items shipped to you and other items shipped to a friend as a gift, don’t order all of the items in the same transaction. Maybe not on the same day. She writes that the company messed up her order in every way short of losing it or sending the wrong items, and has put her in the awkward position of having to ask her friend to send what appeared to be a gift, but was actually Caitlin’s order, to Caitlin. Gymboree, for its part, blames UPS. [More]
New UPS Envelope Has 2nd Tape Strip So You Can Use It Twice
By 8.10.10
From the department of “of course!” UPS has introduced a new reusable express envelope. It’s got a second adhesive strip that lets the recipient reuse the same envelope on a new shipment. [More]
UPS Wants To Replace Your Luggage With Their Luggage Box
By 6.30.10
As checked baggage fees continue to rise — and with nickel-and-dime carriers beginning to charge for carry-ons — it’s becoming more and more popular for air travelers to ship some of their belongings directly to and from their destinations. Now, UPS has taken it to the next level, introducing a cardboard suitcase that gives you the options of checking, carrying-on or shipping. [More]
UPS Overcharges Art Gallery $650, Offers $160 Refund
By 6.19.10
Hang needed to ship three large pieces of art to Japan in time for a gallery opening, but UPS had other plans. Rather than weigh the boxes properly or fill out the right customs forms, UPS decided to charge Hang $1,600 for a job that should’ve cost $950. Because the customs forms were improper, one of the boxes was returned as undeliverable, while another was stuck in customs and didn’t arrive until after the opening. Hang only wants UPS to refund the $650 overcharge, but UPS thinks Hang is being greedy. [More]
Fidelity Sent Me Someone Else's $300,000 Retirement Savings
By 5.24.10
Douglas received an unexpected delivery from UPS last week: a check from Fidelity Investments made out to Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company for over $300,000, along with a bunch of 401(k) rollover paperwork that included the real account holder’s address, date of birth, SSN, and phone number. [More]
Should I Have Given Back The iPad UPS Delivered Early?
By 4.3.10
Frederick tells Consumerist that he had an interesting dilemma yesterday. Another member of his household ordered an iPad, which showed up yesterday due to an error on UPS’s part. He accepted the package, then gave it back when the driver returned 45 minutes later, explaining that the delivery was a mistake. Would you have given it back? [More]
UPS Charges You $11 To Fix Zip Code Mistake
By 3.31.10
Richard has a warning for the Consumerist community: he writes that if you mess up a zip code on an overnight UPS package, they will charge you an $11 “address adjustment” fee to fix it. Excessive? Richard thought so, and UPS was nice enough to waive it when he asked. [More]
UPS Guy Outwits Thieves With Clever Hiding Place
By 3.23.10
Sometimes a reader writes in to complain about how the UPS guy left a package in full view of anyone passing by. Not Nick, who was at work yesterday when he saw that UPS had delivered his shipment from from Amazon. Usually the delivery guy hides packages in Nick’s bushes, but this time the notice said, “FD MAT.” Nick writes, “That worried me a bit, as this is a pricey piece of electronic equipment. But my worry was misplaced; the clever UPS man hid this package extremely well.” [More]
USPS Suggests Cutting Saturday Delivery And Increasing Rates
By 3.2.10
The United States Postal Service is continuing its long slide into suckage according to a new report delivered by Postmaster General John E. Potter this morning. People sent far less mail last year (“more than double any previous decline,” says the Washington Post) and labor costs continue to rise, which helped the USPS lose $3.8 billion in 2009. [More]
