The ups is not usps and do not have PO boxesI purchased an item from one of the site members and it was shipped to my PO box, but for some reason the address was changed to my home address. It had a new sticker printed by UPS covering the PO box address.
If you work at UPS do you know why and how this happened.
Let me try and be as clear as possible. PO Box is short for Post Office Box. UPS nor FEDEX are the Post Office. The Post Office is USPS (which is the acronym for United States Postal Service). UPS nor FEDEX can deliver to a Post Office box (USPS) Why you ask? Because the USPS (Post Office ) will not accept a delivery to a PO box from UPS or FEDEX. (Some have been able on the local level to work sweet heart deals with the local Post Master because they are friends, but 99.9% of the time the above prevails)
When both UPS and FEDEX get packages to a PO Box (which has been a problem for close to 40 years now) they go to what is called a "look up clerk". This is a service they both offer to have someone check all resources to try and find a link to an address affiliated with the PO Box in question. If they do they make an address correction and charge back the shipper for this correction in order to finalize the delivery. If they can't track down the address they will send a post card to the PO Box letting the recipient know they have the package and they have 7 days to contact them and either come and pick it up or give them an alternate ( actual address) to deliver. If they don't hear back within 7 days it is RTS (Returned To Shipper). UPS nor FEDEX delivery centers are not warehouses which is why they only hold for 7 days. Most RTS shipments are because it takes the Post Office (USPS) more than 7 days to deliver a post card in a local area. This not UPS or FEDEX's fault! I for one am appreciative they go above and beyond to provide this service because of the users ( shipper) error. This policy has been in place at UPS since 1978 and there is still this problem today with shippers today!
Looks as though the op was lucky as they were able to cross reference the physical address to the PO Box. If this is irritating to anyone I would suggest taking it up with the shipper. If they were going to ship to a PO Box they should have used the USPS.
Not trying to ruffle feathers but I see many threads on here bashing UPS and FEDEX over user errors all the time. FYI I do not work at UPS but I did spend 20 years there (moved on in 2004) much of which was in their corporate office in Atlanta. The complaints they receive on a daily basis because the general populace never bothers to read or try to understand their policies is staggering, however they train there employees to smile and bit there words when they get cussed out by a receiver because there package (that was addressed to there PO Box was returned to sender after 7 days and no delivery attempt was made.
Lesson for all. If you order anything on line or over the phone. When you get to the address page(or asked for delivery address over the phone), give your physical address if you don't know the delivery carrier the shipper will use!
Let me try and be as clear as possible. PO Box is short for Post Office Box. UPS nor FEDEX are the Post Office. The Post Office is USPS (which is the acronym for United States Postal Service). UPS nor FEDEX can deliver to a Post Office box (USPS) Why you ask? Because the USPS (Post Office ) will not accept a delivery to a PO box from UPS or FEDEX. (Some have been able on the local level to work sweet heart deals with the local Post Master because they are friends, but 99.9% of the time the above prevails)
When both UPS and FEDEX get packages to a PO Box (which has been a problem for close to 40 years now) they go to what is called a "look up clerk". This is a service they both offer to have someone check all resources to try and find a link to an address affiliated with the PO Box in question. If they do they make an address correction and charge back the shipper for this correction in order to finalize the delivery. If they can't track down the address they will send a post card to the PO Box letting the recipient know they have the package and they have 7 days to contact them and either come and pick it up or give them an alternate ( actual address) to deliver. If they don't hear back within 7 days it is RTS (Returned To Shipper). UPS nor FEDEX delivery centers are not warehouses which is why they only hold for 7 days. Most RTS shipments are because it takes the Post Office (USPS) more than 7 days to deliver a post card in a local area. This not UPS or FEDEX's fault! I for one am appreciative they go above and beyond to provide this service because of the users ( shipper) error. This policy has been in place at UPS since 1978 and there is still this problem today with shippers today!
Looks as though the op was lucky as they were able to cross reference the physical address to the PO Box. If this is irritating to anyone I would suggest taking it up with the shipper. If they were going to ship to a PO Box they should have used the USPS.
Not trying to ruffle feathers but I see many threads on here bashing UPS and FEDEX over user errors all the time. FYI I do not work at UPS but I did spend 20 years there (moved on in 2004) much of which was in their corporate office in Atlanta. The complaints they receive on a daily basis because the general populace never bothers to read or try to understand their policies is staggering, however they train there employees to smile and bit there words when they get cussed out by a receiver because there package (that was addressed to there PO Box was returned to sender after 7 days and no delivery attempt was made.
Lesson for all. If you order anything on line or over the phone. When you get to the address page(or asked for delivery address over the phone), give your physical address if you don't know the delivery carrier the shipper will use!
So I work for ups and yeah sometimes that happens. It actually happened to me a few weeks back where I had a package that was addressed to a po box with a barcode generated by ups so.ewhere along the line. So we have "spa" labels (mini stickers) aside from the main label that get scanned onto the box to know where on the truck it will be located in for delivery that day.
The package I had, had a spa label to the correct house address with a po box for a main label. I asked the person who does address corrections and she told me that it has something to do with sub contracting (she says overseas) and sometimes a "name" gets associated with a known address for that person. It is not very common at all but does happen.
It makes no sense to me as we don't deliver to po boxes- just the post office "sure post" packages as others have said.
What toejoe12 said I believe is in line with what I'm saying.
Jameson

the way I understand it is there's two separate and distinct servicesYes we deliver PO BOX pieces all the time to post offices as newbieshooter just stated. There is some contract we have with usps. I guess sometimes the "last mile" goes to be delivered by USPS.
Lesson for all. If you order anything on line or over the phone. When you get to the address page(or asked for delivery address over the phone), give your physical address if you don't know the delivery carrier the shipper will use!
Simple address correctionI purchased an item from one of the site members and it was shipped to my PO box, but for some reason the address was changed to my home address. It had a new sticker printed by UPS covering the PO box address.
If you work at UPS do you know why and how this happened.
UPS started the 'Surepost' method long before I retiredUps won’t deliver to post office box but will if the package is shipped by surpost.
