Introduction
The biggest fear any person might have while sending a mail is, “what if the mail doesn’t reach the address?” Let’s know the meaning of Undeliverable As Addressed USPS.
This is a big ‘what if,’ and depending on how valuable the mail might be; it can cause anxiety to both the sender and recipient. No postal service has ever been able to exempt this ‘what if,’ and the same is true for USPS or the United States Postal Service.
What Does Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) in USPS Mean?
The UAA or Undeliverable As Addressed is an umbrella term used for all mail that fails to reach its intended destination for whatsoever reasons.
The most common reason why the mail fails to reach its destination is the address. Either the address is incomplete, unable to be understood, or not present.
Other reasons include;
- The person to whom the mail is sent has either moved from the mentioned address.
- The address might be right, but the recipient refuses or fails to collect the mail.
- The recipient is deceased, or the postal service is not able to reach them for some reason.
- Incorrect or absence of a postal stamp.
- Incorrect or absence of zip code.
What Happens to the Undeliverable As Addressed Mail?
The big question, which might arise to the sender, is what happens to their mail now? Can they look for it? Will it be sent back to them? What if it reached the wrong hands? What will USPS do with it if it is not claimed?
Let us take a look at all these questions one by one.
What does USPS do with Undeliverable As Addressed mail?
If the mail has been classified as Undeliverable As Addressed or UAA for whatever above mentioned reasons, the mail would either be sent back to the sender or the return address mentioned. If the return address is not mentioned or is incomplete, illegible, or incorrect, the mail is sent to either the Local Postal Office or to the Mail Recovery Center.
How can you find or search for Undeliverable As Addressed mail?
Once you are notified that the mail sent by you is categorized under Undeliverable As Addressed, the consignment will be sent back to the return address if mentioned.
If the sender does not receive the mail seven days after the date of mailing, the USPS advises them to file a complaint against the Missing consignment.
The sender can file the complaint either by;
- Going to the USPS portal or filling up a form for Missing Mail Application. You would first be required to create an account or login into a previous one.
- Call customer service and ask them to file a complaint on your behalf. The customer service number is 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).
- Or you can go to the nearby local USPS Post Office and file an inquiry there.
What happens to the mail with no return address?
If the Undeliverable As Addressed mail has no return address, the mail is sent to the Local Postal Office or Mail Recovery Center. From there, if the mail complies with the guidelines of USPS, it is sent back to the sender. If not, the mail, according to the guidelines, is either discarded or auctioned off.
How to open a USPS Account?
To create an account, you would be required to follow through the given steps;
- Got to the USPS portal.
- Click on create an account.
- First, you would be asked to choose your preferred language and pick up a username and password. Then you would be asked to pick two security questions as a backup.
- Once that is done, you would be asked to pick which type of account you would like, i.e., business or personal. As the name suggests, a business account is for the workplace area, no matter how big or small the business or workplace is. On the other hand, the personal one is for home.
- After that, you would be asked to fill in your demographic data such as name, email, and phone number. On completing this, you would be asked to choose how you would prefer communicating with USPS, either directly from them or from their partners.
- Lastly, you would be asked to give your address along with the correct zip code and verify it with the USPS shipping services.
Conclusion
The UAA or Undeliverable As Addressed is a broad term used to describe all the mail that can not be delivered to the recipient’s address due to whatsoever reasons. The mail is either sent back to the sender if a return address is present and if not, it is maintained by the Local Postal Office. There, the sender can either file a complaint about the missing consignment, and as per the rules and guidelines of the USPS, the mail is either given back or is discarded or auctioned off.
