It is quite a frustrating act for one to wait for their package to arrive if it has passed the estimated time that states the package will arrive. Although one may call customer services and ask what is the hold up for the delay of the arrival of the package, one may also look online for the status of the package. While it will be tiresome to see that the package will arrive after a long time, a more frustrating thing to see is the occasion when the package is lost. The biggest reason for USPS to lose their customer’s packages is due to the loss of the address label or damage to the address label.
It is hard to give a specific number for the rate of USPS lose packages but several sources give an estimated amount. While some sources claim that the rate of USPS losing packages is 3% for a year, which is the rate of lost packages of all delivered packages, some sources claim that the rate is 1.5%. So it is safe to say that it is quite a low rate and might seem insignificant, but the receivers do not think so. USPS employees additionally claim that there is no such a thing as lost packages since they are not lost but damaged.
Why Would USPS Lose Packages?
The biggest reason for USPS to lose their customer’s packages is due to the loss of the address label or damage to the address label. If the address label that contains the address to which the package will be delivered to has fallen down or was lost somehow, the package will be considered lost by USPS. It is also the same case for the damage to the address label, if there has been a tear or the label has been wet and unreadable, USPS won’t be able to deliver the package and it will be considered a lost package.
There are also some extreme cases where the package can be lost. Even though it seems like an unreal event, sometime during international shipping when the package is being delivered by plane, there are cases where the package might fall from the plane or be thrown away from the plane due to the excessive weight. There is a chance for the customer to sue the shipping company in such cases. The same thing goes for the packages that are delivered by a ship. There might be some tragic cases where the ship goes down with all the other customer’s packages.
What Will Happen If The Package Is Lost?
If the package is not lost due to the extreme cases that can be possible during the international shipping, USPS will offer its customers to send a Missing Mail Search Request in order to find the lost package.
Sending a Missing Mail Search Request
USPS needs the following for the Missing Mails Search Request to be successful; the mailing address of the sender, the mailing address of the receiver, the USPS tracking number, identification of the appearance of the package, and information about the content of the package. After getting the needed information, USPS will start the missing mail search and will look at the tracking number that the sender used and also the addresses of the sender and the receiver. USPS will find the most success in looking at the route between the two addresses and their shipping route system that connects the address of the sender and the address of the receiver. It is not quite certain that USPS will manage to find the lost package and after 3 months, USPS will stop the search.
Getting The Money Back
If the customer has USPS insurance, the shipping company will give the customer the estimated value of the package if the missing mail search request has ended unsuccessfully. If the customer doesn’t have USPS insurance, the customer can start a claim to get a refund. The customer has the opportunity to take their time for two months after the search ends successfully to start the claim. The customer can start the claim by going to the USPS website or by calling the customer service and explaining the situation to the USPS representative. When the customer’s claim is approved, the customer will receive their money back in seven or ten days.
FAQ
- Can a customer look for the lost package themselves?
USPS has a USPS Mail Recovery Center that harbors the lost packages that haven’t been searched for. Thus, the customer might try their chances there.
- Will USPS notify the customers about the lost packages?
USPS waits for seven days before letting their customer know about the lost status of the package in case there has been a problem with the transaction and the package is not really lost.
Conclusion
Even though many sources claim differently, USPS has a quite low percentage in their annual lost package rate. Mostly, their act of losing a package stem from the depredation of the label that includes the address of the receiver.
