So stupid...rant about the Post Office

[chicken_china_mom]

First off, I apologize to anyone that works for the Post Office, but I am very upset at the moment. I shipped out a box of eggs yesterday. I carefully boxed the eggs up, I slapped the postage on the box after carefully following the directions on the USPS website, and I put the eggs in the mail. I had arranged for a carrier pick up. Well, this morning I went out to get the mail and a sinking feeling hit me as I saw a large white box parked under my mailbox. My daughter reached it first and confirmed my fears. The package I had sent out the day before had come back to me. The lady at the post office had typed me a brief letter telling me that while my box WAS A priority mail box, it wasn't the Large Flat Rate box.

So I called her back and she said that I had put the wrong postage and date. Considering I didn't purchase the postage til like 2am, I don't know how it could have been the wrong date. But that's besides the point. So she tells me it's actually another almost $4 in postage that's needed if I want to keep the eggs in this particular box. Ok.... so I asked her what am I suppose to do? She says since I ordered the postage online I could go back to the website, get a refund, and then order the right postage. I thanked her, hung up, and went to the website. I searched, and searched, and then searched some more, but couldn't find a place to get that refund, so finally, after an hour of looking, I called the Customer Service number on the website. After all that automated mumbo jumbo, I finally got a living breathing person, who proceeded to tell me that the USPS doesn't offer refunds!

I hung up in tears. So, $13.95 in postage wasn't enough, and now I'm expected to eat that amount, and then go back and purchase nearly $17 in additional postage! I'm out of work, no job, no extra money to spare, and I made very little off these eggs to start with, and now I've made nothing, PLUS I've had to pay INTO them just to send them. I can be quite spiteful and if I could get away with never having to deal with the P.O. ever again I would. Heck, I'd drive the eggs all the way to New York and deliver them in person if it meant I was not giving the USPS another single red cent. Yeah, bad mood doesn't even begin to describe my mood right now. I am on the edge right now, unsure whether I want to stop mailing eggs altogether or not. Yes, I am THAT mad. I already think they charge too much, especially with how slow they can be and how much they damage boxes and valuable packages. I am so upset right now I can't even see straight. Why don't they have a respectable refund system in place? So what if it entered the postal stream? Clearly it came right back to ME, and the postage wasn't used! I should be able to get my money back! I don't mind paying an extra 3 dollars, or repackaging the eggs into the box that is meant for that postage, but I definitely DO mind paying another nearly $17!!! Am I alone in feeling like this? Is there a grievance procedure that I can follow? I could skin the entire USPS system alive right now, I'm so mad. I'm going to go unpack the eggs now and toss most of them since now I'll have to wait til Monday to send them. Maybe by Monday I'll have cooled off some, but I'm not holding my breath...

 

[scbatz33]

Can't you just add the needed postage? It sucks when a company doesn't have common sense procedures. The USPS can be bad since it's so hard to get a real person and often you get a different story every time you talk to another person.

Sorry you're having problems.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

The USPS DOES offer refunds. Log onto your Paypal account or your account on the USPS website. Under the transaction details section at the bottom is the void label information. Keep in mind that it takes them about a month to credit it back to you just as verification you didn't use the shipping label. The catch is that you must do this within a day or 2 of printing the label.

 

[yotetrapper]

I too am seriously disgusted with USPS. I wonder if we just mark our boxes as fragile and not write anything about eggs on them if we could get by with shipping through UPS or Fedex?

Yes, you can file a complaint, and yes, it does light a fire under whoever you're reporting's behind. We've done it with our local postmistress, and recieved phone calls and letters from her profusely apologizing and asking what she could do to help! Go here..... http://www.uspsoig.gov/hotline.htm there you will find both a phone number and email addy for filing complaints. We used email.

 

[pips&peeps]

You can request a refund by signing in to click n ship and clicking on MY ACCOUNT.

At the bottom of the screen on the left hand side is an area you can click on that says:

Request a refund for an unused paid label that was created in the last 10 days.

Request a Refund

Click on the Request a Refund option and it should walk you through it.......

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Sorry for your experience shipping. You can get a refund or like another said take your box to the PO and add the additional postage. We ship hundreds of boxes every year and it's always been smooth sailing. You do have to be careful on which box size you select when printing the labels from home.

Steve

 

[Alabama ee]

It is a few dollars more, but I would take the package in next time.

So sorry that happened.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
isn't possible in this situation. No car, rural living, post office and internet are her lifeline.

Chris, I'd be peeved also. I'd tell the lady to hike her booty back to the house and give her the 4 bucks to get it out.

 

[wolftracks]

No...Please write hatching eggs on the package.
The only one I have ever gotten with just fragile written on it had all dammaged air cells and one was so scrambed you could plainly see it when candling.

I'm pretty discussed with USPS. I would trust UPS with a box of feather, but I do like Fedex. They also ship live birds.

 

[kelseygirl707]

Why don't you just go to the post office and get a large flat rate box, and resend them with the same label. I have never had a problem with the wrong date being on the box, I have printed labels and shipped the package 3 days later, and never had a problem.