Where Do Missing Packages Go? Mail Theft Does Happen

Most online sellers have had buyers who have contacted them because their package is slow to arrive or has failed to arrive. Sometimes it is a case of another family member picking up the mail and forgetting to let the buyer know that it has arrived, it may be a case of being impatient or whatever. Then of course, once in a very great while, it is someone trying to get two items for the price of one. At any rate, things may not always be as they seem.

We have only had one serious incident with USPS in all of our years selling online. That was when 8-10 packages turned up missing and when we contacted the PO, they said that a whole truck of mail was abandoned in a mountain pass in the dead of winter. We never saw the mail again, the buyers never got the mail and in the end, all were refunded, including us.

After what happened today, we have realized that there is another twist that can take place.

Today, we got some USPS shipping supplies. We were not around when the mail carrier arrived so they left them on the front step. Under the supplies were 3 priority mail envelopes.

We were horrified when we opened them.

One was a priority mail box that we sent 12-08-07
One was a 4 X 8 bubble mailer we sent 12-08-07
The last one was a 4 X 8 bubble mailer we sent 02-09-08

All had been torn open with the contents missing.

USPS enclosed the same letter in each package. We were just sick.

Here's the letter:

Dear Postal Customer:

The enclosed mail piece was recovered recently from an abandoned storage unit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We believe that the storage unit was used by a suspect in a mail theft prior to his arrest. On June 19, 2009, that suspect was convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment for the violation of Title 18 USC 1702, Obsrtuction of Correspondence.

Our investigation is now closed. This letter is to inform you that we no longer require custody of the enclosed mail piece and are returning the mail to you. It is apparent that your mail piece was tampered with and that some or all of the contents are missing. We have worked as best as we can to match any loose contents to the appropriate mail piece but have not always been successful.

If you have experienced a financial loss due to the theft of the enclosed mail, please enter a mail theft complaint at www.postalinspecors.uspis.gov or call the Postal Inspection Service at (877) 876-2455, option 3. If you believe you may have been the victim of identity theft, please contact one of the following credit reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on your account:

Equifax (800) 525-6285
Experian (888) 397-3748
TansUnion (800) 680-7829

We regret any loss and inconvenience this may have caused you. Please be assured of our continued attention to the security of mail while in the custody of the U.S. Postal Service.

Sincerely,
Handwritten Signature Here
Joseph P Schneiders
Postal Inspector

After thinking about it, this means that the mail disappeared while in USPS custody. It did not happen after it was delivered, it happened right here in Sioux Falls after we sent it on it's way. It never got out of town and all of it was headed for cities on the different coasts.

It is hard to believe that this kind of thing can happen but low and behold, it happened to us.

We don't remember these particular pieces and will have to go through our records to see what the items were and go about filing the complaints as necessary. It sure seems odd that USPS never contacted us in all of this time. The one who stole the mail is due to get out of jail next month, if he hasn't already.

We wonder:

Why didn’t USPS let us know something earlier so we could advise our customers? We didn’t have to tell them what happened as far as the exact details but just to give them a heads up that there was a problem.

The way this was handled, the customers likely thought we may have been less than truthful with info about the package.

It just seems that 2.5 years after the first packages disappeared and just before the culprit that stole the packages gets out of jail is, at the very least, a little bit late.

Why wasn't any of this on the local news or in the newspapers? It was such a hush, hush deal that even those that were victims had no idea about it until now.

Sellers don’t always watch all of the Delivery Confirmation or tracking info on their packages until they arrive to the customer. After all, they have tons of other things they need to be doing but it appears that sellers should check the Delivery Confirmation and tracking on all of their packages from now on if they don't already.

When a buyer contacts the seller claiming that their package has not arrived, this is another scenario that the seller may want to consider when trying to locate the item.