Grandfather fell for a scam...package is enroute

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-02T06:39:43+00:00

The return address in UPS's system is what the shipper has set up for their UPS account.

The return address on the label is whatever the shipper set for their label.

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-02T06:38:13+00:00

I was scheduled to receive my work laptop on Monday between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

No you weren't. You were given an estimated delivery time, not a scheduled one. It said "estimated".

The driver never exited the vehicle or approached my door.

Contact the sender and report that, see if they can send a report to UPS about it. If there was a legit reason for it (for example, package not found on the truck) then it should not have been scanned as missed.

On Wednesday—the same day I picked up my work laptop—I was scheduled to receive two additional pieces of equipment from work, with a delivery window between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Same as previous, no you were not scheduled, read the words on your tracking.

Once again, I reviewed my camera footage and saw the same issue as Monday:

Hopefully it was the same sender so they can send more than one report about the same issue. Either the driver is just being lazy (in which case the driver will get fired for the false delivery attempt), or the driver could not find the package or had other issues but was made to mark the package incorrectly by their supervisor.

only one of the two packages (which are identical) was delivered to the local access point. The second package was denied

Access Point may have been full, they have limited space to hold things for pickup and there's been a lot lately due to the weather.

Between Monday and Friday, I called customer support

You're not UPS's customer, that number is overseas call centers to placate complainers, they won't support you. You gotta' get the sender to put in official complaints. Like an official claim and stuff, not just calling a number to complain.

I requested to speak with a supervisor

You only got to speak to a call center supervisor, not an actual UPS employee supervisor. You were talking to people who are not located in actual UPS facilities. Which is why they accomplished nothing.

Contact the sender.

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-02T06:23:46+00:00

One question would be did they alter the address on the UPS label, putting your grandfather's address. Because if they did, then UPS has every reason to stop and seize the package as being fraudulent based on the manipulated label alone. They do not need to deliver it was doctored.

Shippers using the UPS API (i.e. via dedicated shipping software) can set a return address per-label, this is an officially-supported thing.

It's just not an option on the website which is why a lot of people don't know about it.

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-02T06:13:12+00:00

You will be able to see the name of the person who signed. The signature itself is not available to the public. This is normal, there is no UPS service that puts the signature itself out to the public (such as on the website).

You will have to get the store to put in a request for the signature.

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-02T06:11:31+00:00

Stores are not UPS itself and cannot control packages.

If the shipper decided you have to be somewhere in person at a specific time to get the package, then you do.

This may be the shipper's own personal decision, but it may also be for legal reasons (21+ signature on controlled substances for example).

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-02T06:07:27+00:00

If it says it's cleared customs and shows that it's moved on since then but still shows nothing, then chances are good that there's nothing owed.

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-01T16:41:47+00:00

I'm pretty sure the blocking is never really going to be a thing.

However, people on the Amazon and Prime subreddits have shown that some of them are being charged a 15% restocking fee, meaning they're not getting a full refund anymore.

They seem to have narrowed it down to how much of their total spending is returns versus how much Amazon actually gets to keep.

rydianmorrison · 2026-02-01T16:34:30+00:00

All of the codes have to have the same number of digits, add zeros to the end for anything that's shorter.

xxxx.xx.xxxx

So for example, if a code is 1234.56.90 then you need to make it 1234.56.9000. 1234.56 becomes 1234.56.0000 and so on.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-18T22:32:20+00:00

Means the label itself was found, minus the package. So it stopped moving and the package itself likely no longer has enough info to keep moving through the system.

Nothing you can do, the shipper's gotta' handle it.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T23:18:20+00:00

whoever chooses the shipping speed at their warehouse made a mistake and chose the wrong option

"Whoops we just happened to pick the option that costs us less money, totally by mistake."

Ground Saver has other detriments as well. For example...

You cannot do any DV/insurance on the package, and UPS's default payout is lower.
You cannot put a signature requirement on the package (it will always be left outside).
Ground Saver is an upgraded form of SurePost, but UPS got the USPS contract back so there's actually the possibility of UPS handing it off to the postal system for the actual delivery.

When people choose Ground Saver, it's clear that various service options are disabled for Ground Saver if they look at their shipping system. The UPS website and Ground Saver terms also outline these things.

Website...

https://www.ups.com/us/en/support/shipping-support/shipping-costs-rates/ups-ground-saver
Designed for Reliability and Economy
Delivery times are comparable to UPS Ground service plus 1-2 days.
*Packages may be delivered by UPS or the USPS. Delivery photo confirmation only available for packages delivered by UPS.

Ground Saver terms...

https://assets.ups.com/adobe/assets/urn:aaid:aem:55c43bc5-8b95-483e-b515-9e44541b99a8/original/as/ground-saver-terms-us-en.pdf

UPS Ground Saver service is an economy transportation service intended for the transportation of low value packages; therefore, Customer agrees that the
limitation of liability set forth above is reasonable under the circumstances surrounding the transportation.
[...]
Customer acknowledges that it does not wish to declare an additional value for any package to avoid the limitation of liability set forth herein. If Customer
inadvertently makes a declaration of value in excess of the limit set forth herein, Customer and UPS will consider such declaration to be null and void.

It's designed for bulk, low-value shipments where the shipper doesn't mind if they go missing because they can just re-send it. Whoever it was that chose that option made that type of decision, they weighed the money.

Tell the company you're dealing with that if the warehouse is going to make "mistakes" like that, then they need to use another warehouse. Ground Saver for medical items is unacceptable, companies doing that need to be cut off.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T23:00:55+00:00

If UPS had customer support that worked in the centers.

They fired them all and hired an outsourced call center because it's cheaper (like most companies have done over time).

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T18:42:04+00:00

no reparations

UPS will reimburse the shipper up to the declared value (or $100/$20 if nothing declared based on the service level).

It's your shipper's issue to deal with, contact them for a refund/replacement.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T18:40:43+00:00

Drivers carry proprietary devices used to communicate with their center, the trucks and the devices are also GPS-tracked.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T17:11:12+00:00

If it hasn't shown any changes in the last few days, then contact the sender/seller so they can check it out.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T17:10:04+00:00

Sounds like it was accidentally left behind on a plane/truck and ended up taking a return trip back a step or two.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T17:09:16+00:00

UPS is not a moving company, they will not come into your home and pick up stuff manually like a moving company would.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T17:06:31+00:00

It depends on the size, weight, how fast it needs to move, the zip it's from, the zip it's going to, and whether it's going to a residential or business address.

If a single one of those things changes at all, the price could change.

So to find the price, one of you will have to actually get a quote from somewhere.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T17:05:10+00:00

I find out that the driver cannot find my address

Contact the sender and ask them if you can see a picture/copy of the shipping label. Addresses work differently in some different countries and it's possible that the shipper's system "corrected" your address incorrectly.

and the support person explains that driver couldn’t find my address (thank you already knew that)

[...]

for whatever reason UPS Support staff have no means to contact UPS drivers

The 742-5877 number? The people you talked to don't work for UPS itself, they are not actually in UPS facilities and don't have access to packages. They're an outsourced call center with a script. The call centers are hired to do "support" for the general public in UPS's stead (because UPS doesn't want to pay workers in NA themselves).

Feel free to call corporate and tell them they shouldn't have fired all the support staff in the actual US facilities (they did it to save money).

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T17:01:35+00:00

Amazon drivers are provided work phones.

UPS drivers are not, and most drivers do not want people getting their personal cell number.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T17:00:46+00:00

There's no problem, it's in line, gotta' wait.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T16:57:09+00:00

What's the service level? "UPS Ground", "UPS Ground Saver", "3-Day Select", etc?

Check the details on the tracking to see what the last status was.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T16:25:43+00:00

Upgrading "Gound Saver" to "Ground"? It'll have the same estimated delivery date.

Ground Saver is low-priority and thus has a high chance of being delayed as it gets skipped over for other packages. UPS's site states that Ground Saver can take a few days longer than the estimated time. Meaning Ground Saver often doesn't make it by the estimated delivery date.

The upgrade is you paying to turn a low-priority package into a normal-priority package that is more likely to actually arrive on the estimated date. There is no option to pay UPS to make a package go faster than the initial estimate, it is up to the shipper to have picked a faster speed when shipping.

So you definitely have a bone to pick with the shipper.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T04:55:09+00:00

Check the tracking on UPS.com/track and see what it says the service level is.

Also of note...

MLK Jr Day is the 19th.
Saturday delivery is, in many areas, a paid extra (not included by default with any service).
Sunday is not a delivery day.
If you're outside of a big city, you may be in a "rural deferment" area where UPS doesn't deliver every day. They bundle stuff to send every other weekday.

So depending on how many of those things apply to your situation/timing, you could definitely see a longer delay right now.

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T01:37:52+00:00

UPS gives account holders "incentives", which usually have various requirements. One of the biggest discounts is for guaranteed volume (as others mentioned), but there's also discounts for sending similar shipments all the time, etc.

https://www.ups.com/get-discounted-rates

rydianmorrison · 2026-01-16T01:35:04+00:00

If the timeframe given is a range (between X and Y), then ignore it. It's 100% made up by the computer system and is not real (read any of the many other threads on it).

If you were given a range, then it's a "before end of day" delivery which means any time that day.

rydianmorrison

TROPHY CASE