UPS Tracking states "Left on Porch" - what next ? (1 Viewer)

[Kirk Gunn]

Title Correction - should state "UPS", not HP. My mind is still at work....

My stay-at-home Christmas shopping seemed to get off to a wonderful start. 1 Order from Ecost (2 items) and a bunch of CDs/Books from Amazon.

Amazon (free shipping) arrived in 2 days, package left on porch - no problem.

Ecost - order broken into 2 shipments. 1 arrived the next day, left on porch - no problem. Other shipment never "arrived", but UPS tracking states: "Left on Porch". Delivery date was day after 1st shipment above from ECost.

I live at the end of a cul-de-sac and the front of the house is 150+ ft from the street and hidden from view by woods (do we sound like hermits ?). Very safe neighborhood with no problems from the resident teens. In the 5 yrs we've been here, only one report of a "burglary" and that was from a house that backs up to another neighborhood. Our house is nowhere close to the community entrance.

ECost states they need to follow up with UPS which may take 2 days..... and of course this is a digital camera for my daughter's Christmas present.... couldn't be the friggin' DustBuster in shipment 1 from ECost !!!!!!

Do I have any hope of UPS/ECost resolving this before Dec 25 ????? Taking wagers....

 

[Philip_G]

Call UPS yourself, they'll get in touch with the driver and try to track it down, likely he left it at the wrong damn house.

Of course your phone number should be on the shipping label, so whoever HAS it might call you also.

 

[ChuckSolo]

Hmmmmmm, Deja Vu all over again. Same thing happened to me with a digital camera only FedEx was the delivery company. I had the camera stolen from out of the box and the box was left empty on my doorstep. I called FedEx who launched an investigation and it turns out that regardless of who stole it, the driver is usually held liable since it is at his/her discretion whether to leave the item or not. I sent FedEx the empty box which had all the cables, manual, and software still inside, sans camera of course, and they dealt with HSN who promptly sent me a new camera. Via UPS this time!!

 

[Chris Hovanic]

My new Denon 2805 was just delivered on monday via UPS They normally want a signature and dont leave things on the poarch (Unlike FedEx) I was ready to devert the package to the UPS holding station so I could swing by and pick it up.

To my suprise it was left on the poarch and sat there for 5 hours before I could get home. Leaning right in plain site against my door sat my $650.00 reciever... I was so happy it was still there.

One thing you can do is contact your credit card co. and have them add your work address as an authorized shipping location. Then just ship it to your work (if they allow it).

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I cannot begin to describe my absolute loathing of this practice.

Though I have never had a package stolen, it's probably because I track my packages vigilantly from work, and when I see Left On Porch or No Signature Required, I get my GF or rental manager to get the package ASAP (the GF is much closer to home than I am). My townhome apartment has an external entry so packages sit in plain view. The thing that aggravates me the most is that I live in a 20 building complex that has a rental office that is open all day, and UPS and Fedex have to stop their daily anyway. Yet, depending on the driver, instead of getting a signature and leaving it safely at the office, they'll just leave stuff at the door if they're running late.

Case in point, two weeks ago I had about $1000 worth of various music software and hardware left on my door step. Now, I doubt the vendor in this case would waive the signature requirement. Luckily my GF was able to get to it but it sat there for 2 hours.


I'm planning to get a house soon, so I'll likely have to start having stuff shipped to work.

Good luck Kirk-I hope your vendor decides to rectify this in time.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Aren't they supposed to have your signature on file stating that they are allowed to leave things?
I've had this happen numerous times. One time I was building a new computer and ordered about $2000 worth of computer parts from newegg.com. I stayed home that day to pick it up just in case they decided to leave it on the porch. Not only was I concerned about theft, but outdoors in Phoenix in August is not a good place for electronic components to be. So I'm waiting, and here comes the truck. I stay in the house and quietly watch out the window. The driver leaves the stuff, rings the doorbell, and sprints back to his truck and drives away. Thank goodness I was standing there!
Another time my 8 month pregnant wife was at home alone and my brand new heavy-ass 19" montior arrived. Again, the driver rang the doorbell and hauled ass, leaving my poor wife to have the haul that behemoth inside. I was, needless to say, pissed.

 

[Scott_lb]

I remember when I had my M&K 150THX Ultra speaker package (sans the subwoofer) shipped to Wisconsin from California. I had them place PLENTY of "Adult Signature Required" stickers all over all of the boxes. Sure enough, the entire speaker package (worth more than my car, mind you) was sitting on my porch in Wisconsin for a few hours before anyone got home to take them inside. I called UPS and they said that sometimes the delivery drivers just "like to be nice and drop your packages off on the porch for you." I guess he didn't notice the four dozen stickers stating that I didn't want that. I have never shipped an expensive item since.

 

[Philip_G]

Guess I'm the opposite, I prefer they leave stuff.

My parents had a key pad for their garage, and the UPS dude had the combo and would leave items in there, worth a shot anyway.

 

[Michael Warner]

Yeah, my UPS guy knows how to open the garage so when I get home my plethora of packages are nicely stacked by the door. Needless to say he gets a nice holiday "gift" from me each year. I hate having stuff just dumped on the front porch. USPS soes this all the time and, while nothing's ever been stolen, the porch faces west and gets plenty wet in the rain and snow so soggy packages are the norm this time of year.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

I just had a Kitchen Aid Mixer delivered for my wife by UPS yesterday. I saw the UPS driver drive up from out of my window. As I quickly got dressed and made my way down the stairs, I opened the door to find the package on the bottom step, and the UPS driver stepping back into his truck. HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOCK OR RING THE BELL!!! I yelled out "Thank You", and he waved back, but I thought that was very sloppy. Actually, and although it's risky, I prefer them to leave the package at the door if no one is there, but they should be courteous and knock first.

 

[Philip_G]

you know, my UPS guy dumps and runs too. He rings the bell, but doesn't hang around. I've literally been sitting by the door, like 5 feet away and he'll be long gone by the time I open it.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

My condolences on your loss, Kirk. I hope it turns up soon.

I once tracked a package on line and watched it get delivered and signed by someone else, 800 miles away!. It turned out that they gave me the wrong number!

I've never seen UPS drop and run. I wonder if they fake a signature before they take off to their next stop.

Glenn

 

[Elizabeth S]

I list in a small apartment complex and have a sign on my door NOT to leave any packages there. My regular postal carrier knows me well and leaves me a pickup slip, but I've had a couple of FedEx guys ignore the sign and leave things. I hate that! Last week, I had Airborne Express leave me a message that my package was left with a neighbor on another floor. This was a complete stranger to me, but luckily, it went fine.

 

[Citizen87645]

The variation between carriers is interesting. In my area UPS drops and runs unless a sig is required for the higher priority delivery services. However FedEx never leaves the package and leaves a note instead, stating when I can pick up the item from their shipping center. If I'm following the delivery I can also call FedEx and have them place a hold on it before it ever gets on the truck so I can pick it up myself. Lately it seems both carriers deliver after 5PM, so I'm usually home by then. But most of my packages I get sent to work (and have my work address on my CC account).

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Thanks for the feedback. The ECost rep claimed she would deal with UPS and e-mail me an update, but nothing in my Inbox yet. I will call UPS myself tonight when I have access to the tracking number, that was a good tip.

May have to order another camera, then return this one... I don't think my daughter is going to buy the "Santa left your present on the porch" line Christmas morning....

 

[Philip_G]

You've got a week, opt for fedex saver 3 day shipping and you should be OK.

I ordered a nikon coolpix 5400 and got it last week (200$ rebate!) and it came, but was defective so I sent it back, here's to hoping I see another one.

Small irritation with USPS, if the box is too big for the lock box, or requires a signature etc, my USPS carrier doesn't even TRY to deliver it, just leaves a note. I know because I work nights and I'm home all day

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

My apartment complex has a spot just for packages but only UPS uses it. Fedex never does. USPS has their own lock box. If the package doesn't require signature UPS still leaves it outside my door. I'm on the third floor and only have a neighbor across from me so I don't feel too bad about the packages sitting there. Unless they are tall, you can't see them while walking up to the other apartments. However I've had Fedex write the most cryptic message once. They had 'left in office' written and then crossed out. Then 'left on porch' written and also crossed out. Finally in some squiggle it just said 'left'. The package was nowhere to be found. Not in the office, or by my door. I have a balcony but you can't get to it besides going through my apartment. I decided to check it and sure enough, my package was there. The Fedex guy chucked it up over the railing from 2 floors down!! Luckily it wasn't anything breakable but who does that?

 

[Don Black]

Airborne is the worst. They will leave anything. I've had them leave $1,000 digital cameras and $4,000 projectors on my door in plain view. Problems with UPS and FedEx are rare but still occur. As long as they accept the liability, the potential for inconvenience is pretty small.

 

[DonRoeber]

In the future, see what you can do about getting stuff shipped to work. I get everything shipped there now.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

If you are able to do that, it is a great idea. Unfortunately the Corporation I currently work for frowns on that... At my old job, I was in charge of the Shipping/Receiving, so I was golden.