Stolen wedding present :(

[PilsnPinkysMom]

On Tuesday FI & I received a parcel slip in our apartment complex unit box. I went to our Management Office on Wednesday afternoon to pick up the package... The slip said both of our last names (which they never do) and neither he nor I were expecting parcels. We assumed it was a wedding present! (The first! How exciting!!)

BUT- my trip to our Management Office didn''t go well. They had no record of receiving such a package and it was not in their parcel storage room. The lease coordinator told me that she recorded all of the packages Wednesday morning (Umm... weren''t they delivered Tuesday afternoon?) and that the mailman likely left the package on his truck.

Well, I spoke with the carrier this morning. He remembered leaving the parcel slip in our unit box and told me that he left ALL parcels at the Management Office & that when he drops them off he does a double check to verify that all parcels belong to current residents and that there is a package for each parcel slip that he wrote out. According to him, his truck was empty when he left our complex that day.

For some reason I believe the mail carrier more than the Management Office.

I was at the Office TWICE yesterday and all they did was offer a meek "Sorry... I''m not sure what happened... Hope you figure it out!" No one seems to understand that this was (most likely) a wedding present, that we have NO clue who sent it, that we have no way to contact the sender, and that if the sender wanted receipt confirmation THEY RECEIVED IT- which is beyond ridiculous, as we quite clearly received NO package.

I''m getting all bent out of shape because I don''t know how to notify the sender of what happened, and I''m sure the person is expecting a Thank You card.

Any advice, ladies? I''m going to go back to the Management Office today, but I don''t even know what to say to them, YKWIM? It''s as if the package mysteriously vaporized. Should I just wait around until someone says, "Hey, how are you guys enjoying that new china/stand mixer/duvet?"

I feel so unexpectedly awful about this. Blah.

 

[sunnyd]

Oh crap, Pils I''m sorry! Ugh, I don''t even know what to say, but that is horrible. Would the office have given it to someone else? How does it just vaporize?!

 

[jet2ks]

Two words of advice: Postal Inspector

 

[lilyfoot]

That sucks

Could it have been a present from your registry (if you have one)? Because then you could check what''s been bought and/or who bought it ...

 

[kama_s]

I''m so furious for you.

Something similar happened to me a while ago, but it was something I had paid for. So I went back to my tracking info and it had information on who from the management office signed for my package. That''s how I figured the package was indeed accepted by our building. Can you ask the postal carrier to let you know who signed for the package in your management office?

 

[redfaerythinker]

OMG that''s so horrible. I have no advice but I am curious to see what the ladies here come up with. I hope you can track it down!

 

[katamari]

What a bummer. I hate hearing about this. One of my good friends lived in a large, urban complex when she was getting married and literally had to stop delivery on her mail for the month before her wedding because so many gifts were stolen. She arranged to pick her mail up every couple days at the p.o. instead.

We had one stolen from C&B and their registry department was fabulous helping us figure out who had bought it so we could still send them a thank you card, so hopefully you can do something like that. But, I want you to get the gift! Especially since it is your first!

I would certainly give your Management office h3ll, though. What jerks!

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Everyone-

Thanks for your insight. I'm beyond bent out of shape. I feel worse for the gift giver/sender than anything else.

Unfortunately, our registry doesn't show that anything has been purchased. I know that guests aren't always good about purchasing "through" the registry, though. I spoke with my mother this AM and told her that it *must* be someone who cannot attend (otherwise, why would they send a gift 2 months in advance?), and she told me my dear aunt had been hunting down a present a few weeks back. She told me she'd (politely) ask if the aunt made a purchased and shipped it. I'm crossing my fingers: Not because I want for my aunt to have lost money/a present, but because I will be able to share my gratitude! This aunt also tends to ship through USPS and not through online stores/FedEx/UPS, etc.

Jet: Thanks for the Postal Inspector tip. I filled out an online complaint/report form.

Kama: This is a silly question, but do you know if office personnel sign for packages from the USPS? It wasn't sent through another parcel service... just the good 'ole United States Postal Office. It seems they'd still have to sign... I mean, you're leaving packages that belong to *someone else* in the care of random office workers. I'll ask the office ladies today.

I may do what Katamari's friend did and stop delivery of mail. Because we live far, far away from where the wedding is taking place, I anticipate that present-giving guests will mail packages. I will absolutely LOSE my mind if this happens again. It's just unfair- but such is life.

Someone's kind, generous gesture was totally thwarted and now Joe Schmo is either enjoying or pawning some housewares given from the heart. [Okay- dramatic vent over]

Thanks for "listening," guys. Really.

 

[TBjumper]

Pils: No advice, as I am going through something kinda similar with the post office. My branch did not have a postal inspector and I was directed to the 800 number. I hope you get it figured out. I just wanted to let you know I feel your pain.

So sorry this has happened!!

 

[kama_s]

To be honest, I can''t quite remember. I tried looking back through my old e-mail notifications, but I can''t access any old USPS tracking notes. The thing is, I live in Canada. And when I get things shipped to me, I pay extra to have it shipped USPS (lowest duty brokerage fees). So it was most probably USPS. But when it crosses the border, Canada Post takes over. So I don''t know if it was a USPS or Canada Post thing. I did look over a recent UPS notification, and it does say accepted by ''front office'', but doesn''t specify the exact concierge''s name like it did with the package I mentioned earlier.

Really hope you can get to the bottom of this

 

[Steel]

Awh, that sucks Pilsn!

(But

for the 1st wedding pressie!)

Here is my 0.02; but bear in mind that the laws here may be different to you.

When you refer to the management office is this a 'body' paid for with management fee/yearly unit subscriptions from each owning condo/apartment?

If so, when you bought your apartment you would more than likely have bought a share in the management company and received a copy of (the equivalent) their articles and memorandum of association (rules & functions of the company). You should have been a copy of these to keep (ie not with your Title Deeds at your Solicitor or Financial Institution - if you bought recently your Solicitor may even still have these at his/her office if you don't have your copy).

My point is to discover if you directly pay for this 'service' and if it is decreed that accepting mail and parcels is a mandated function of the management company which would delegate to the management office. If so you have a direct chain of liability.

If not, then the courier was acting ultra vires in allowing an unauthorised (even if customary) body to sign for your parcel.

 

[princessplease]

I''m so sorry this happened. People are horrible sometimes.

You could check your registry, see what was bought, and contact the store to see if they could tell you who purchased it. Or if they won''t give the information out, and you did find out what the present was, then I would maybe tell a family member who could spread the word around the family.

Obviously, this would only work if you have a registry, but it''s an option.

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Apartment is blaming it on Post Office and Post Office is blaming it on Apartment.

C''est la vie.

There''s nothing else I can do. Blah!

 

[brightlight]

Date: 10/22/2009 5:40:46 PM
Author: PilsnPinkysMom
Apartment is blaming it on Post Office and Post Office is blaming it on Apartment.

C''est la vie.

There''s nothing else I can do. Blah!

This happened to me at least 10 times over a year - sometimes a week apart. It got so bad that I would get home 45 minutes after the system said it was delivered, and it would be gone. If there is a tracking number on the slip, you should go online and track it. If someone signed for it, then it will tell you who. Also, my postal carrier always puts where the package was shipped from on the package. That might help you i.d. who sent it. The sender might be able to file a claim. If you don''t hear back from your Post Master/Inspector, harass them. After an unrelated incident, I sent an e-mail and called everyday for a month and got no response. So, I sent an e-mail to the neighboring Post Master, and she called me the next day and gave me the phone number to my Post Master and the hours she worked. Oh, and check your lease. A lot of times there''s a clause that says that you waive management''s responsibility for lost packages even if they sign for them and hold them in the office.

 

[Bex215]

This happened to me this week! If it came by the US Postal Service, no one is required to sign for it, which, in my opinion is just nuts. I have a gut feeling it was the apartment, too. Why would the mailman leave you a slip for a package he didn''t have with him? Also, if it was still on the truck, I have no doubt they would have re-delievered it and left a new slip ASAP. Does the apartment management make residents sign for packages when they pick them up? Maybe you could ask to go over the list of who picked stuff up that day?

Luckily, I knew where the package was coming from and Macy''s was able to credit my account for the missing stuff.

Have you thought about asking your parents/friends/family to pass the word along that someone sent you a package and it''s missing? Maybe someone will come forward and say it was them and then you can go from there. In most cases, the company will have a process for dealing with missing merchandise (store credit, replacement etc).
In the meantime, you should maybe write the management a letter (after checking your lease, as was suggested) expressing your concern. It can''t hurt to have a complaint on file (and a paper trail) just in case it happens again.

This is so frustrating, I feel really awful for you. Like you don''t have enough to worry about without having to track down missing packages.
I''m keeping my fingers crossed for you!!