Certified Mail Issue.....What to do? (Vanity)

[Red in Blue PA]

Long story made short. I mailed my taxes in via USPS Certified Mail last Saturday and when I go to USPS for Tracking it says: "Updated Delivery Day: Thursday, February 19, 2015" with the last status being "Sorting Complete". Obviously that day is past so I am starting to wonder.....were my taxes taken by a postal employee? And it never said "Out For Delivery".....the Sorting Complete message has remained.

Checked the weather in Kansas City, MO and it does not look like snow.

Anyone ever experience this? I have sent a lot of things Certified Mail and this is the first time this has happened.

[donozark]

The weather in all of Missouri has been horrific this past week. Postal Service as well as UPS back-logged. Will take time to sort this mess out. Many roads were closed. Including I-44. Nothing moved.

Patience is in order...

[Rodamala]

Set your witholdings so you never ever expect a refund. That is YOUR MONEY and you need to put it towards the things you’ll need when the day comes that you decide you don’t want to fund terrorism anymore by refusing to pay taxes.

[Red in Blue PA]

You know that. I know that. Try telling my wife.

[Red in Blue PA]

I am glad to hear that, but when I checked on Thurs/Fri it didn’t look too bad.

[bdfromlv]

In 4 weeks after sending it in, go to www.irs.gov/refund and it will ask for ssn, status filed, exact amount and it will tell you the status of your return. electronic filings are posted 24 hours after filed.

[keat]

I’m sure you got lots of good answers but my experience is that USPS tracking bites. It is spotty, erratic and bears little relation to the actual progress of your package, which may be slow or speedy. You will probably get a delivered status says after the package is actually delivered.

[Hulka]

Yes, but more rarely than USPS and people get fired for poor performance and theft. . .no so much with the corrupt, bloated, incompetent, petty, uncaring, lazy, arrogant mouth-breathers at USPS.

I always use FedEx or UPS.

Never use the USPS for anything remotely important.

[TaMoDee]

That’s not UPS’s fault. The shipper is to blame. They get a cut rate cost if they start off with UPS and then indicate that UPS can transfer to USPS. Midway, the sporting goods dealer, does this and it drives me wild because I can see the UPS truck drop off the packages at the Post Office and I have to wait until the next day to get mine. Other shippers do this also -— Mrs. TaMoDee has the same with one of her dealers.

[niteowl77]

I learned the hard way that you never use their special little "envelope's envelope" for certified mail. You can use a padded mailer, you can use one of the bigger cardboard flats, and you can even mail it in a big old box… but don't let them slip it into one of the "sleeves" with the clear window.

Unless you actually want it to arrive late… in which case it works pretty well.

Mr. niteowl77

[pa_dweller]

Almost every day, Monday through Friday, UPS and FEDEX both have trucks going by my door. What you’re saying is it’s cheaper for UPS to carry an item part way and hand it off to the USPS for final delivery than to do it themselves - doesn’t make sense to me. It seems it’d be easier to send it one or the other all the way.

[TaMoDee]

Yup, But that’s the way some shippers are doing it. Doesn’t
make sense to me either.

[TomGuy]

it’s cheaper for UPS to carry an item part way and hand it off to the USPS for final delivery than to do it themselves

I had noticed that happening a couple of times last year.

This month, I had it happen from 2 different venders in 2 different states. They initially shipped out my order via UPS. Then, at the last UPS center, the packages were turned over to USPS for final delivery. They call it UPS SurePost.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

I have worked for both UPS and USPS. Most people don’t realize that the Post Office delivers a surprising percentage of UPS’s and FedEx’s packages. They will come each morning to local post offices and drop off hundreds of their packages every day.

The Post Office is required to deliver to basically every address nationwide. Private carriers are not, so some—such as DHL—don’t deliver at all to out of the way towns or rural addresses. They just drop it off at a regional post office.

When people talk about privatizing the Post Office, the dirty little secret is that neither UPS nor FedEx or DHL want that to happen. As it is they can to a certain extent cherry pick their delivery points. Also, the Post Office delivers more mail in one day than either UPS or FedEx delivers all year.

The postal system has major issues, but it is still the best in the world.

[pa_dweller]

Also, the Post Office delivers more mail in one day than either UPS or FedEx delivers all year.

I didn't know that! I'll bet a lot of other people don't either. I see a lot of posters here dragging the Post Office down but I've never had a problem, even when shipping eBay stuff.

[Red in Blue PA]

It arrived today!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I suggest waiting a couple of days.

The mail system is not real time. I have had items physically in my hand when the mail tracking system said that they were "in transient".

Then go to the post office and ask them to track. Their system shows a great deal more then the public one does.