I needed to return an item to a vendor and the vendor emailed me a link to get a pre-paied UPS label that I can print. I printed it, dropped it off at a UPS hub (large building, where you go to get will-call as well as sending out pkgs) but I don't see it in the UPS system.

its been over a week and its still not in the system. UPS refused, at the time I was there, to give a hand-off receipt (what would you call it?) I am not the shipper and no money changed hands between myself and UPS, so technically they do not owe me a shipping receipt. but they refused to give me a 'we now take ownership of this box' receipt.

what do I do? I can see a copy (online) of the ups label and when I search on it at ups.com, it shows nothing other than it was allocated as a label but never accepted at the ups 'boundary'.

I called ups CS and they said that if its not in their system, they don't have it. its possible that it got delivered if the label was not scannable but you'd have to ask the recipient if they got it.

what the hell??

how do you deal with this? are pre-paid return labels inherently risky in this way? ups admitted they stopped giving printed receipts to customers when they accepted pkgs. they *used* to; I know since I often could get a printout on label stock or whatever their 'diad board' prints with.

I also saw customers at the ups hub location simply drop off pkgs in a basket and not even wait to see if they scanned. isn't this a problem?

I contacted the seller/shipper and am waiting for his reply. its possible that it could get there and not be entered in the ups system by the tracking #, but I can't see how that could be possible, could you?

is the lesson never to use prepaid labels? or insist that they scan it before your eyes, before you leave?

There was no tracking #. Check your email attachment as I thought all ups had tracking attached to them????

Instead of contactin us first, you called customer service? i feel so slighted

Quote from linuxworks : is the lesson never to use prepaid labels? or insist that they scan it before your eyes, before you leave?

Staples and OfficeDepot give receipts, so next time go there instead of a UPS facility.

UPS still gives drop-off receipts, dropped a package off last week

Quote from Fallacy : UPS still gives drop-off receipts, dropped a package off last week

its optional to them. they are NOT required to give one. I fought with the lady there and she said 'either write down the number (gave me a pen and paper to write with!) or if you decide not to, don't give it to us!

literally, that was the conversation we had. I asked many times for a receipt. its NEW POLICY. call and they'll tell you. they cut costs and don't give receipts like this anymore. its their new policy! if you don't believe me, call corporate.

Quote from gunnerusa : Staples and OfficeDepot give receipts, so next time go there instead of a UPS facility.

you'd think that taking the box to the definitive ups place (large hub) would be equivalent.

this is a problem with their system. at least people need to know this. I did not! this is the first time this has happened and I'll never use pre-printed labels like this again.

I'm so surprised that they even allow a basket to be at their hub where people just toss boxes with labels and they hope it all works....

NOT A WAY TO RUN A BUSINESS!

fortunately I did order this from amazon and they have a long trail of emails between myself and the seller. but I have no proof that the box was given to the hub. this is a huge problem and ups does not seem to care. they said there was a default $100 insurance on that kind of return shipment and the seller/shipper has to initiate a trace. but a trace won't do squat if they never scanned it in.

folks: save yourself a UPS nightmare. don't ever give a pkg to a carrier unless you get a printed receipt. it seems they want to save money by not printing one; but they end up screwing YOU in their cost-cutting attempt. they save a single receipt cost and they now make it possible for things to have 'magically never appeared'.

Quote from linuxworks : its optional to them. they are NOT required to give one. I fought with the lady there and she said 'either write down the number (gave me a pen and paper to write with!) or if you decide not to, don't give it to us! literally, that was the conversation we had. I asked many times for a receipt. its NEW POLICY. call and they'll tell you. they cut costs and don't give receipts like this anymore. its their new policy! if you don't believe me, call corporate.

What's the phone number for corporate? I want to call them.

Quote from sampsonti : There was no tracking #. Check your email attachment as I thought all ups had tracking attached to them????

there was a pre-printed label. it has a number on it. that number IS the tracking number but its not in their system other than 'label has been printed'. no acceptance date or receipt.

THIS is the problem.

the # is valid but its in the status of 'just printed label, nothing else'.


let me ask this question: the vendor printed the label and I took it to the UPS hub. I followed the instructions and dropped it off at UPS. its not my fault that UPS refused to give a receipt. would you think you were at fault? if the UPS hub lady told you the new policy is to not print receipts for pre-printed labels, would you waste more time, walk away and find another store to drop off at? would you really? or would you fight with them about their new policy?

seriously - what was I supposed to do at that point? this is the large hub where you go to pick up will-call boxes. its as official a UPS place as you can find. why should I not feel safe dropping off the box there?

so many others just gave the lady the box and left and did not wait for an actual scan. no one there asked for a printed receipt. so, how does a business like this work? there's no audit entry to show ANY of those boxes were truly accepted.

I must be missing something here about how UPS thinks this is ok to run things like this. this does not sound at all odd to you guys?

Quote from linuxworks : they said there was a default $100 insurance on that kind of return shipment and the seller/shipper has to initiate a trace. but a trace won't do squat if they never scanned it in.

Don't write it off just yet. There's a process and you need to follow it, even if it seems pointless. They have to do the trace before they can even talk about insurance...and sometimes the trace actually works. I shipped a package to a buyer by priority mail in early December, and he wrote me 3 weeks later asking if I had shipped it because it hadn't arrived. I figured that was that--lost item, but I called the USPS and had them do a trace. It was delivered the next day. Apparently, it had gotten stuck in the system at the local post office somehow.

My experience with UPS insurance was so-so. They were weasely about trying not to pay the claim, but they quickly backed down and paid out. FedEx is worse, btw. It's funny how people whine about the Post Office, but they've always given me the best service of any shipper out there, even when they screw up!

thanks. they said that I could not even init the tracer and only the seller could. so I did contact the seller and am waiting for his reply.

you'd never walk into a bank and give them money toward your account and NOT get a receipt. why is UPS thinking its ok for them to take some of my goods and not give me a paper receipt back saying so?

that is essentially the issue, here. they run a business like this and I'm amazed they continue to act like this over a small piece of paper. they saved themselves a few pennies but now I have to spend HOURS digging thru this problem. a problem that should not have existed. I was asked to drop it off at UPS and I did. but now I'm out 'everything'; my money and the goods that should be sent back.

I think for now on, I'll refuse any prepaid labels, take the box to some shipping place, PAY THEM RIGHT THERE for it and then send the bill to the shipper. this wastes everyones time even more but at least I'll be able to get a paper receipt.

if anyone here works at UPS (which is what I am hoping) can you please see what the policy really is?

one of my goals is to inform people of this new bad policy, so YOU don't get screwed like I did.

Quote from linuxworks : thanks. they said that I could not even init the tracer and only the seller could. so I did contact the seller and am waiting for his reply. you'd never walk into a bank and give them money toward your account and NOT get a receipt. why is UPS thinking its ok for them to take some of my goods and not give me a paper receipt back saying so? that is essentially the issue, here. they run a business like this and I'm amazed they continue to act like this over a small piece of paper. they saved themselves a few pennies but now I have to spend HOURS digging thru this problem. a problem that should not have existed. I was asked to drop it off at UPS and I did. but now I'm out 'everything'; my money and the goods that should be sent back. I think for now on, I'll refuse any prepaid labels, take the box to some shipping place, PAY THEM RIGHT THERE for it and then send the bill to the shipper. this wastes everyones time even more but at least I'll be able to get a paper receipt. if anyone here works at UPS (which is what I am hoping) can you please see what the policy really is? one of my goals is to inform people of this new bad policy, so YOU don't get screwed like I did.

Just find a UPS dropoff place that does issue you the receipt. I take mine to a small mail store down the street. They always give me a receipt.

Quote from missymoomoo : just find a ups dropoff place that does issue you the receipt. I take mine to a small mail store down the street. They always give me a receipt.

DIDN'T YOU HEAR ABOUT THE *****NEW****** POLICY????!?!?!?!?1111?!?!

Me neither

Quote from Fallacy : DIDN'T YOU HEAR ABOUT THE *****NEW****** POLICY????!?!?!?!?1111?!?! Me neither

I'm still waiting for the OP to give me the number for corporate so I can find out if any of this is true.