Nothing makes me sadder in mail adventures than seeing something I sent out weeks ago back in my mailbox with a sticker on it telling me it couldn't get to where I wanted it to go. :(
One time, I sent a letter to a pen pal in Germany, whom I had connected with through social media. I used the address from her awesome custom stamp and made SURE it was right. It came back some 2 weeks later, saying it couldn't reach her. So I sent her a message to double check the address, which was EXACTLY what I had used! I put it in another envelope, RTS stickers and all, and tried again with the SAME address and she got it 3 days later. One of those postal mysteries that leaves you scratching your head and going "???!".
And then there is the hassle of convincing people (mostly businesses) who send mail to individuals who no longer live at your address that they should stop sending things addressed to that person. (I'm looking at you, insurance company!) I had to physically walk into an office, hand them the stack of mail that had kept arriving weeks after I had made calls to remove my address from their list, and very slowly spell it out for them to STOP. SENDING. THESE. I think they FINALLY got the message!
I sent out to a pen pal from France a few weeks ago and it came back RTS. I had her parents address that she had given me as a backup though, and so far I haven't heard anything so maybe she got it and will write back soon.
Do you ever get things returned back to you, readers? I hope it doesn't happen very often!
I just recently decided to be a good family member and start sending out birthday cards. My first one was to my brand new sister-in-law and it got sent back because I accidentally left off a stamp (it had an old stamp, but not enough penny stamps)! So frustrating.
ReplyDeleteOne time I was sending a business letter to a person I knew personally, and the letter came back as undeliverable. I called to see if I had the address wrong, and everything was correct. We tried sending it two more times, and each time it came back. I finally just hand delivered it.
ReplyDeleteHi from Nagzilla bloghopping A to Z
It only happens to me when I accidentally write the wrong town on the address. Especially when I'm sending something to my mom. For some reason (although we haven't lived in the same city in YEARS) I alwasy write her town as the same as where ever I live. Crazy! :)
ReplyDeleteI bet that's just your subconscious wishing she lived close to you! :)
DeleteI sent something to a cousin a couple of years back, and it came back "no such number". So I sent it to her work instead, no worries. Went to visit a couple of months later and saw that the post office was correct-- there was no number on her house and paint on the mailbox had flaked off so that the number was unreadable. I don't know how she was getting any mail at all! (They've since fixed it-- they were so busy at the time they just hadn't noticed that they were only getting mail on days their "regular" postman who knew them was on the route.)
ReplyDeleteThat's funny! If things continue to break and fall apart on our mailbox, I'm sure the same thing might happen to us! Though all of the carriers know me, since I'm in and out of the PO so often and mail art arrives for me all the time! :)
DeleteOh I now have a certain song spinning in my head! I enjoyed your post! Hi from one A to z challenger to another!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a letter returned in a long time. It is sad when it happens though!
ReplyDeleteConnie
A to Z-ing to the end
Peanut Butter and Whine
It is true, Jenny, that those returned envelopes can be frustrating but more often I find the letters just get lost which is even more frustrating. Everytime I see that "Return to Sender" hand nowadays, I think of the movie, "The Stupids" and then I can just laugh. If you haven't seen it, check it out for a good belly laugh. It really is silly, but fun. God bless, Maria at Delight Directed Living
ReplyDeleteI have to say, email bounce-backs don't hurt me as as much as snail-mail "return to sender"s. Perhaps because often, so much time and thought goes into the writing of the letter, as well as the time spent anticipating a reply via-snail mail, only to find it never reached its destination. With email, everything is so instantaneous, we just tend to move on to the next mouse click!
ReplyDeleteJess/ Blogging on the Brink
This is a disappointing happenstance. I'm sure it's happened to me before but I can't remember any specific incidents. But at least it gets returned. Even worse are the ones that just get lost somewhere along the way.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with the rest of the challenge. :)
Oh I get mail back sent to the correct address quite often, I started bringing back to the post office so they can remail it at their expense since it was their error.
ReplyDeleteAlso when I get mail at my address for people no longer living here I always write No longer at this address RTS, when it is a repeat offender, bank, insurance, cc company I save them and mail back to the company without postage so they have to pay to get back the dead mail, I use the mailing address as the return address, after 2 or 3 times of paying for priority postage, the company stops sending the mail.