How can I avoid doing Halloween as a ghost?

October 29, 2008 8:09 PM

Just moved- how can I intercept something sent via overnight mail to my old address without waiting for USPS to forward it to my new address?

I moved a week ago and set up mail forwarding with USPS 10/18. I haven't received any forwarded mail yet, and I moved one town away (Oakland to Berkeley in the Bay area) from my old address.

Today I got word that an integral part of my Halloween costume got mistakenly shipped today, last-minute, to my old address in Oakland via overnight mail from the east coast.

Is there any way to intercept the package somewhere along its route? I'm not totally clear on how the USPS mail forwarding system works. Should I show up at my local USPS early tomorrow morning and ask for my old mail carrier (who knows/likes me, I gave her gift certificates every Xmas)?

If I can't track the package down, I'll be going trick-or-treating as a ghost in a floral bedsheet. Help!

posted by arnicae to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

A similar thing just happened to me: I mistakenly had a package sent to an old address that I haven't lived at (for more than a year, so it didn't forward). I figured it out right away and called USPS; they said my best bet was to go to the post office [that serves the address it was sent to] the morning that it is supposed to come in (check your tracking number, if you have one, or just show up tomorrow). Show them your tracking number and bring an old and new piece of mail so they can see it's you.

Even then, there's no guarantee you'll get it; I didn't get my package, and it was sent back to the shipper. But your situation is a little different, and you may have a better chance. Good luck!
posted by rossination at 8:23 PM on October 29, 2008

Response by poster: With overnight, I'm not sure if it will go straight to a special magical overnight van from the Oakland major processing place (e.g. not to my Lake Merrit PS, just straight from the downtown Oakland one). Anyone have any wisdom on that?
posted by arnicae at 8:39 PM on October 29, 2008

You should call your old post office first thing in the morning and ask them for advice.
posted by lee at 9:38 PM on October 29, 2008

Response by poster: Any idea how to phone them? Love the idea, but I've never been able to find a local phone number for the PS- including mine in Oakland Lake Merrit.
posted by arnicae at 10:02 PM on October 29, 2008

1-800-ASK-USPS is a pretty good number; keeping hitting 0 and not saying anything at the prompts and you'll get someone on the line. That's what I did, at least.
posted by rossination at 10:09 PM on October 29, 2008

If you go to usps.com, click on "locate a post office," enter enough of your info to get a list of nearby offices...and then click on "more info" under the specific location, it will list the actual local phone number for that post office instead of just the national 1-800 number it lists on the main results page. Strange but true. I guess they want to dissuade people from calling directly.
posted by needs more cowbell at 11:07 PM on October 29, 2008

Response by poster: Yay! 1800 ASK USPS fixed it all. They gave me a phone number and those people found the van and held the box and I picked it up and ask.metafilter saved the day!!!
posted by arnicae at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2008