How to Find Lost USPS Postal Service Mail Or A Package

The United States Postal Service does a very good job of delivering millions of letters and boxes every year. But, occasionally a piece of mail gets lost, or a box arrives torn open and missing some or all of its contents.

On those occasions, what do you do about locating your missing item?

First of all, have hope, because there are steps you can take! Here is How to Find Lost USPS Postal Service Mail Or A Package.

Things You'll Need

• Special Services Tracking Number

Instructions

1. 

   Let's say you mailed an article to someone and it never arrived at its destination. Best case scenario is that you have done one of the following when you mailed your box: Insured, Certified or added Delivery Confirmation service to it. But in case you didn't do any of these, you still have an option.

   Contact your local post office and tell them that you have a box or envelope that was lost or that was missing some or all of its contents when it arrived. Then, request that they initiate a MRC Search Request. MRC stands for Mail Recovery Center, which is the Postal Service center that ultimately receives all the mail and packages that are undeliverable for whatever reason. These centers were formerly known as the Dead Letter Offices, and they receive mail and packages from post offices all over the country. If a package is damaged in handling and loses some of its contents, or if the address labels get torn off or defaced so that the item is undeliverable, it gets sent to the MRC.

   The postal employee handling your request will need to gather some information from you to complete the form. First, to file a MRC Search Request, the value of your lost item or its contents must be valued at $25 or more. You will need to give them the sender's and recipient's addresses. They will also need the phone numbers of both parties, if you have them. Most importantly, you will need to give a very complete description of the package and its contents, as this will help the MRC staff narrow down their search and locate your article faster.

   You can even submit pictures of your item or a similar item to help in the search. The Post Office may have you submit your pictures by email or they may need to scan the picture before returning it to you. The completed form is sent to the MRC by email, so your pictures will go as attachments to the email.

   Once you have given the USPS all the required information, the form will be emailed and you will be notified by them if they find your article. Don't expect a quick reply though, as they unfortunately have a lot of lost articles to look through.

2. 

   If you did originally use one of the USPS Special Services such as Insured, Certified, or Delivery Confirmation on your item, you may be able to track your package and find out its last known location. You can find out some information on your own by going to www.usps.com, and putting the item number from your Special Services Receipt in the Track And Confirm box on the main page. If there is any information available, the website will show you where the item was last scanned. Currently, the website will not show you any information on Insured Mail though.

   The information you get may show that your item is actually sitting at some post office awaiting pickup!

   But if your search shows nothing, take your Postal Service Special
   Services Receipt to your post office and have them look it up. Their system often shows more detailed information than the public USPS website will show you. This may help you pinpoint the last official location of your item which could aid in locating it.

   If either your online search or the USPS conducted search gives you any indication of where your item might be, the Postal Service may be able to assist you in checking with another post office to ask them to check and see if they can locate your package. Ask them to contact the other office by email or phone, asking them to do a search.

   If they can't or won't cooperate in this way, you may need to do the contacting yourself. Look up the post office's phone number on Google and call them directly. Give them all the information you can about your package or its contents, and have your special services number ready to give them.

   If you don't get anywhere with your local post office or your own contacts, call the USPS Customer Service line at 1-800-ASK-USPS and lodge an official inquiry with them.

3. 

   If you insured your item, and it is lost or missing contents, file an insurance claim in addition to any other steps you take to locate your item. For Insured Mail, you have to wait 21 days after the lost article was mailed before you can file a claim. You also have to file your claim no later than 180 days after it was mailed.

   You will need your Insured Receipt and proof of the value of your item. You can file your claim online at www.usps.com or by going to your post office and completing PS Form 1000.

Tips & Warnings

• File your Insurance Claim as soon as you are eligible to. Also, get the USPS to initiate the MRC search as soon as possible to get the search started right away.

• It is advisable to use some special service on your packages, at least Delivery Confirmation so you will have proof of delivery. Insure your package if it is very valuable or you don't want to be out the money to replace it. USPS insurance covers loss of your package or any damage done to the contents.

Resources

• USPS Website