Returned to sender as your address does not exist.
By katerina
@thea09 (18305)
Greece
December 16, 2009 10:02am CST
Apparently this is the reason the quilt/duvet I ordered online from the UK and paid for 1 month ago today is not with me. This is frankly complete rubbish. The local postoffice have been on alert the whole of the last week to watch for its arrival. The postman is an honourable man and is not sleeping under it. The customs office haven't taken it to pieces searching for hidden weapons. No, my address does not exist.
I don't actually have an address, one of the strange but usual aspects of rural Greece but I give the name of the village and the post reaches me. Sometimes the postman may get attached to it and drive round with it until 2pm when he returns to the postoffice but that's no big deal. I have a name, a village name, the local town name, the county name, the country name and even a postcode.
Do you think I've been conned? My order was placed with a British retailer who sells new items through ebay and paid for with paypal.
Have you had any equally stupid reasons why things don't arrive?
5 people like this
22 responses
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
25 Dec 09
I totally understand your situation, as I don't have street names or house numbers either in my village. More than that, there are two other men with the same name and surname as mine in my village, and I've had the misfortune of having my correspondence delivered to them. When I'm expecting something I usually let the postman know it's for me, or I add my mother's name in brackets under mine, like "Family of...". I got packages from France or US, and the only package I ordered from e-bay, sent from Hong Kong, reached me well. So I guess you're being conned by the e-bay sender.

@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
25 Dec 09
I don't know about the naming system in Greece, I only have one first name and one last name, and two other people have the same exact first and the same exact last name. Children get two first names nowadays, and I learned that in the 30's children got 3 first names.
1 person likes this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
25 Dec 09
Hi stvasille, only two with the same name and surname. That's not too many at all if you have the same sort of naming system as over here.
The reason they gave for my duvets non arrival was complete lies as they now admit they never even sent it and refunded my money. I really can't be bothered to start searching again as everyone else refused to deliver it unless the postage was some exorbitant amount.
2 people like this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
25 Dec 09
I must enlighten you at once then as it is such a hoot. First male child to be named after paternal grandpa, first female child after paternal grandma, second male child after maternal grandpa and on infinitum going through various relatives.
So imagine the scenario when grandpa ends up with five grandsons each by one of his five sons, then five cousins have the identical first and last name. Now people used to have large families. In all official documentation you must give your own name followed by your fathers name to distinguish yourself from one of your many cousins. Add to that that most of them are then interbred anyway and you can imagine the general confusion.

2 people like this

@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
20 Dec 09
that's kind of sweet actually to have a place where they just know where you live tho..:)
i guess the business is just being anal about it.
i've had delivery guys knock maybe once and expect me to hear them in the back of the house..then leave a slip i have to pick it up downtown,which is a pain in the butt,i have to find somebody to watch biddy to go get it..
the door bell works..i don't know why they don't use it.

@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
21 Dec 09
it can be.
she's disabled and has a gamut of problems including seizures.
she's ok most of the time,but you know the "only takes once" thing.
so,thank god for internet work.
1 person likes this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
20 Dec 09
I was amazed when the postman actually turned up here once as he doesn't do home deliveries and I had no idea he knew where I lived, we have to go and collect all the mail. Turns out this morons who were sending the quilt never even posted it, they just lied about the address thing. They gave me a refund without even asking me if they could just send it on.
I'd no idea the biddy needed watching, that must be hard on you.
2 people like this

@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
23 Dec 09
What a nuisance and what a rip-off. Was it sent express...was a signature required. Get them to send it again or re-send it. I live in a village too and we don't have postal deliveries, instead having to collect our mail from the post office. Luckily, we have a very good mail service here. Hope you find your quilt mate. 


@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
25 Dec 09
Hi Ms Tickle, oh all this was stuff and nonsense put out by some idle retailer which sells through ebay. Once I filed one of their disputes they admitted the thing had never even been posted but instead of asking if I still wanted it they just put my money back. I'd rather they had posted it anyway but I didn't get a choice but why on earth they had to lie and try to blame it on our perfectly fine postal system is beyond me. What annoys me most is that the quilt with its goose feathers cost a mere £30 online and I finally saw one for sale in town yesterday and it was £140 which I just refuse to pay when I know there are thousands of the things out there on line at a fraction of the cost.
2 people like this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
22 Dec 09
OMG my sister had that happen with a company that was to deliver her new bed. They told her that her address didn't exist. She verified her address (another company had delivered her couch there!) and again they said it didn't exist and she was like how can it not exist im standing right in it! They refused to deliver it a second time...even tried charging her delivery fees for the first time. She was MAD because she spent all day waiting for them and they never even CALLED to ask for a different address when they couldn't find her or let her know it wasn't going to be delivered...just shipped it back to Calgary. She ended up canceling her entire order from that company and buying everything somewhere else.
I dont have a "true" address. I get my mail from a postal box because rural Saskatchewan doesnt have home mail delivery or really even street addresses. I could give places a land location but they wont deliver to that.
I'd contact the seller and request a tracking number. If they wont give you one file a compalint with ebay.
1 person likes this

@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
22 Dec 09
Hi saundyl, someone else without a real address, yippee. It's just standard here to give the name of the nearest village and then pick up mail somewhere too.
It turned out this company lied and just made up the bit about my address as they never even mailed it. I filed a dispute and they immediately refunded all my money but didn't even give me the option of asking if I still wanted it sending which I did. It took me so long to find someone who said they would actually deliver here and to then waste all that time waiting for it AHHHH. And I remain duvetless. So far it isn't nearly as cold at night as last winter thank goodness but as soon as that wind gets up. 
1 person likes this

@SomeCowgirl (32189)
• United States
20 Dec 09
Obviously you've ordered online and so you'd fill out an online form. If the company did not accept the generalization, it would have been an instant notice of "incorrect data" or some other techno mumbo jumbo that basically means the address is wrong. Hmm, I'd be contacting the company on this one, maybe through email or on the phone if I could. I'd want to know why the quilt didn't come as it doesn't seem to be the post office's fault, atleast not your local branch!
I don't think you've been conned, and I can't think of any equally stupid reason a thing wasn't shipped / didn't arrive.
1 person likes this

@SomeCowgirl (32189)
• United States
23 Dec 09
I hate when I have to wait on something I wanted, but sometimes it's more sweeter. Maybe you can find another duvet from another company and have them send it over...
Saundyl is right though, maybe they were just hoping you wouldn't put up a fight.
1 person likes this

@faeryoftheshire1 (558)
• United States
21 Dec 09
I've never liked Elvis, especially that song. I believe the actual words are Return To Sender, Address Unknown. So many people like his music but I was born a little too late for that.
1 person likes this
@rameshkumaar57 (5908)
• India
16 Dec 09
Oh, poor thea, I remember the quilt, which you have ordered. It seems we had that discussion a very long time ago, and today I read in some other discussion, that you had also purchased the old books which you wanted to buy. Hope that also does not reaches the same fate as the quilt.
Seriously speaking, usually ebay returns back your money if it is not supplied to you within a certain period of time. That is what is mentioned in their website in India, so I do not think you might loose your money.
I can understand the no address business, because even in rural India, they put the address as so and so post office. Just check up once again with the rural post office, or better still send a email to the British retailer.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
16 Dec 09
Hi ramesh, yes it has been a sorry saga taking ages to find someone to actually deliver here in the first place without charging an arm and a leg. The retailer is claiming the goods are with them as returned. I was in the postoffice earlier and nothing has been received and returned and I know everyone in there of course as its a smalll place.
@rameshkumaar57 (5908)
• India
16 Dec 09
Well maybe the greeks had a problem in reading the address in English or your British retailer must have sent it to some other place in Greece.The spelling could have been wrong, and the parcel would have gone to some other town,or who knows, the parcel might have been returned as " there is no such town". 


@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
17 Dec 09
Sorry to Hear the transaction didn't work out for You on this,Thea...Have you managed to Make contact with the bunch selling these homing Duvets?

@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
17 Dec 09
Didn't you mention before about knowing someone in the UK who would be able to post one to You? How about your Paypal account? can you get it back,or would you consider a new one?
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Dec 09
Hi Shepherd Spy, I put in a complaint about them yesterday and today they refunded my money to pay pal - apparently they never even sent it so why they felt the need to come up with the pathetic excuse they did is beyond me. I don't know if I can face trying to find someone else who alledges they will post one to Greece.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Dec 09
The place didn't give me the option of letting them send it, they just put the money back in paypal. Bunch of losers. I suppose I could impose on someone in the UK to post one out but the postage will probably be more than the losers were offering to send it for.
I've given up looking on little boxes tonight though. We've had no water now for 13.5 hours and I just want to have a shower.
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
16 Dec 09
This problem is no difference to where I stay. There is no proper delivery address as the village where I stay do not exist in the post office map. I never order anything online for this simple reason. Unless you are staying in a housing estate where the postmen can easily deliver any goods ordered, I am left with no choice but to abandon the idea of purchasing online. 


@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
16 Dec 09
I rent a postal box at the post office but since I have relocated myself to my present dwelling I could not figure out how to get my ordered goods in this small village. My postal box is in another town which is 2 hours drive from where I live now. But this is only a temporary setback cos next year I will be moving to my new housing estate. Here I'll have no problem getting my mails or parcels. 

@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
16 Dec 09
Hi Zandi, a slightly different scenario as the village has a postoffice so is on the map, we just don't have individual house addresses. So everyone has a pre arranged pick up point for our mail such as the cafenion or supermarket. Then if the postman has a parcel he'll leave me a note in my mail pick up spot,or flag me down in his car. So this is the first time I've ever encountered any problem with receiving anything. When I got the laptop sent ages ago he did actually make an exception and brought it up to the house for me and I was totally suprised he knew where I lived.
Does that mean you don't get any mail at all Zandi? Where do they send your bills to?
1 person likes this
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
17 Dec 09
So let's wait what your inquiry's reply is. In this case, I don't know; there must be a mistake somewhere, somehow. I don't think it's the postal mistake at all.. nor the other party, bu let's just hope we can find out the real deal; whose at fault or at least, where does the mistake lies upon...hmmmmp, so summarily for now, this leaves us with a no-brainer. I would be frustrated if I were you as well.

@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Dec 09
Hi Zed, I should just have thought ahead and ordered it in the summer when I had no use for the thing at all as it was too hot for anything but lying on a sheet with the fan blowing day and night. I'm hoping that by filing a dispute they'll just get on and actually post it. I couldn't understand why they don't just sell them here but they all sleep under a thin quilt with a stack of blankets on top. On the up side my thermal socks arrived.
On the down side we have no water.
1 person likes this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
18 Dec 09
30 hours with no water now. No idea why. It happens so often it's just one of those things here but not for this long usually, more usually just 8 hours or so. And some places around here will have it whilst others don't so if I ring the chap about half a mile away he may well have it while the houses here don't. At the moment though not a single house near me has anyone in them to find out if they have water. I'm waiting for someone to turn up now and sort it.
Don't you have all these unexplained cuts in Singapore?
1 person likes this

@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Dec 09
Thea
Somewhere in Greece
The postman knows
Haven't had anything go missing in years. I did have a couple of things, insured through the post office, go missing. I had bought them off of e-bay from the same seller. Weird thing is, the second one did eventually show up a month later.
Haven't had anything go missing in years. I did have a couple of things, insured through the post office, go missing. I had bought them off of e-bay from the same seller. Weird thing is, the second one did eventually show up a month later. 
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Dec 09
Paypal is wonderful really. But the insurance I was talking about was through the US post office.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
16 Dec 09
Dawn - the postman knows everything. He's the first one to bring all the gossip down from the villages, who's car has been parked where when it shouldn't have been, who was seen scuttling out of somewhere first thing in the morning. Of course its all completely exagerated by the time he gets back to the post office.
I checked insurance and it is supposed to be covered by paypal. It's the first time I've ever used paypal.
1 person likes this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
16 Dec 09
I hope u haven't been taken advantage of by a scammer on ebay. They are there. I read a discussion other day where a man had been scammed on ebay. I don't think any place is safe nowadays with all the hoodlums that there are out there. I just don't trust people because u can't like u use to could. I have ordered my grandaughter something for christmas from a catalog i received. I am worried about getting it before christmas. Hope u get your duvet, i know u need it in the cold weather.

@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
16 Dec 09
i SURE HOPE HUGO'S GIFTS ARRIVE IN TIME. wOULD HATE TO SEE HIM DISAPPOINTED. tHE reason i never talk about my grandaughter is because i never get to see her & am not included in her life. My oldest son has chosen not to have anything to do w/me so therfore i never get to see her. She will be 3 in may & is a beautiful child. I t is a very hurtful thing to me so i don't talk about it much.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
16 Dec 09
Hi Aunty, well it was supposed to be a shop which sold through ebay but I wasn't too impressed when I tried to telephone them and they only had a messaging service. I used pay pal to pay for the first time and they are supposed to cover costs if things don't turn up.
I ordered a few more bits online last week and my thermal socks arrived today after just one week. I hope Hugo's christmas and birthday presents arrive on time as I got those online too, the thing he wanted for christas was half the price in the UK than in the shops here. What a rip off.
Aunty I never even heard of a granddaughter before, only Ryan. I hope her present arrives.
1 person likes this

@cynthiann (18612)
• Jamaica
16 Dec 09
Now let me think now. Reasons why it has not arrived. Thinks: Thinks again: Light bulb moment: I know, says she happily:Someone in the U.K wrote your address on the palm of your hand and then sweated.
A moron thought it fun to send your package via Afghanistan.
Do I have any reason? No. I learnt not to have things posted to me many years ago and wait for people to visit and bring what I need.
I hope that it eventually arrives. Meantime, keep warm.
A moron thought it fun to send your package via Afghanistan.
Do I have any reason? No. I learnt not to have things posted to me many years ago and wait for people to visit and bring what I need.
I hope that it eventually arrives. Meantime, keep warm.
@cynthiann (18612)
• Jamaica
16 Dec 09
Of course you are right. I just thought that my excuses sounded - well -silly I suppose. I am having a bad day and needed to be silly

@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
16 Dec 09
Hi cynthiann, I can't go round asking people to bring things over these days with their tiny luggage allowances. The post has worked perfectly fine before my duvet decieded to make a one way trip back to the UK without at least calling in to see me. My suspicions are that they forgot to post it and came up with some useless excuse when my contact alerted them that they'd forgotten to put a stamp on it.

@rosepedal64 (4188)
• United States
16 Dec 09
Hi thea
This just isn't right at all. I would contact paypal and then ebay about your transaction. I oreder a ring a couple of years ago from ebay. I too paid for it thru paypal. I contacted them first and then they started a search for me. I then the same day contacted ebay about it as well. Then I sent the seller and email asking where my shippment was. They responded back very fast and sent me another one at no charge. The first never showed up. Don't give up until you get some answers sweetie.
Let me know how that turns out for you.
You know what to do.....KEEP SMILING...
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
16 Dec 09
Hi rose, I've been doing the contacting through ebay and paypal since the weekend. The actual mail to ebay told me the retailer had responded to me with a question,but there was no question. I hope that they are resending the thing now as it will be even longer than another week with the christmas post coming from the UK. It never occured to me that they could pull out such a dense excuse.
@rosepedal64 (4188)
• United States
16 Dec 09
Yeah really. I would see if you get contact information for the seller. I know that this is very upsetting to you. I remember when you were looking for this quilt. Oh thea I hope that you get it took care of and get the quilt in enough time. I would tell them to put a rush on it..It might be the time to get nasty with them...
Keep smiling my dear.

@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Dec 09
Hi jillhill, I hope I don't need anything else sending for ages now as the whole process is just becoming a joke. Most of the known civilised world refuses to deliver to Greece in the first place as thinks we aren't in Europe and when they do agree they can't do it properly.

@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
19 Dec 09
Nope I have a real address. So, now, I have a question, why don't you all have addresses? Do your streets have names? And, also, since you don't have an address does that mean you don't have to pay property tax? Oh, I guess that was more than one question huh? 
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
19 Dec 09
Towns have street names it's just that around here houses are scattered around up dirt tracks. Everyone who owns a house here has to do a tax return which costs more to get done than any tax on the property. We don't need addresses as the postman doesn't come to the houses, he leaves the mail at a convenient taverna, shop or cafenion.
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
9 Jan 10
It sounds to me, and apologies if someone else already mentioned this, that the sender did not fill in your details correctly when sending it causing it to be returned. Otherwise the only other thing is that you have unfortunately been victim to a con artist, which if it is the case I hope you've managed to get a full refund either directly or via going the procedures on ebay and paypal.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
8 Jan 10
As an online business owner, I am fairly experienced when it comes to things going missing in the post. We do not get many when compared to the amount that we send out, but they do go missing from time to time.
Most of the time, they turn up eventually with no explanation to where they have been hiding, but sometimes we never see the products again. We send more expensive items with tracking so that there are recorded points that the package has gone through, but once we lost one that had never been scanned onto any truck at all! It was as if it did not exist. Australia Post have insurance for some parcels, so they paid us for that one.
Most times when they go missing, we resend the package to the customer and instruct Australia Post to send the original parcel back to us if it turns up and it usually comes back eventually. One time though, we sent a small item to a customer 3 times and they kept saying that they never received it. We then sent it registered post so that they had to sign for it and we never heard from them again. Perhaps they now have 4 of the item that we sent them?
Another time we received a phone call from a customer saying that their parcel had not turned up, but when we got Australia Post to search for it, they told us that the customer had received it as they had signed for it themselves! I think they were trying to rip us off!
Most of the time, they turn up eventually with no explanation to where they have been hiding, but sometimes we never see the products again. We send more expensive items with tracking so that there are recorded points that the package has gone through, but once we lost one that had never been scanned onto any truck at all! It was as if it did not exist. Australia Post have insurance for some parcels, so they paid us for that one.
Most times when they go missing, we resend the package to the customer and instruct Australia Post to send the original parcel back to us if it turns up and it usually comes back eventually. One time though, we sent a small item to a customer 3 times and they kept saying that they never received it. We then sent it registered post so that they had to sign for it and we never heard from them again. Perhaps they now have 4 of the item that we sent them?
Another time we received a phone call from a customer saying that their parcel had not turned up, but when we got Australia Post to search for it, they told us that the customer had received it as they had signed for it themselves! I think they were trying to rip us off!@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
8 Jan 10
Hi Bill, it turned out these losers were just pulling a fast one and never posted it in the first place.
They also refunded my money saying if they posted it now it would arrive too late. Too late for what they didn't say, as I'd have much rather had the duvet than the refund. Pity they didn't bother following your business practice.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
8 Jan 10
Yeah, there are some dodgy online businesses out there which make it hard to gain the trust of people sometimes. It is lucky that you got your money back though.
@vandana7 (102698)
• India
16 Dec 09
Hi thea, there is a way. Ask them for bills to your place. There have to be some invoices, delivery challans, and stuff like that on which your address is there, in addition, the day when it was sent to your place. All these are marked on the cover of the package! I believe the package landed elsewhere, thanks to the airport authorities. And naturally, it was stamped as address does not exist. Lots of luggage mishaps occur. This is one of those. :( Cool down, ask them to send it once again as this possibility seems quite high. :)
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
16 Dec 09
Hi Vandana, they usually put invoices inside the packages these days and unless they go direct to the post office to be signed for there's no proof of delivery. I'm very cool Vandy, which is why I want the quilt to warm me up. I just wish they'd get on with it and send it again if they ever sent it in the first place. It's so frustrating trying to talk on those little boxes which ebay and the like provide.
@artistry (4151)
• United States
18 Dec 09
...Hi thea, What a bummer, nothing aggravates me more than ordering something and not receiving it, especially after paying for it. I once bought something on e-bay that I really wanted, the gentleman who was selling the item happened to live nearby, I almost wish he hadn't found that out or suggested what he did. He decided to drive over and deliver it himself instead of mailing it. Well there is a home with the same address as mine but west instead of east, he went there and when I told him he took it to the wrong address he didn't want to retrieve it for whatever reason. I got my money back, but I really wanted the articles. So, la ve.
We have some mailmen over here, as reported in newspaper articles at least one, who stashed hundreds of letters in his home instead of delivering them. So I guess we are all lucky our mail gets to us when it does. Three of my checks were completely lost one time in the mail, which really ticked me off. I hope your quilt arrives. Take it easy.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
19 Dec 09
Hi artistry, well I put in a complaint against the retailer through ebay and it turned out they never posted it at all, so why the lame excuse I don't know. Instead of sending it now, which I still wanted, they gave me a full refund, so I still have no quilt. What a total waste of time. Our post system here is completely honest, it's one of those jobs for life.












Two hours to your postal box








