Where does the missing mail go in Canada?

When Anick Losier ordered clothing online last December and her parcel didn’t arrive, she didn’t fret - she tracked it. On CanadaPost.com she saw the package had been at a mail depot for four days. She called customer service.

“It turned out the retailer that printed the address label cut my address on one side,” says Losier, an avid online shopper who happens to work for Canada Post. “And half my name was cut off. Unfortunately some things happen that way.”

Yes, even postal employees aren’t immune to the phenomenon of lost packages. And Canada Post isn’t to blame.

Parcels and letters don’t reach their intended recipients for many reasons – incorrect or missing postal codes are the most common culprit; illegible or smudged handwriting is another; an incomplete address like a missing apartment number means a letter carrier can’t deliver letters and parcels; and weak packaging that lets contents fall out.

The country’s primary postal operator delivered up to one million packages every day during this holiday season – October through January – and averages 9.1 billion parcels and letters a year, so is it any wonder that a few go MIA? While Canada Post won’t reveal exact numbers, spokesperson Losier emphasizes they have a process to get missing items to their intended destinations.

Once a sender or the recipient has contacted customer service to report a missing package, postal inspectors retrace its every step. They check where it was scanned last and search mail depots or post offices.

“There are no less than five to 10 people at a given time searching for a lost package,” said Losier. “It’s a large group involved, turning over every rock to make sure the item is found.”

Ultimately when an item is deemed undeliverable, for example, a torn envelope containing photos also has an incomplete address, it will be sent to the UMO (Undeliverable Mail Office) in Scarborough, ON.

Officers have legal authority to look at the contents of packages to get information to try to locate the recipient. And if someone has contacted customer service, their claim can be matched with what the officers have unearthed.

“I call my colleagues at UMO the investigators and magicians. Their job is to try figures out the clues as to where an item needs to go,” Losier said. They connect with customer service and they look at claims. “And they connect the dots even with the parcel itself,” she said. Unregistered letters are among the toughest cases but the officers continuously look for clues.

Annually, the UMO receives three million letters of all sizes (this includes registered mail), almost 18,000 wallets, and 70,000 parcels. As well, there are untold numbers of passports and keys. They even get snow tires, Losier said. After six months, some items such as toys or books will be sold, but personal items are destroyed.

And the most unique item to go missing? Queen bees, Losier says. It happened because the recipient’s address wasn’t clearly written on the package. As luck would have it, the beekeeper contacted customer service because he was worried the Queen bees wouldn’t survive the 48 hours over the weekend.

“We found the bees late on Friday night inside the processing plant in Toronto,” Losier said, “And had an employee drive them to [the beekeeper in] northern Ontario.”

How to avoid lost mail:

1. Always include the postal code. And your return address.

2. Write the recipient’s complete address and include the apartment number.

3. Use sturdy packaging. A fragile sticker won’t protect contents. Wrap contents tightly to ensure they don’t shift around.

4. If using a recycled box, blot out the old barcode with permanent black marker so machine readers can’t scan it.

5. If the package doesn’t arrive on time, contact customer service ASAP and create a Service Ticket.

6. When shopping online, consider using Canada Post’s FlexDelivery, which allows you to have your packages delivered to a post office instead of to your front door. This service is free.