I'm a really bad fiancee that waited WAY too long to send out Christmas presents. I sent them on December 13, but was still told by the guy at the post office that it would take 4-10 days putting it there just in time for Christmas...that didn't happen. It's a month later and they've not arrived. So not only am I a bit dumb for waiting too long but I also threw away my customs slip because: 1. I didnt know there was a tracking number on there and 2. I was really busy doing my "I'm so smart, I procrastinated and will get away with it" dance so I had no time for thinking. So anyway, have any of you guys ever had packages really get lost? Is it maybe just on the slow boat to Manchester? It'll probably arrive THERE the day after Andy lands HERE. I think they took it to the Atlantic Ocean, put it on a raft and gave it a gentle nudge out to sea. Oh well, i've learned my lesson just curious to see if this has happened to anyone else.

Mary

I didn't get my Christmas gift last year, seemingly lost in the post, my fiance didn't keep his reciept either.
This year a card he posted me just after Christmas didn't arrive either.

Did you send it via airmail or boat?

I sent a paket from Germany to the US via "land/boat" in the beginning of November and it got there just before Christmas. The guy at the postoffice had told me it was going to take 2 to 3 weeks...

If it is really lost, you can actually search for it even if you lost the tracking number (at least with DHL you can) - go to the postoffice and ask about it, they might be able to help. Especially if you know the date you sent it. (I was about to have them search for it when it finally arrived.)

Good luck- hope it'll turn up.

Never had anything lost, but I've had things (stuff I've bought on eBay) that were sent priority mail and should have been with me in about 4-7 days, unaccountably take over a month to arrive. Similarly, going in the opposite direction... I sent my fiance's birthday present to him in the summer, and when it hadn't arrived after 4 weeks (again, I was quoted 4-7 days) I assumed it had gone 'missing'. Then it showed up, finally. My mother sent some cards (all in one envelope) for him and his family right at the beginning of December and they turned up on Dec. 30th... I know that was Christmas, but still... things can take waaaay longer than you expect. I've had stuff arrive within 3 days from the States, and been amazed - but I've also had plenty of experience of things disappearing into a black hole for 4-5 weeks before finally dropping through my letterbox.

Don't even talk to me about tracking numbers... after we sent off our I-129F package, by registered, priority (whatever you call it, I forget which exact method we used!) mail... my fiance threw out the receipt with the tracking number (within about 10 seconds of leaving the post office, I think). I spent 2 weeks utterly convinced it had gone missing or been eaten by wild animals or, um, something, until the NOA1 showed up safe and sound!

If you have your receipt from the post office (where you paid them - not the customs receipt), it *should* have the tracking number on there. It depends what 'class' of mail you used, though.

I normally use Global Priority, which is pretty fast and trackable. The only problem w/ it is you have to have packages that are of a certain size (34 inches total) and it can't weigh more than 4 pounds. Its pretty reasonable - about $15 to $20 and they normally have the packages in just over a week.

Royal mail sucks!!!!!!

I've had parcels...many of them...lost from there to here, but never the other way round.

Perhaps it's in a Christmas post backlog!

I have had one, possibly two gone missing.

The first one I forget how I shipped it-- I want to guess it was by boat but I could be wrong. I forget the contents besides a card with a very heartfelt message.

We did think it was possible that the neighbors stole it or his mum kept it from him (as this was back when she was very intent on breaking us up), but we had no proof either way.

I sent a package a little over a week ago as well that I very highly considered insuring due to it having his birthday and valentines gifts inside, but I was talked out of it by the post office guy. It should've arrived on the 15th-- something like 7 days after shipping (was quoted 4-7, Global Priority Mail), which was nearly the same for the K1 papers I sent over the same day. The forms arrived a few days ago, with no sign of the other package. I'm hoping it's just stuck in customs since it was a slightly higher valued thing, but I'm really starting to worry!

I still have the receipt with the customs form number and some other number which I was told I could track the item with (A label #, says the receipt), but stupid usps.com doesn't recognize it as a trackable number so I don't know what to think yet. I'm hoping it'll arrive by tomorrow, if not I don't know what to do.

I sent Jonny's Christmas pressie on the deadline date which was the 11th I think, asked for airmail, got charged as a parcel even though it was in an envelope (I always send care packs in padded envelopes and the green customs form because the letter rate is a little cheaper) and you know when he actually got it? 12 January. A whole month later. They told me 4-7 days and all that. give it a few more days then panic

When you post from the USA by Global priority Mail your package may move faster while in America but will have no more priority than regular mail once it gets to the UK.
Got that from the Royal Mail when I went looking for a delayed package.
Maggie

I'm aware of that. All I'm saying is I've had good luck using Global Priority, but that doesn't mean that nothing will ever be lost.

My fiance sent me a letter once with something inside it, and when it got here it had been cut open and all that was left was the letter. Pretty sad. I hate USPS though, the last package I sent was only about 3 pounds, cost me $33. Bit of a rip off if you ask me, the contents weren't even much more than that. Makes me look forward to sending Christmas presents overseas after he moves here.

Never had anything lost but twice had stuff sent from USA to England take foreverrrrrrrr (like 2 - 3 months) nothing coming from Eng ever been that delayed. No logic to any of it and no way of knowing which step of the process holds it up USA/UK/customs so I try not to bad mouth any of em lol The only good news is from my experience dont give up yet

Trace, I also send everything in the Global envelopes and I've had perfect luck with them & v fast to get there

i've had good luck so far with Global Priority Mail (sort of) i sent all the papers for our interview that way and i asked about 10 times if it was trackable and they assured me it was. Then when i went to track it the USPS website said they didnt recognize the number. That was a bit of a panic since it had the affidavit of support forms and all of that, everything arrived safely though so that was a HUGE relief. I'm thinking getting the tracking number is really more to make you feel better than to actually have much luck tracking your package. If the Christmas presents are well and truly lost i'll just tell Andy to tell his mom I got her a nice piece of jewelery. She need never know it was a bottle of lotion from Bath and Body Works . What to get future your Mom in law for Christmas is a whole other issue. yikes!
mary

I would NOT be comfy sending visa papers via Global Priority - mainly cos, as was mentioned earlier, there is no tracking once they hit Royal Mail.

We used DHL when Chas sent me his papers for the I 129f. He sent them on a Thursday afternoon UK time and I had them Monday by lunchtime.

Haven't lost a package but I sent two cards earlier this month and they have yet to arrive in England....very frustrated...

I think the collective power of people thinking about my package sped it along its journey! Andy called me to say that it arrived today! Better late than never i guess. I hope the UK to US service is a bit more reliable because I want Andy's mom to send us Jaffa Cakes and Bueno Bars

mary

The package I was worrying about as well showed up at Adam's place today. Royal Mail must've read the thread!

We sent my daughter her christmas gift on 11th December and on 27th December she still had not received it so I called USPS to see what I should do. Luckily I had my tracking number - the online status showed it had left Miami on 13th December.
A couple of days later the parcel showed on the tracking as having arrived in the UK on 5th January - no doubt by checking with USPS they had started to investigate.
Finally my daughter received her gift on 11th January!
I was very worried as even though we had insured the item (we were sending her a laptop and a whole host of other small items - the value of the parcel was just over $850.00 and we had asked the postal service which was the best way to send this) - we really thought that this parcel had gone "missing". So it just shows that it had somehow been "misplaced" at Miami and eventually someone found it and sent it onwards.
Good luck!

I've always sent stuff FED EX to UK and always had a 2 day turn around time Priority overnight...and he has always sent stuff to me via Royal mail and normally I get it in 1 week time from the day he sent it out...so I guess I shall continue to keep my fingers crossed...

I've noticed the two packages Adam has sent me via royal mail in the last month have both been terribly beaten up-- boxes ripped open enough for the contents to fall out (luckily they haven't yet). Starting to get really annoyed with that.

Another thing I've noticed is that every time I send chocolates over there they melt, but every time they've sent me some from there they're pristine. What is the deal with that? Is it something in our chocolates that make it melt faster?