To the Editor,
I am writing this letter in the hopes that the same sort of thing won’t happen to someone else that happened to me.
In December, unbeknownst to me, my daughter-in-law who lives in Maple Ridge sent me a combination Christmas and birthday present. She paid $25 for two-day delivery and mailed it to me on Dec. 18. Several days later she called me to inquire as to whether or not I had received my present, as I hadn’t called to thank her. This was a complete surprise, as I had not received it.
Upon discussing it further it appeared she had sent it to my old address. She has only been to Port Alberni two times and is not familiar with our street names. Not knowing the address off hand she looked it up online, but my previous address was still listed, not my new address.
When I moved three and a half years ago I had paid for a change of address for six months. Lesson No. 1: when you pay for a change of address you should pay for at least a year’s change, along with informing your family, friends and businesses you deal with. After six months I thought I was getting all my mail. I have called White Pages and informed them of their mistake regarding my address.
Lesson No. 2: take the tracking information for a package and keep it in a safe place. In my case, the tracking information was initially misplaced. The supervisor at our local post office was very helpful but without proof, it was their word against mine and I never received the present.
It is a federal offence to destroy or steal people’s mail. I wish this would have been handled more seriously from the beginning.
Pat Bouchard,
Port Alberni