I know that’s saying much but I'm sincere.
Just over 10 days ago my parcel from the U.S. was shipped to our organization’s Toronto address. USPS International Priority (signature required and with email tracking). The emails followed: parcel at the distribution center in NYC, parcel enters Canada, clears customs, parcel enters the custody of Canada Post. Tax is assessed at ~$250, and I pay online. So far, so simple. Then it all goes south.
I receive an email notification that with the following:
“Your item could not be delivered on July 17, 2026 at 10:09 am in CANADA due to an incorrect address. It is being forwarded or redirected. Reminder: This item requires a signature for delivery. If you can't sign in person, you can authorize someone else to sign.”
I call up Canada Post, an hour on hold. I haven’t received a notice of delivery slip. What’s the problem with the address, our organization has been at the address for 50 years? Where is the package now? If there’s a problem with the address let’s redirect it to a local post office where I’ll pick it up. I cannot get a precise or positive response to any of these queries.
The CSR describes the matter as one of reconciling internal address label inconsistencies or some bafflegab, we’ll resolve it, etc, etc and re-attempt delivery. I initially thought the delivery failure was due to no one at the destination to sign but I now realize it was an internal matter, that is, some system rejection of the address label that had to be reconciled.
The vague tracking emails continue for a few more days, ie., the parcel has entered or exited “a facility”, nothing about location, culminating in a “your package is out of delivery” email. Great, I’m at the Toronto address, awaiting arrival, even put a sign on the front for Canada Post to walk in (there's a yard with a gate).
Nothing, until I get a final email notice that it’s been delivered. But I didn’t receive it. And neither did any of the half dozen others at the destination sign for it. Then the kicker. Several hours later we receive an email from a retired couple, gracious Samaritans, living in a city over a thousand miles away, who are recipients of my wayward parcel-I’m being deliberately vague so an not to doxx them. They're inquiring what’s to be done about it. They Googled our org’s name on the shipping label and reached out. Took them literally a minute.
After corresponding with them, I engaged in another hour long phone call with Canada Post to iron out WTF went wrong. Well, apparently CP doesn’t deliver to the original Toronto destination address (why, they're still not clear), so someone at CP or its automated system, kept the name of our org, its street number and name, and substituted another city for Toronto, and another area code. 1100 miles away. Just because CP does deliver there. And that qualifies as problem solving at Canada Post.
I asked the Samaritans why they signed for the parcel? They didn’t. The delivery person said no signature was necessary, and just dropped it off, leaving the recipients to wonder if their adult children had neglected to inform them of one of their online orders. So much for signature required.
So a service ticket was opened. My intention was that Canada Post retrieve the package and forward it to a local post office for pick up. The samaritans have been gracious and communicative throughout, providing all the relevant contact info.
Not so Canada Post, the cause of the debacle. Today a ‘ranking’ CSR calls me, another 45 minutes on the phone, and acknowledges it’s a fiasco-that’s my word-a ‘dilemma’ is hers. She can appeal to the CP division in X-city, to retrieve the package-the samaritans are not withholding it and I’ve supplied all the relevant contact info including their phone number-but the local CP division has to agree to do so. I'm flabbergasted this requires consent at the local level.
But, if the package is retrieved it must be returned to sender-right back to the USA-because CP regulations forbid altering a destination label even though it did just that when it inserted a different city and postal code for the parcel’s end point. Jesus wept. They refuse to forward it, period.
So after about 12 days, with over $2K for the price of the goods, shipping, and tax/duties in the balance, I’m faced with my package doing close to 3000KM circle. That’s if they follow through. I can’t say how much I loathe Canada Post at the moment. Just a maddening experience throughout. And it's still not over.
