I was just looking at the delivery confirmation details on one of my books, and I noticed a new notation - "missent". This book was sent from PA to NY and it ended up in Massachusetts, but I've never seen a book labeled "missent", even if it went to the wrong place. Just wondering what "missent" means?

This is the DC scan history

* 10/10/2008 3:00 AM - Electronic Shipping Info Received - KNG OF PRUSSA,PA

* 10/13/2008 12:49 PM - Enroute - PHILADELPHIA,PA

* 10/13/2008 2:50 PM - Enroute - PHILADELPHIA,PA

* 10/16/2008 1:08 AM - Enroute - SPRINGFIELD,MA

* 10/16/2008 1:32 AM - Enroute - SPRINGFIELD,MA

* 10/17/2008 9:33 AM - Missent - VERNON ROCKVILLE,CT

Karen

That happened to me too. I had it happen to 5 books, both on their way to me and mailed out all at the same time. They was misrouted for some reason or another. They all got to their destination just fine though. Just took a few extra days....

The book must've wanted to take the scenic route! :P

The book made it to Vernon Rockville, CT, which of course wasn't  where it was supposed to be. The mail clerk scanned is as "Missent" and put it back in the outgoing mailstream. Hopefully you will see an "Arrived at unit" (but you may get another "Enroute" first) and then "Delivered"

A lot of the "Enroute" scans are because the packages are going across a SPBS machine (Small Parcel Bundle Sorter) which has an overhead scanner that catches everything as it goes across the "chain".

Kevin

The missent scan is exactly what it sounds like.  Your package arrived at a delivery unit where it did not belong.  Often the package will be scanned "Arrival at Unit" before it is scanned as either missent, attempted, etc. Kudos to the clerk who scanned your package correctly - even though it seems to be taking the scenic route to it's destination!

Thanks Kevin for the info on the SPBS - I have worked for the PO for over 20 years, but haven't been involved in any type of automation since the old LSM's.  Went to a station before we had SPBS.

BTW - even PO employees have these problems.  I sent a book from Texas to a friend in Michigan.  It went to FL 3 times before it got to Michigan.  I KNOW my address and zip code were extremely clear and legible, so not sure what happened.  Guess I'll never know!

Hmmm...interesting. A WL book I've been waiting on FOREVER got routed to Springfield, MA. It was going from VA to me in MS. It makes absolutely no sense to me!

There is something weird going on in the Northeast area. I had a customer this week have a package going from Texas to Pennsylvania go through New England. It was priority and took a 13 day tour of the fall leaves before arriving.

I had one going from MD to CT.  They routed it through Illinois first-which is not on the way to CT.  It wasn't scanned as missent though which, my guess is how it's supposed to be scanned but isn't always. 

had an order from texas going to milwaukee.... some how the package was missent in MO. it continued to chicago, IL a few days later and i thought okay, it'll be here in a day or two. then all of a sudden it was in des moines, Iowa, and then in Kansas City, KS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when a package is missent it can and probably will bounce around all over the place until it goes back too the place where is was missent, in order for it to be re-sent......... such a waste of time, money, and resources. USPS really knows how to screw things up, and then really tick you off by delaying things even further instead of trying to fix the problem in the first place in a simple manner. my package traveled to more places in the US in a few days than i have been too in my whole life. Thanks USPS. we know how much we can rely on you...................................

I'm sorry you had that experience, but most things get where they are going in a reasonable length of time.

SPBS was an excellent suggestion - but in the case noted above that's not what occurred (the Philadelphia and Springfield NDCs do not have SPBS).  I assume this was sent media mail which travel thru the NDC network (the surface network - slower 3rd class/parcel post as opposed to the 1st class network which is a combination of air/surface depending on distance).The NDC facilities all have PSM - parcel sorting machines and many of the PSMs are fed by SSIU (Singular Scan Induction Unit) which will contain the OCR scanners that are reading the delivery confirmation numbers. 

Somehow Karen's book was missent in Philadelphia to a Springfield run out as it should have been directed to the New Jersey NDC for a NY delivery.  Why - mechanical error, package got hung up with another that was destined for Springfield, human error if possibly they loaded a container of New Jersey onto a Springfield truck - could be several things that went wrong.  But why in the world Springfield sent it on to CT is an even bigger mystery - if the DC and the addressing/zipcode was correct Springfield should have sorted that to New Jersey NDC - can't imagine why or how they sent it off to CT.

Ignore it, the original post is 18 months old.  No idea why someone pulled if off the archives floor.