Request cancelled long after being mailed (28 days); no explanation listed. I am being $cew%ed here by someone. What can I do?

The system automatically cancels requests if you don't mark the book received within 28 days. You should have received an email saying the book was "lost in the mail". You can also see past emails on your Club Communications page.

You also got your credit back, which you can verify by clicking on Credits at the top of any page; and you went back on the wish list in your previous position if it was a wish listed book.

Just because the request is cancelled doesn't mean you won't get it, I have frequently gotten books declared lost in the mail, without them being mailed late...delivered to a neighbor's house and they took their sweet time passing it on to me, books have showed up six weeks after being mailed, probably spent most of that time in a bin at the post office... And if it doesn't show up, you've gotten your credit back, no harm done.

ooops, double post.

After the "Lost" date, you can still mark the book as received in your Transaction Archive. You can find the Transaction Archive on both your pull down My Account menu and on your My Account main page.

You have to be VERY CAREFUL in the Transaction Archive. That has both cancelled orders (folks who never responded) and lost orders. Always double and triple check the sender before marking a book in your Transaction Archive.

In addition, a credit will be taken from your account if the book is in the Transaction Archive. (Your credit would have been returned when the book went "lost".)

From the Help Center:

A book I requested is lost in the mail. What now?

If a book you requested does not arrive by the 26th day (the 35th day if the sender or requestor is outside the contiguous US) after it was marked mailed, it will be declared lost in the mail at PBS. The requestor does not mark the book Lost; the system does this. 

The requestor will get credit back, and the book will go onto the Wish List (if there are no available copies in the system) or the Reminder List (if there are other copies available to request).  If the book was a Wish List book when it was requested before, the requestor will go back to his or her previous place "in line" for the book.

• However, this does not mean that the book is definitely lost.  Sometimes it is merely delayed en route.
• If the book arrives after it has been declared Lost, the requestor must mark it received from the Transaction Archive.
  • At this time, the credit will be taken back and given to the sender for sending the book.
  • The only exception to this is the situation when the "lost" book was actually mailed very late without notice from the sender - if this is the situation AND the requestor has re-requested and gotten a second copy, the requestor does not have to mark the late-mailed book as received.

What you should do if a book you requested is declared Lost in the Mail:

• Contact the sender, to find out if mailing was delayed for some reason.
  • you can do this from your Transaction Archive, using the PM button on this Lost transaction in that list.

• If the mailing was not delayed, the sender should call 800-ASK-USPS or go to http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MLNtRcvd.aspx (the Postal Inspection Service's website) and input the information online there . This will help USPS try to recover the book if it truly has been lost in the mail.
• Don't re-request the book for at least 2 weeks, unless you are willing to run the risk of getting two copies (and paying a credit for both).

If you are having a lot of books declared "Lost" en route to you:

• You should investigate this.  Excessive unreceived books may jeopardize your membership.
  • Numerous books sent separately but not arriving at your address implies that something is wrong with your mail delivery.
  • Requestors are responsible for providing correct, dependable mailing information to senders.
• Check your address in your Account Settings, to be sure that it is correct.
• You can send a PM to the sender of any or all of the lost books, to ask if the book was mailed late, by any chance, as described above.
• Talk to your PO and mail carrier to see if the book might have been misdelivered to a neighbor.
• Consider using a PO box or alternate (ie, work) address until the matter is sorted out.

IIRC there is also a suggestion somewhere in the guidelines, that you wait 2 weeks to reorder the book.  Probably b/c a significant number of them arrive that first week after going 'lost'. If you reorder before the two weeks and end up with two books, you have to mark them both received.  After the two weeks, you may not have to mark the late one received ... but check the rules, I haven't looked lately and they may have changed.

Keep in mind John, that the sender may have done nothing wrong.  We've had members post that they received a book 12 months after it was marked lost, and the postmark clearly showed it was mailed on exactly the date the sender said it was (a year earlier).

After the two weeks, you may not have to mark the late one received ... but check the rules, I haven't looked lately and they may have changed.

If it arrives late but was mailed on time, you need to mark it received, regardless of how long the PO took to deliver it, or if you got another copy.