I arrived home today to find a book I mailed to a member has been returned to me and marked "No Such Address".  It also requires me to pay $2.13 for the return of it.  I simply used the address from the print wrapper form.  I checked and the person is still a member and her address still appears as it did on the package I mailed.  I sent her a PM and asked if there was a change in the address or something.  Just seems weird to me.

I am also confused as to why I have to pay the postage to have it returned to me.  I paid the postage to have it mailed ( $2.13 ) and now I have to pay the same amount to have it put back in my own mailbox.  Has this happenned to anyone else out there?

I have heard this before...about the sender paying for return postage if it is media mail.

You could check over at the postal forum where the experts are.  That I am not.

Mona--

You have to pay for the return because it is Media Mail.  They had to deliver it twice, and "return trips" aren't covered by Media Mail postage the way they are by First Class.

From the Help Center:

"A book I sent was returned to me!

Please contact the requestor to let him/her know, and to confirm the proper address.  If the book has already been declared lost in the mail at PBS, you should not re-send it unless the requestor confirms that she/he still wants it. 

• You cannot re-send the book if it is damaged.  If it is damaged, contact us to cancel the transaction.

• You are not obligated to re-send the book if this happened due to a problem with the requestor's address.   If the book was not damaged when it came back to you, and you do not want to re-send the book to the previous requestor, you can simply repost it. 

• If you do not get a reply message from the requestor within 5 days of your PM, contact us.

The most common causes for packages to be returned to sender:

• The package was over 13 ounces and bore only stamps for postage, and you did not mail it by handing it to a USPS employee.
  • This is a USPS regulation if postage stamps are used for postage and the package is over 13 oz in weight.
  • The regulation does not apply to packages sent with printed postage
  • You can remail the package from the PO in this case, without adding new postage to the package.

• Incorrect Address. Caused by 
  • transcription errors if you hand-wrote the address
  • the requestor mistyping his/her address in his/her account
  • USPS error
• Insufficient Postage Caused by 
  • Insufficient postage on the package
  • Failure to write MediaMail on the package if the PBS wrapper was not used.  (USPS will charge First Class rate if MediaMail is not specified).  The PBS Wrapper will print out with FIRST CLASS for books weighing 7ounces or less; books over that weight will print wrappers marked MEDIA MAIL
  • Writing First Class on the package if the PBS Wrapper was not used.
  • Reusing Priority Mail materials (this is not permitted!) but applying Media Mail or First Class postage.
  • USPS error.
• Moved, no forwarding address Caused by
  • The requestor moving before the book arrived (Media Mail is not routinely forwarded, unlike First Class mail!)
  • USPS error.

If the requestor still wants the book, and you decide to re-send it, it may be declared Lost in the Mail before it arrives. 

• The requestor can mark it received from the Lost transaction in her Transaction Archive, and you will get credit."

Cheers,

Catt

Thanks for the information.  I get it now.  I'll wait to see what the requestor has to say and wants to do.  Thanks again.

If the requestor says the address is correct I have heard that if you go talk with the PO and explain that the error is their's they will send it again without cost.  Would be worth talking to them about.

I had that happen to me with the exception that endica (I used printable postage) was printing it out with the wrong zip code even though the right one was listed with the system and it kept bouncing back to me -- I did not have to pay for it to be returned, at least. I alerted R&R and they did refund my PBS money and said that in that instance to not use the printable postage and just take it to the post office. To add to the frustration level, the requester wanted to cancel the request because the book had been back and forth from Michigan to California several times and stated that she didn't want it anymore because she was sure it would be too worn -- arrrgggghhh! Fortunately, the book was well wrapped and it hadn't suffered any wear.

I've also had the Post Office return books to me saying that they were over 13 oz. and had to be taken to the post office to be mailed, and in every single case they were well under 13 oz.

The mail can be frustrating!

I had a book come back to me marked "No such address".  I contacted the member and found that the address was correct.  When I took it back to my post office, they called the receiving post office and double checked the address.  They confirmed it was a valid address and didn't know why the book had been returned to me.  So, it was re-mailed (at the post office's expense) and got to its original destination a week later. 

Some good wording to use at the post office "The person I sent this to has verified the address is correct.  Please resend this under cover to their postmaster to find out why it wasn't delivered properly."

"under cover" means they put it in an envelope addressed to the postmaster for that zip code.