Mystery gift.

[checkitnice]

What do you do if you receive a package, have no clue who it's from, and it's an item that really isn't your style? 

I got a sweater in the mail today from an online retailer that I've never used. I searched my email and web history just to make sure that I didn't order it and forget it.  There was only a packing slip in the bag, no name or clue. The company won't tell me who ordered it, but said they would thank the sender for me. Um, please wait, was my reply, since its not something I will use!  I can easily return it, thank goodness.

I checked with my husband and my parents. No luck there, and my birthday is months out. How can I both find out who sent this and send it back in a reasonable timeframe?

[guihong]

That's very strange.

I suppose if you have Facebook, you can put something like "Just received a sweater, but without the sender!  I'd like to thank them if they would step forward".  Then, if someone does contact you and says "Oh that was me!" you could privately thank them and tell them you appreciate the thought, but that you're afraid it didn't fit right. 

Maybe someone else has a better idea  .

[Bijou]

If there is an order number or tracking number can you check that to see if you can get a clue?  My first thought is that I should look at my credit cards and any other internet paying system I use to make sure it isn't something that was erroneously put on my credit card/etc and was sent to my ship to address automatically.  You could also check online to see if there are any weird things going on that involve sending out unordered merchandise. 
My second thought would be that they sent it to the wrong address.

[checkitnice]

There is a tracking number on the packing slip, but the retailer would not release the name of the purchaser to me. My name and address are 100% correct so I don't think it's a mistake.

I was thinking of going the FB route but wasn't sure if it would be odd.

[Surianne]

If you look up the tracking number, though, it should show you the origin city -- which might help if you only have one aunt in Miami, for example.

[doodlemor]

I think that there has been a recent discussion of this sort of thing on ehell - perhaps the moocher/scammer thread. 

I think that you need to check and make sure that your credit information has not been stolen.  Apparently thieves sometimes don't realize that websites will send items to the address on the card.  Another possibility is that a thief knew that the item would come to your home, but thought that they could grab it when you weren't home.

Best of luck with clearing up this mystery, OP.

[Harriet Jones]

If you look up the tracking number, though, it should show you the origin city -- which might help if you only have one aunt in Miami, for example.

Wouldn't the city of origin be where the sweater was shipped from (the company's warehouse), not necessarily the sender's address.

[LadyR]

I think that there has been a recent discussion of this sort of thing on ehell - perhaps the moocher/scammer thread. 

I think that you need to check and make sure that your credit information has not been stolen.  Apparently thieves sometimes don't realize that websites will send items to the address on the card.  Another possibility is that a thief knew that the item would come to your home, but thought that they could grab it when you weren't home.

Best of luck with clearing up this mystery, OP.

Thieves also often send the first item to your house to make sure the card works and not alert suspicion and then use the card for their own purposes. I would call your credit card company and see if they ca put a watch on your account and I'd be checking yoru credit card diligently.

However, I did get a mystery package when I was pregnant and it was marked from a shipping company, not a person or retailer and there was no note (it fell out) and it took me a couple hoursof detective work to disocover it was from a friend who had mailed it from work.

[Surianne]

If you look up the tracking number, though, it should show you the origin city -- which might help if you only have one aunt in Miami, for example.

Wouldn't the city of origin be where the sweater was shipped from (the company's warehouse), not necessarily the sender's address.

Yes, it wouldn't be as useful as if it were from a major retailer.  Since the OP was talking about having trouble returning it or needing to know the giver to return it (or it's possible I misread that), I was thinking smaller company, something that might be local to the sender.  Worth checking just in case. 

The notes about scams are good ones too, I hadn't thought of that.  Keep an eye on your credit card/accounts!

[oceanus]

Hmm.  I'm usually skeptical about these types of things.  Normally I would think~~scam.

But, something occurred to me - OP, could it be from an admirer?  Valentine's Day, etc.?

That might sound like it came from left field, but it's a thought.

[otterwoman]

I'm the person whose credit card number was stolen and the thief sent the Mac Book Pro to my house. When I called Apple, they told who who ordered it (thief pretending to be me) and the credit card number(mine). Could you call the company back and ask them for the credit card number used, just to compare it to yours?

I've had mystery packages show up before, but whenever I've called the company, they have always told me who ordered the item. And then apologize for forgetting the gift card.


Extra: Apple, my credit card company and the state police were all very helpful. I've had no issues dealing with any of them. Now, if the thief had ordered an iPad, I would have considered that a sign from the Gods and kept it!

[That Anime Chick]

So after reading the OP, my first thought was 'did it come from Zappos?' because of this commercial:

http://youtu.be/LrsYOzQ5Q3Q

It's sort of stalkerish and weird, but I don't want to rule out potential scam as well. My advice is to call customer service and ask if they have someone to talk to about an order that you think might be fraud. That's all I can really think of.

[Amara]

I agree with calling the company, asking for a supervisor, and then giving that person the last four digits of your credit card to see if it compares with the one that was used for this order. That will at least let you know if you need to take immediate action about your card, or if it is just a gift from someone yet to be known.

[Shortylicious]

I'd follow the advice about speaking to a manager at the retailer to determine if your card was used fraudulently. If you find out that it was in fact a gift but they won't tell you from whom, post a thank you message on Facebook as another poster recommended. Then return it and get something you really wanted!

[checkitnice]

I got a different response from the retailer when I mentioned fraud. They looked into it and the package was shipped to me by mistake. The awesome part?  I get to keep it!  I wore it to work today and got a lot of compliments on it, it's warm, and fits perfectly, so I'll deal with it not being quite the ideal sweater for me.

The retailer sells small batches of luxury items. I'm guessing that they're not carrying the exact item anymore and had no use for it?