FedEx Ground Tracking - "Address Corrected" notation added on day of delivery?

[boskev]

Hello, everyone.

Just before the Labor Day holiday, a buyer in Japan purchased a small collectible from me.  The buyer has been a member since 2008 and has logged over 1700 transactions, all of which seem to have been reviewed very favorably.  No alarm bells at all.

I initially thought this was going to be an eIS transaction, but when the order came through, the shipping address was to an address in Oregon -- one that I quickly learned was for a freight forwarder.  Had I not been a lurker on these boards, this might have given me pause.  But I went with the mantra, "If the buyer paid, ship to the address on the order and move on!"  I did precisely this and delivery is scheduled for later today.

I checked the FedEx tracking details when I woke up about five hours ago, and everything seemed to be in order.  However, just a few moments ago, I noticed a new notation had been added that I had never seen before: "Address Corrected."   I don't think the buyer could have called FedEx to request this, and I'm not sure whether this is just FedEx standardizing the address the way the USPS does.  I tried calling FedEx, but the automated system refused to connect me with a live operator.   Does anyone know what this means?  If the address has been substantively changed from what was on the order, doesn't that expose me to a claim from the buyer for "Item Not Received?"

Thanks in advance for your help.

Kevin

[boskev]

UPDATE:

Just spoke to FedEx and they confirmed that "someone" at the FedEx depot changed the address.  However, since this label was purchased through eBay, they cannot tell me what the new address is or have me authorize them to change it back to the address as written on the buyer's order.  All the customer servic rep would tell me is that the new address is in Portland, but the ZIP Code is not the same as the one on the order.

I have to call eBay now for advice.  Only eBay can authorize FedEx to change the address back to what was originally on their shipping label.

Kevin

[ltldpr]

@boskev 

I was curious about this because it sounds like it could end up causing a hassle, and did a google search.

WOAH! There's an "address correction fee" and it's not cheap!

I only found a PDF (and I found a link to it on an old post on these boards, but it has gone up since that post: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/FedEx-quot-Address-Correction-Fee-quot/td-p/32334971).

https://www.fedex.com/content/dam/fedex/us-united-states/services/FXE_FXG_Surcharges_and_Fees_2023.p...

[boskev]

@ltldpr 

Thank you very much for this.  It's a frightening thought that I could be levied a steep surcharge when I did exactly what the buyer asked me to do.

The item was delivered and signed for about two hours ago, so I'll have to see what, if anything, the buyer does -- claims non-delivery or just moves on, happy with her purchase.  But if the latter happens,  I'm surprised that FedEx might still come after me for more fees because *they* felt it necessary to alter the address -- to one in a different ZIP Code, no less -- without reaching out to the shipper.

[wastingtime101]

Hey @boskev .  If you're charged an address correction fee it will be at a lower negotiated rate than the one published at retail (more like $4 instead of  $20 for UPS, not sure about FedEx). But if you are charged an address correction fee, eBay CS will generally credit that back to you if you contact them and ask.

As for the different zip code delivery, I get your concern. At this point I'd suggest "wait and see" because there's nothing to do until/unless something happens. In my experience, buyers in Japan are far less problematic than other regions, so hopefully that holds true in your case. Should any type of non-receipt claim be filed later, come back for advice.

[boskev]

@wastingtime101 

Thanks for your reply, and I agree -- there's really nothing to be done at this point.  The buyer's feedback was about as impeccable as one could hope for as a new seller, with every past transaction having gone swimmingly.  I just hope that ours eventually proves to be among them!

[yuzuha]

Some of the larger freight forwarders now have their own unique zip codes that are separate from the area around them. It's most likely that this "address corrected" was to deal with that issue.