I encountered several problems with UPS My Choice today. I wish I could say that the service was great and how it saved me time and money…but I CANNOT say that about my experience.
You can access the website at http://ups.com/mychoice
The chart of options available are listed at: http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h434/whatabout_it/70-ups-my-choice-chart.png
Things to be aware of:
1. It’s not really free! There is no free trial version but there are some options that you get, like alerts and tracking.
2. Some senders are classified as “restricted” and the delivery information cannot be changed. This means you cannot use My Choice to adjust the shipment for these types of shipments.
3. It may take up to 90 minutes before you can access your premium account once paying for the option.
4. The addresses you sign up with on UPS must also match the address listed on the shipment. UPS My Choice may not recognize the package and you may not be able to adjust the shipping details of your package.
My personal experience:
I had ordered a package from Sephora and I wasn’t aware that they used UPS for shipping. I try to avoid UPS/FEDEX because I live in an apartment and I often miss my packages.
I was notified that I missed my package on Friday and waited until Monday to attempt to have UPS ship to a local UPS store. The representative informed me over the phone that I need to now request that through UPS My Choice and I can only sign up online. I remember that in the past I was able to request over the phone to ship to a closer address but I guess that has changed. I signed up thinking it was free, like the website says but I got stuck after putting in my Info Notice number*.
* If you want to see details of how to register check out my other blog posting – TBD
To use the other features I decided to sign up for the yearly subscription for $40.00. I thought I would be able to use the service right away but there were not hints on how to start my service. I clicked on the “Tracking” option and tried to change delivery but the only option I got for free is to “Ship to Sender.”
I called UPS and they informed me that I needed to wait 90 minutes. I waited 2 hours to call again and they told me that it should be working now but it’s possible that my package and my address I listed in UPS do not match. They told me to call again when I can confirm my address when I’m at my computer. I waited an additional 2 more hours hoping that I would be able to change the shipment to a local UPS store today but that still didn’t happen. After speaking with 4 representatives, I’m finally informed that I CANNOT change any shipping requests because the sender is a “restricted sender” (only the sender can make changes).
I was upset because I paid $40 to use the service that wasn’t working. I requested that I get a refund but I had to speak to another representative in billing.
I spoke to the billing department and they said that I need to cancel my subscription and then contact my bank. Supposedly there was nothing that UPS could do after I verified that my bank account already showed the charge. I get to contact my bank later today and stop a payment. (yay)
***Partially resolved – I got a hold of the vendor and they had to request the package to be held by UPS. I get to drive through the snow an hour away in traffic to pick up my $50 package. My bank has also put in a dispute for me and I hope to receive a credit within 10 business days.
someinfonow 
