Gee, I suggested contacting UPS. I figure that just might fit within the constraints of "a phone call". That might be enough to find out if they were going to try to lay some onerous burden on you.

Your suggestion that the phone would be the (unintended) recipient's rightful property is simply bogus. Do you really think it's the same thing as keeping unsolicited merchandise that a company intentionally addressed and delivered to you?


A couple of years ago, I ordered a Kettler (German!) tricycle for our daughter. Two of them were delivered, both clearly addressed to us. Other information in the packing slip made it clear that one of them was intended for another recipient. We tried contacting both the merchant (some web storefront) and the Kettler folks, but it was clear that resolution would not be swift. I took the time and trouble to obtain (by internet search) a phone number for the intended recipients. Gee whiz, we weren't going to sit on our duffs and just let Christmas morning come knowing that some little tyke wasn't going to have the tricycle that someone intended to be there!

We managed to contact them, and they acknowledged that indeed the grandparents had indicated that a gift was on the way. I gave them the details from the packing slip so that they could pound on the vendor and/or drop shipper if they chose to. Whether they got a tricycle there by Christmas, I have no idea. The one incorrectly delivered to us went back to the drop shipper by means of a UPS call tag.