By Jedidiah McKeehan
You open your front door and find a package you did not order. Maybe it has your neighbor’s name on it. Maybe it has your name, but the box contains a much more expensive item than the one you purchased. Did you just receive a free gift?
There is a popular internet rule that says you can keep anything delivered to you that you did not order. That rule comes from a real federal law, but it is often applied to the wrong situation.
Federal law allows a person to treat unordered merchandise as a gift. The law was designed to stop a dishonest sales practice where a company mailed products that nobody requested and then sent a bill or demanded that the recipient pay to return them. A company cannot force you to buy something simply by placing it in your mailbox.
A package ordered by your neighbor and accidentally left on your porch is different. That merchandise was ordered. It was simply delivered to the wrong person. The fact that the carrier made a mistake does not transfer ownership to you. Opening it after seeing someone else’s name, hiding it, or refusing to return it can create criminal and civil problems.
The situation is less obvious when the package has your name and address but a retailer sent the wrong item or an extra item. Do not assume that a shipping error is the same as a company intentionally sending unordered merchandise. Contact the seller, document what arrived, and give the seller a reasonable chance to arrange and pay for its return. You should not have to spend your own money correcting the seller’s mistake.
Occasionally, a small package addressed to you arrives even though you have never dealt with the sender. That may be a brushing scam, where a seller uses your information to create a fake transaction and post a fake review. You generally do not owe money for that merchandise, but you should watch your accounts and report suspicious activity.
A package on your porch is not a legal scratch-off ticket. If it clearly belongs to someone else, contact the carrier or get it to the correct recipient. The free-gift rule protects people from dishonest sellers, not from ordinary delivery mistakes.
Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties. He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about legal issues,
