![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-483565-100x100.png\")
I lived at 1212 1/2 for awhile, which you'd think would be utter doom, but it didn't cause that much trouble. I think I went with 1212A a time or two when databases balked.
I lived at 1212 1/2 for awhile, which you'd think would be utter doom, but it didn't cause that much trouble. I think I went with 1212A a time or two when databases balked.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/css/images/default.gif\")
I had a similar, though nowhere near as bad, problem with Insight Cable (now owned by Comcast) living at a \"1/2\" house last year.
The Comcast computers said that my house wasn't in the system. However, we had an old cable bill from the previous tenants sitting on the front porch. We had to bring that bill in, along with a copy of our lease to prove that the house actually existed. Imagine what hoops we would have had to jump through if the local cable provider was Comcast...
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-64687-100x100.png\")
I've never lived at an address with a fraction in it but I currently live on Swanton Street. Every single time, without fail, despite clearly enunciating it AND spelling it, anybody I speak to on the phone always refers to it as Swanson Street. Most of my conversations go like this:
Me: Swanton Street. S-w-a-n-t-o-n.
CSR: Swanson Street?
Me: No. Swan-Ton. That's s-w-a-n-T-o-n.
I realize the phone can garble things a little but I always make sure to speak this as clearly as possible, and I always spell it the first time. But without fail the CSR's always get it wrong and I end up having to spell it a second time... The only saving grace is that there isn't a Swanson where I live so even if they do screw up it'll likely still get to me.
Reminds me of when I bought a new build house in the UK. It was on a brand new development, they hadn't even picked the road names let alone the postal codes.
Fun ensued with trying to get BT to hook up the phone line. Eventually they managed it but for a while my bills were addressed to \"plot number 123, just off that main road, turn left a bit, on the corner\" (or words to that effect, it was a while ago).
Fast forward to trying to get Virgin to hook up broadband. \"Please enter your address exactly as it appears on your phone bill\", \"I'm sorry but that address does not exist, please enter your address exactly as it appears on your phone bill\"... Eventually I managed to get BT to change my address to my by then real address before going back to Virgin. But it was a pain.
I habitate with my parents and have a cluster box with 407A as my address. AT&T in their infinite wisdom decided this was insufficient and assigned 408. I had issued several change of address forms to them, talked with more than half a dozen CSRs on this, finally giving up on it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-244548-100x100.png\")
Perhaps 1/2 houses is the solution to the housing crisis.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-494901-100x100.png\")
In college my address was 7340 B Belmont Lane. In order to save $11 on a purchase, I got a department store credit card. They had my address as 23408 Belmont, and I never got the card, or the bill, and completely forgot about the purchase until a biull collector called me six months later. By now my $11 in savings was $23 in interest, plus the cost of overnighting them a check. Two years later I get a credit report run and the account shows up as never collected. F'ed my credit the entire time I lived in NYC (which in hindsight was probably a good thing). In the end, though, itis my own fault for my atrocious handwriting.
I've had a couple of addresses that cause no end of miscommunication. The first was an address on Northland Dr. No matter how many times I told people Northland was all one word, I'd still get it coming to me as N. Land Dr.
The second is my current street, East Dr. That's it, the name of the road is East. I can't count the number of times I'll get mail addressed to E. Dr. Amazingly, my post office always manages to get my mail to me.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-5372-100x100.png\")
That's unforgivable. I run a small mail order business and I get 1/2 addresses every month or two. It's kind of frightening that AT&T has deployed enterprise systems that can't handle fractional addresses -- this is an astonishing level of incompetence.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-269839-100x100.png\")
@DaveInTheCorn: Imagine what hoops we would have had to jump through if the local cable provider was Comcast...
Somebody in a Comcast van would spin donuts in your front yard, and the company would deny everything on the grounds that your front yard didn't actually exist.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-411202-100x100.png\")
I'm a programmer. It's not hard to make a system that can take fractional addresses or addresses with letters. -.-
I suppose this is what you get when you outsource your IT to the lowest pay-rate available.
Seriously, doesn't the post office determine the 'legal' format for any specific address?
Don't most mailers use programs that verify the database of addresses against post office lists?
Perhaps a letter from you local postmaster on post office (i.e. government letterhead) indicating your correct mailing address may be useful to have for anyone living at a fractional address.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-182704-100x100.png\")
I once moved from 55 to 55 1/2. Surprisingly, it all went well. My favorite reaction was from a Bell South (just dated myself!) employee:
BELL: What is your old address?
ME: 55 XYZ Street.
BELL: And what's your new address?
ME: 55 1/2 XYZ.
BELL: . . .
BELL: Big move.
ME: HA!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-298209-100x100.png\")
USPS balks every. single. time. we have someone new move into our shared apartment...since the downstairs is a business, it is zoned as 'commercial', and therefore a) you can't do any address changes online, b) 88A really throws them for a loop and c) they'll just refuse to deliver mail.
Oh what fun!
@6809er: People like to complain about the Post Office, but they are actually fairly competent given the size of the organization and the prices they charge.
OK not max-hiding-in-the-forr...'s Post Office, but most of them.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-175610-100x100.png\")
Can you imagine the kind of circles you'd go through with them if your address number was 3.14156?
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-6536-100x100.png\")
@timmus: Yeah, you'd think that if anyone would have experience with fractional addresses it would be large companies with customers nationwide.
On a similar tangent here's an experience I had with a natural gas company in Texas. We just moved into a Victorian house, and the call went something like this:
ATMOS: Atmos Energy, how can I assist you today?
ME: I need to start service, my address is 123123 Blah Blah St,
ATMOS: Ok, let me check, [pause], ok, upstairs or downstairs?
ME: What?
ATMOS: Upstairs or downstairs?
ME: Uh, it's a house. Both.
ATMOS: I need to know if it's upstairs or downstairs.
ME: It's all one system.
ATMOS: Upstairs or downstairs, sir.
(this goes back and forth for a minute)
ME: Look, can I just read the meter serial number?
ATMOS: (pause) Ok, I think so, give me the number.
ME: (goes downstairs and outside, reads the meter by the foundation) 987654321
ATMOS: OK, here it is, sir, that's upstairs.
ME: $%#&
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-444699-100x100.png\")
I live on Westport. I always make sure to say \"##### Westport, Westport being ONE WORD\". Otherwise who knows where whatever I'm ordering would end up...
I've actually had trouble with lots of addresses that aren't even that difficult. The utility or service mangled the addresses to non-standard formats, then we didn't get our mail or they would claim they tried to send us service but our address was wrong.
73 [Street] St. Up ended up variously being \"73 Street St,\" \"73 Street St. 2nd Floor,\" and, \"73A Street St, Apt Up.\" (That last one was my favorite, I think.)
27A [Avenue] Ave. was usually all right, but sometimes was \"27 Avenue Ave, Apt A,\" which was actually a different apartment, and was once \"27 Avenue Ave, Floor A.\"
34B [Number] Ave. was the most problematic: it was an under-the-stairs-gate-entry apartment (ground floor of a brownstone in Brooklyn) and we were repeatedly told by companies (including Time Warner, after they'd set us up for cable) that we didn't exist.
630 [Number] St, Apt 6xx also became weirdly problematic, when ConEd insisted we were \"630 Number St, 6th floor.\" Sometimes we got completely wrong bills that, yes, encompassed the entire 6th floor. Of a 200-unit apartment building. I mean, seriously. 99% of New York City addresses are the exact same thing. (It did get resolved though I don't know the details -- the electricity was in my roommate's name and she dealt with it.)
Those addresses were in different places, too. (Two in MA, two in NY.) Happily, since I have moved to DC the only problem with my address has been the stairs.
Naming an address with 1/2 is dumb. Why not call it 914A or something like that?
If the 914 1/2 is a valid USPS address, then AT&T should modify their system to handle this.
Also when new addresses are created, don't you have to seek or tell your city so they can update their records also?
If 914 1/2 is know by the city, and USPS recognizes then AT&T should fix it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-468010-100x100.png\")
Inte...wha?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-158781-100x100.png\")
@IphtashuFitz: Learning the NATO phonetic alphabet is very useful! Ever since I've learned and memorized it, I've always had success spelling my name and address.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-135980-100x100.png\")
when i lived in Houston, i was stymied by the fact that in the Heights neighborhood, there are WHOLE STREETS with 1/2's. as in, 7th street, 7 1/2 street, 8th street, 8 1/2 street. this went on for at least ten blocks.
That's just like in Harry Potter, the platform 7 and 3/4! lol winguardiumlevi'O'sa!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-317705-100x100.png\")
@Edge231: When I lived in an apartment complex that had two mailbox locations, one of them was a 1/2. It simply told the postal carrier that that piece of mail went to the second box site. The complex had buildings labeled A, B, and C, so apartments were A12, B12, C12, etc. We were fortunate that the \"1/2\" mailboxes were for building A, whilst the integer number went to buildings B and C. At least that helped ensure I'd get my mail. I did notice that sometimes \"A\" gets confused with \"8\", so you have to be very careful on the phone.
I had an issue with financial paperwork that didn't allow enough spaces on the address line for apartments. What moron assumes that no apartment number will exceed 3 digits? Some places mark the apartments as 1209 - building 12, apartment 09.
When we bought a house, I was glad our address was going to be 3 numbers on a street name of 4 letters.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1504-100x100.png\")
@Ragman: Probably the same idiot who designs forms that give you an entire line for your 5 digit zip code, but expect your street address to fit in about 8 spaces.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-352862-100x100.png\")
I had trouble when I lived on 20 2nd Street.
Them: What house number?
Me: Twenty
Them: Ok, 20 22nd Street?
Me: No, number 20, 2nd street.
Them: Ok, I have it then (mail would try to go to 20 22nd Street)
I figured out this was a problem, so I started saying this:
Me: 20 space, 2nd street
Usually worked fine....but I did receive one package....you guessed it
\"Twenty Space Second Street\"
They would ask what house (everyone would say what house number
I sent the story in, and the odd thing is in my complex, there's a 912, 914, 914 1/2, and a 916. Perhaps the developers got a little ahead of themselves by building without thinking of proper numbering.
Also, I've never had a problem with USPS, FedEx, or any other company.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-270824-100x100.png\")
Interesting story!
However, I can't believe that people are still surprised when it comes to the inept, poorly trained, and lazy people that corporations hire, not to mention the corporations themselves.
Whenever I call any company, I expect to get lied to, or otherwise treated poorly. That way, on the few times I actually get good service, I feel good.
So, it is better to feel good once in a while, than constantly being surprised and disappointed that the service is wrong.
My city has numbered streets going by east or west. So you have Division St., then on the west side of that 1st Street West, 2nd Street West, etc. and on the other, 1st Street East, 2nd Street East, etc. The locals all know how it works, but you'd be surprised how many permutations I've seen of it. For example, if we say my address is 10000 15th Street West, I've gotten letters for 10000 W. 15th Street, or for 10000-15 West Street, or for 10000 West Street #15. Amazingly, the post office still manages to get them to me.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-72887-100x100.png\")
@SkokieGuy: The post office address is not always the \"official\" address utilities will use, believe it or not. When I first moved to Pennsylvania, my apartment complex entrance was right at the point where a single road changed from Name A to Name B (and these were completely different names, not a West to East or something like that). The post office mailing address was Name A, but when I went to have cable/utilities/etc hooked up, I was told they would not use any name other than Name B. Luckily, the post office sent bills addressed to Apt 1, Name A Street and Apt 1, Name B Street to the same location, but I always this was odd.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-131723-100x100.png\")
The street I live on has no suffix, so my address is 12345 SomeName, and I have verified this with the post office.
It really screws with some businesses though, they seem to only expect a suffix. I think it's why I had some issues with Verizon to get DSL set up, but I got that worked out in the end.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-109567-100x100.png\")
I lived at 2010 1/2 for five years. I didn't have any significant problems. The power company thought my address was \"2010 Apt. A,\" but the electricity kept coming, so who cared? The phone company had my address as \"2010 HLF,\" but there was always dial tone.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-453252-100x100.png\")
Proud to have one of my flickr pics used again.
I live at 36 1/2 st.
Most of the time for things like cell phone service or cable, I have to type in \"and one half\" it's the only way they take it. \"1/2\" is considered not valid.
I'm at 831½ and it's murder. One of the things I've learned is that ALT+171 (hold ALT, type 1 7 1 on the numpad, release ALT) produces the one-half symbol without creating a \"/\" character on the line. Sometimes the \"/\" chokes their DB software (creates a line-break or a record break) and other times the \"½\" chokes it, but most systems can handle one or the other.
When I get on the phone with a CSR and establish a new record, I walk them through typing the one-half symbol. As a last resort I ask them to just call my house \"831-half\" which causes almost no problems. There are workarounds, but as long as you understand that your address is unusual and makes life tough for DB coders and CSRs alike, and work with them, you can usually figure out a way to make their life (and your life) much easier.
A good way to check this is to call back as soon as you've established your account and ask them to pull up your file and read you your street address.
This unfortunately happens all the time, especially when landlords illegally divide their property without cluing the city in on their plans to collect more rent for a basement/attic/toolshed apartment.
However, once you actually manage to get a tech to show up and look at the wires coming out of the service drop, I've never had a problem establishing service.
That's strange, I live in a 1/2 address and had no problem setting up my AT&T DSL earlier this year.
@lookatmissohio: Galveston has letter and 1/2 Avenues - like \"Avenue N 1/2\".
Portland has *negative* numbers in some of the areas around OMSI and in the South Waterfront - an example is \"0714 SW Gaines St.\" - the leading zero indicates a negative number.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-56339-100x100.png\")
I had a similar problem as a customer service rep once. I had a caller who had only one name (no first and last name, just one name). I tried putting her name into the Last Name field and moving on, but our program wouldn't allow me to move on without putting something into both the First Name and the Last Name fields. So I ended up having to type her name in twice. Hopefully that didn't screw her up somewhere else down the line.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-428567-100x100.png\")
@khiltd: When I was in college, I had a similar situation ... I rented the top floor of a house from someone. They had remodeled it so that the top floor and main floor were completely separate. (And it was part of the student slum, which I'm sure contributed to the confusion.)
From the landlord and the various utilities, I got various forms of addresses. Sometimes it was 211½, sometimes 211 Apt. B, sometimes 211 Apt. 2, and I think once it was even 211 (upstairs) or something like that. I went so far as to go down to city hall to find out what the official address was, and of course there wasn't one.
I have a friend who lives in Swindon, UK; a little town north of Southampton, east of Bristol. Her street address is \"Corner Cottage\". It's so quaint I can hardly stand it.
same thing happened to us growing up. there was our house with address of 1113, vacant lot, next house was 1117. one day soemone builds a house on vacant lot and instead of giving it address 1115 it gets 1113A. so after that UPS, pizza delivery, etc always ended up at their house first.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-306914-100x100.png\")
I do not quite understand why ATT had such a problem, it is not that unusual.
OFF TOPIC BUT RELATED -
Package delivery. Where I live is structured oddly. My addres is offially \"84 x Street, Front 1\" and is on x street. \"84 x Street, Apt 2\" is upstairrs, but the actual door - and mailbox! - is on another separate street. Meanwhile, wjat looks like the back porch is actually a different address, \"86 x Street\" and physically a seperate building.
UPS and USPS seem to have no problem because they knock before trying to leave a package or a notice, but FedEX has a policy of not knocking during \"workng\" hours (unless \"signature required\" is noted on the label, which alas is not an option with most Internet orders) and leaves packages at #86, thinking it is the back porch. Annoying. And recently a new family moved into that address, and until I talked with them would refuse package deliveries and mark mail (yeah, package guy OK, but the route carrier gets ALL 3 addresses mixed up) \"unknown at this address.\" Luckily, once past a minor language difficulty these neighbors no longer do this.
I live on Oak Park Crossing, and there is an Oak Park Drive accross town. No problems with utilities, but can't get UPS deliveries.
Screw the interwebs, I'm going to have some fun at Moorpark Park.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-109017-100x100.png\")
@Tzepish:
I had a similar issue when I was doing IT support for a company that hired a lot of Indian contractors. (And who doesn't?)
One day, new on the job, I had to do account setup for someone whose legal name was \"Pankaj\". That's it. Just Pankaj. Our system completely refused to handle it.
I told my supervisor about the problem. Apparently, it had happened before, because the immediate response was to enter \"F.N.U.\" for the first name.
\"F.N.U.?\"
\"First name unknown.\"
\"Oh. Um. Ok.\"
I laughed when, the next week, I walked past his cube and saw that his newly-minted nameplate said \"Fnu Pankaj\".
On the subject of awkward street names, I live on \"Westmoreland Drive\". Oh the horrors trying to communicate that on the phone. \"Westmoreland Drive. One word. No, not Moreland Drive West. No, no, it's not 'West *pause* Moreland Drive'. One 'o'. No, not two. One.\"
For a while, I tried saying \"Westmoreland, like the general\", but the average CSR is not educated enough to understand.
Sigh.
My office had the suite number omitted from our billing address with AT&T. It was pretty much impossible for us to get it corrected and ultimately ended up switching to Speakeasy.
We were caught in a Catch 22 because we couldn't change our information without a special number on our statement.. and we couldnt get our statement because our address was incorrect.
I lived on Lane Street growing up. I still wake up in cold sweats from nightmares where I'm trying to explain to CSR's where I live.
1
I lived in an apartment complex - multiple buildings, that had a 1/2 address plus a letter to indicate which building plus an apartment number. There were also individual entrances for groups of apartments within any particular building. Getting anything delivered by anyone other than the regular USPS/UPS/FEDEX drivers usually involved multiple attempts. The most common solution was to meet the truck at the entrance to the parking lot and lead them to the proper building and door.
I had a similar problem when I lived at 917A, an inlaw unit. they kept insisting that I should be getting the same internet as 917, and I kept insisting that there has always been two separate lines for the previous tenants. They said they would attempt to connect it but believed that they would have problems doing it and would need to send out a technician, which of course, they did not, because I was right.
I had a different problem when it came to UPS/FED EX deliveries, the inlaw unit was at the top of a short staircase while the main residence (a mansion) was at the top of quite a bit more stairs. UPS would always get pissed at me when I caught them trying to leave me a package that belonged to my landlords upstairs. I did find out that my landlords were part of the bacon of the month club, however, so that was awesome.
I actually lived at a 914 1/2 59 ST. This was of course 20 yrs ago but never had a problem, from UPS or FedEX ETC. Couldn't get cable because it was a downtown and wasn't there at the time, though the rest of town was.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-396144-100x100.png\")
I have a few stories about addresses lol. First is with the phone company. When living at my parents house I had a stalker that would call internal phone company departments to get my information even after changing the phone #s and having them unlisted. I managed to convince the phone company that my house was newly re-renevated(spelling?) and now had 3 floors with separate tenants and a new address. I was able to change the street number and fake suite/apartment numbers to each phone line as well as change the name on the account by telling them my mother had gone back to her maiden name. Then I had all the bills going to a po box to ensure we received the bill. It's pretty wild, I used the same trick to tell utility companies in the past that my street name was recently renamed and have them change the service address on the bill to any made up street name. The other thing is my old apartment complex was in a zipcode that shared 2 city names, you can have fedex/ups/usps send packages/mail to the other city name and everything arrives fine. Aww the joy of manipulation while protecting your privacy
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-318831-100x100.png\")
I used to live on the corner of 123rd Street and 123rd Avenue. Halfway down the block one way was 123rd Place and a block the other side was 123rd Court. The USPS, UPS, Fedex, none of them had any problems at all finding my house. But I had to guide guests into the neighborhood, or they'd never find the place!
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-389492-100x100.png\")
it takes me forever to get my mail due to a weird town naming situation
and setting up services here was a pain but TWC serves my area but not the other:
i live in willow spring
5 miles away is willow SPRINGS
the zip codes are one digit off and the digits are a 4 for one and a 9 for the other, so written in sloppy handwriting, it's hard to tell the difference
willow spring doesn't have a post office but willow SPRINGS does
anytime i have to give an address over the phone i say 'willow spring' but the CSR repeats 'willow SPRINGS' and we play back and forth for a minute while i explain that there's no S on the end.
9 out of 10 - address reads willow SPRINGS and i get my mail about 2 weeks after it is sent.
i feel so bad for the post office employees in willow SPRINGS, this has to happen a few hundred times a day
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-131260-100x100.png\")
My neighbor is a 1/2. I get her mail all the time from places that apparently don't get the 1/2 so they land at 1771 instead of 1771 1/2. Not a huge deal, I just drop stuff in her mailbox, but still, kind of a pain. She probably owes me a batch of cookies or something...
Those CSRs aren't paid enough to understand anything out of the norm.
Ugh, this is why I like to order over the internet: no CSRs *ever*, and I mean ever, can spell my street name correctly. It begins with the strange combination of \"Wy-\", so whenever I spell it out to them, it sounds like I'm saying \"Double-You-I\". Easiest solution is to go one.letter.at.a.time. And have them repeat it. \"W.\" \"W.\" \"Y.\" \"Y.\" and so on.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-6798-100x100.png\")
@HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak: Could be worse. In my city almost none of the streets have names - they're all numbered. So addresses all look like \"345 West 700 North\" or \"495 South 800 East,\" with nothing that looks like a street name. It's fun trying to explain to people on the phone that the number IS the street name. On the other hand, it makes it really easy to find places without getting directions.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-52435-100x100.png\")
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-343730-100x100.png\")
As much as I agree that most telecoms suck, that address is just asking for trouble.