UPS phone number: how to reach a person at UPS's contact number, from two recorded calls
We called UPS customer service twice to ask how to change a delivery that's already on the way. The first call got lost in the voice menu. The second reached a person. Here are both recordings, the exact words that got through, and what the agent said it costs.
Nick Khami · · 16 min read
The short answer: the UPS customer service number, which is also the main UPS phone number and contact number, is 1-800-742-5877 (1-800-PICK-UPS). UPS lists its hours as "Monday–Friday: 7 AM – 11 PM ET, and Saturday: 8 AM – 8 PM ET" (ups.com). A voice menu answers. To reach a person, say "change my delivery", then say "representative" twice at the tracking number prompt, then say whether you're the receiver or sender. On our call, a person picked up about 6 minutes in, after about 3 minutes 20 seconds of hold music.
We tested this on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 12:33 pm and 12:52 pm Eastern, with call4me placing the calls. We asked one question: how do you change or intercept a UPS delivery that's already on the way, who can do it, and what does it cost? The first call never reached a person. The second did. This page is what we heard.
What the UPS agent told us:
- Both the sender and the receiver can change a delivery. "Both can do it from their side."
- You need the tracking number. It usually starts with 1Z and is 18 characters long, the phone menu said. The agent also mentioned numbers starting with 92. If you're the receiver and don't have it, ask the sender.
- The receiver can do it online. Go to ups.com or the UPS My Choice app, enter the tracking number, pick the delivery change option, then choose from the options, which include changing the address and holding the package at a UPS Access Point.
- It may cost something. "Sometimes it has a cost and sometimes it doesn't have a cost." The agent's figures: about $7.99 if UPS does it for you, and about $5.99 if you do it yourself on the website, including holding it at an Access Point. More on the price below.
Listen to the call that reached a person #
This is the second call, 9 minutes 10 seconds. It's the whole call, with two silences shortened (about 15 seconds in total) while the menu transferred us. Muted: my last name (our caller said it twice here, and once in the first call) and the UPS agent's name.
Jump to a moment:
- 0:00 "Thanks for calling UPS. Para español, marque dos." Our caller says "English"
- 0:09 offers to text you links during the call. We said no
- 0:27 "How may I help you today?"
- 0:42 a numbered menu: change delivery, intercept a package I sent, number of delivery attempts, none of those. Our caller picks 3, the wrong one
- 0:56 "Usually, we attempt to deliver your package three times." Then "say change my delivery"
- 1:16 "Does your tracking number begin with 1Z?"
- 1:36 "Representative." The menu still wants a tracking number
- 1:59 "Representative" again
- 2:01 "Let me connect you to a live agent." Receiver or sender?
- 2:13 survey, recording and AI notices, then "Please hold"
- 2:58 hold music
- 5:57 a person picks up
- 7:08 "Both can do it from their side"
- 7:46 "Sometimes it has a cost and sometimes it doesn't have a cost." $7.99, or about $5.99 online
- 8:22 holding at a UPS Access Point: "not free", $5.99 if you do it yourself
- 8:39 how to do it on ups.com or the UPS My Choice app
Listen to the call that got lost in the menu #
This is the first call, 3 minutes 30 seconds. Our caller never asked for a representative in a way the menu took, and kept getting sent around in circles until we hung up. It's the whole call, with seven silences shortened (about 42 seconds in total) while the menu waited or thought.
Jump to a moment:
- 0:30 the first numbered menu. "Change delivery" is option 1. Our caller says "Four, none of those"
- 0:47 "Let's try another way." The main list: track a package, change a delivery, schedule a pickup, report a problem, find locations, or something else
- 0:56 "Something else" gets quotes, refunds, billing, main menu
- 1:22 "Track a package," then "Does your tracking number begin with 1Z?"
- 1:31 "We don't have a tracking number." The menu: "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that"
- 2:09 "UPS tracking numbers usually begin with 1Z and are 18 characters long." If you're receiving and don't have it, "contact the sender"
- 2:32 our caller asks for a representative in a long sentence. The menu reads out another numbered list
- 2:54 "One, change delivery" gets a new list, with change delivery as option 1 again
- 3:05 "One, change delivery" again. Same list
- 3:17 "Three, none of those" sends it back to the main list. We hung up
The UPS customer service number's phone tree, step by step #
This is the path that reached a person on October 1, 2026.
- Call 1-800-742-5877. "Thanks for calling UPS. Para español, marque dos." Say "English" or just wait.
- "Can we text to the mobile phone you're using?" UPS offers to text you links during the call. Yes or no both move on.
- "How may I help you today?" Say what you need in a few words. We said we wanted to change a delivery that's already on the way.
- "Which sounds right for you?" For us it offered: 1, change delivery. 2, intercept a package I sent. 3, number of delivery attempts. 4, none of those. Pick 1 to change a delivery. Our caller picked 3 and heard about delivery attempts first.
- Say "change my delivery."
- "Does your tracking number begin with 1Z?" If you have the tracking number, give it. If you don't, say "representative."
- The menu answers: "I understand you'd like to speak to someone. I can help right away once you share your tracking number." Say "representative" again.
- "Let me connect you to a live agent." It asks if you're the receiver or the sender. Say which.
- Notices, then hold. A survey invitation, a recording notice, a notice that "AI assisted technology may be used to help our representatives", "Please hold", a pitch for ups.com, then music.
- A person picks up. On our call that was 5:57 into the recording, about 3 minutes 20 seconds after "Please hold". The agent asked for a name, a tracking number, and again whether we were the shipper or the receiver.
What it costs to change a UPS delivery #
Two sources, two different sets of numbers.
What the UPS agent said on the phone. "Sometimes it has a cost and sometimes it doesn't have a cost." Without a tracking number they couldn't tell us our case. "Most of the cases, you have to pay a charge of $7.99" if UPS does it, "but if you are doing it on your website, it would cost you around $5.99." Holding the package at a UPS Access Point: "in most of the cases it's not free", "$5.99 if you do it by yourself." The agent was talking to us as the receiver.
What UPS publishes. UPS's list of domestic accessorial charges prices Delivery Intercept at $27.00 by phone and $21.00 on the web. Delivery Intercept is the service the shipper requests to reroute, hold or return a package already in transit. UPS's intercept page says "you'll only be charged if the request is completed".
We don't know which number applies to your package. The published $27 and $21 are the shipper's Delivery Intercept fee. The agent's $7.99 and $5.99 were what they told a receiver, without looking up a package. Your price may also depend on the shipper and on your account. If you have the tracking number, ask for the price before you confirm the change.
What to have ready before you call #
- The tracking number. Most start with 1Z and are 18 characters long. The menu reads them one character at a time.
- Whether you're the receiver or the sender. The menu asks, and so does the agent.
- If you're the receiver without a tracking number: ask the sender for it first. Both the menu and the agent told us that.
- What you want done: a new address, hold at a UPS Access Point, or something else.
Things that don't work #
On October 1, 2026, these sent our caller in circles:
- Saying "none of those" at the first numbered menu. It goes to "Let's try another way" and the main list of options.
- Saying "something else" at the main list. You get quotes, refunds, billing, main menu, or something else. "Main menu" takes you back to the main list.
- Telling the tracking number prompt you don't have one. In both calls, "We don't have a tracking number" got "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that."
- Asking for a representative in a long sentence. "Could I just get to a representative to ask about intercepting or rerouting a delivery in transit?" got a new numbered menu instead of a person.
- Picking "change delivery" from the follow up menus. It read out another menu with change delivery as option 1, and choosing it again repeated that menu.
What worked was the single word "representative," said twice, at the tracking number prompt.
How we made these recordings #
call4me is a phone for your AI agent: your agent (Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT) tells it what to get done and it makes the call. These were our own test calls. We had no package to change. We asked only how the process works and what it costs.
On the first call our caller kept taking the options the menu offered and never reached a person, so we hung up after about 4 minutes. That was a bug on our side. We changed the caller so that when a spoken phone menu keeps offering routes that don't fit, it asks for a representative. The second call, about 18 minutes later, reached a person.
Have your agent make this call #
If you use call4me, paste this into your agent:
Call UPS at 1-800-742-5877 about my package, tracking number [tracking number]. I'm the [receiver or sender]. I want to [change the delivery address to ... / hold it at a UPS Access Point / ...]. At the menu, say "change my delivery", and if it won't go further, say "representative" at the tracking number prompt, twice if needed. Ask the agent what it costs by phone and online before confirming anything, and write down exactly what they say.
Read the transcript of the call that reached a person
The transcript follows the edited recording. "Caller" is the call4me agent. "UPS menu" is the automated phone system. Private details are muted in the audio and shown in brackets here. Two silences are shortened to about a second, and both are marked.
0:00 UPS menu: Thanks for calling UPS. Para español, marque dos.
0:06 Caller: English.
0:09 UPS menu: We'd like to send you helpful links via text only during this call, so you do not have to write anything down. Message and data rates may apply. Can we text to the mobile phone you're using?
0:20 Caller: No thanks. Just the call is fine.
0:27 UPS menu: How may I help you today?
0:30 Caller: Hi, this is Nick [last name removed]'s assistant. I was trying to find out how someone changes or intercepts a delivery that's already on the way.
0:42 UPS menu: Which sounds right for you? One, change delivery. Two, intercept a package I sent. Three, number of delivery attempts. Four, none of those.
0:52 Caller: Three.
0:56 UPS menu: Usually, we attempt to deliver your package three times on consecutive business days. To get the latest status of your package, say track my package. If you need to change your delivery, say change my delivery. Otherwise, say I'm all set.
1:12 Caller: Change my delivery.
1:16 UPS menu: Does your tracking number begin with 1Z?
1:20 Caller: We don't have a tracking number yet. We're just trying to understand the process and what it costs.
1:30 UPS menu: I'm sorry, I didn't understand that. Can you try again? Does your tracking number begin with 1Z?
1:36 Caller: Representative.
1:41 UPS menu: I understand you'd like to speak to someone. I can help right away once you share your tracking number, which usually starts with 1Z and is 18 characters long. If you don't have it, you can contact the sender and call back here. What's the full tracking number? Please say it one character at a time.
1:59 Caller: Representative.
About 6 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
2:01 UPS menu: Let me connect you to a live agent. So we can get you to the right agent, can you tell me if you are the receiver or sender of the package?
2:09 Caller: Receiver.
About 8 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
2:13 UPS menu: Please stay on the phone after the call to take a brief survey. This call may be monitored or recorded for quality, training, customer service, and service improvement purposes. AI assisted technology may be used to help our representatives provide customer support. Information may be processed in accordance with the UPS Privacy Notice available at ups.com slash privacy. Please hold. Your call will be answered by the first available representative.
2:42 UPS menu: You can also visit the UPS website at www.ups.com. On our website, you can interact with our virtual assistant to resolve your inquiry, track packages, arrange for a pickup, obtain the addresses of shipping locations, order customer supplies, determine shipping rates and transit times, and much more.
Hold music until 5:57.
5:57 UPS agent: Hello, this is [name removed]. May I have your name, please?
6:00 Caller: Hi, this is Nick [last name removed]'s assistant. I was calling to ask about changing or intercepting a delivery that's already in transit.
6:10 UPS agent: Yeah, I'll help you out with that. Can you provide me your tracking number?
6:14 Caller: We don't have one yet. Just trying to understand how the process works and what it costs.
6:21 UPS agent: Okay, so you don't have a tracking number for the package?
6:24 Caller: No, not at the moment.
6:28 UPS agent: Okay, so just for the confirmation, are you a shipper or receiver?
6:33 Caller: We're the receiver.
6:35 UPS agent: So you are the receiver. So you don't have any tracking number. Can you just contact your shipper and let them know that you don't have a tracking number for the package, or you want to track the package and change that [unclear], so that they can just give you a tracking number, starting from 1Z or 92. If they provide any kind of number related to this, you can just contact UPS again, and [unclear]. We'll help you out with that.
7:02 Caller: Okay. Is it something both the sender and receiver can do?
7:08 UPS agent: Yeah, both can do it from their side. The receiver can just go to the UPS website, enter the tracking number of the package, and there will be options to change delivery or hold the package at UPS Access Point. You can either select anything and you can proceed it further. But you should have a valid tracking number starting from 1Z. So if you don't have a tracking number, you have to contact the shipper and get the tracking number, or else you can just inform the shipper that you want to change the address. They will try to help you out.
7:37 Caller: Gotcha. And what are the costs like? Is there a fee for changing it or holding it at a UPS location?
7:46 UPS agent: Yeah, sometimes it has a cost and sometimes it doesn't have a cost, but I don't know in your case. If you just have provided me a tracking number, I could have let you know. But most of the cases, you have to pay a charge of $7.99, or to hold a package at UPS Access Point, if you do it from our side. But if you are doing it on your website, it would cost you around $5.99.
8:09 Caller: Okay. And that's for changing the delivery address, right?
8:13 UPS agent: Yeah.
8:16 Caller: And is it free to hold a package at a UPS location?
8:22 UPS agent: I think in most of the cases it's not free, of course. You have to pay $5.99 if you do it by yourself.
8:31 Caller: Okay. And if we do it by phone, what do we need ready besides the tracking number?
8:39 UPS agent: If you get the tracking number, then it's very easy. You can just go to ups.com or UPS My Choice application. Enter this tracking number of the package. Once you enter the tracking number, you will get the details of the package. There you will see an option as delivery change option. Click on that. After that, you will see multiple options. You can either select one of them and proceed with the package.
8:58 Caller: Okay. That makes sense. Thanks for walking me through that.
9:01 UPS agent: Yeah. Yeah, is there anything else I can help you with?
9:05 Caller: Nope, that's it. Thanks so much. Bye.
9:08 UPS agent: Thank you so much. Have...
Read the transcript of the call that got lost in the menu
The transcript follows the edited recording. "Caller" is the call4me agent. "UPS menu" is the automated phone system. Seven silences are shortened to about a second, and each is marked.
0:00 UPS menu: Thanks for calling UPS. Para español, marque dos.
About 6 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
0:05 UPS menu: We'd like to send you helpful links via text only during this call, so you do not have to write anything down. Message and data rates may apply. Can we text to the mobile phone you're using?
0:16 Caller: Uh, sure, that's fine.
About 4 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
0:18 UPS menu: How may I help you today?
0:20 Caller: Hi, I'm Nick [last name removed]'s assistant. I was just hoping to find out how someone changes or intercepts a delivery that's already on the way.
0:30 UPS menu: Which sounds right for you? One, change delivery. Two, change the delivery date. Three, delivery date, after delivery change. Four, none of those.
0:42 Caller: Four. None of those.
0:47 UPS menu: Let's try another way. Say, track a package, change a delivery, schedule a pickup, report a problem, find locations, or something else.
0:56 Caller: Something else.
1:00 UPS menu: Here are some options that could help. Say quotes, refunds, billing, main menu, or something else.
1:08 Caller: Main menu.
1:12 UPS menu: Let's try another way. Say, track a package, change a delivery, schedule a pickup, report a problem, find locations, or something else.
1:22 Caller: Track a package.
1:26 UPS menu: Does your tracking number begin with 1Z?
1:31 Caller: We don't have a tracking number. We just want to know how the process works and what it costs.
1:39 UPS menu: I'm sorry, I didn't understand that. Can you try again? Does your tracking number begin with 1Z?
1:47 Caller: No, we don't have a tracking number. We're just trying to get general information.
1:55 UPS menu: What's the full tracking number? Please say it one character at a time.
2:01 Caller: I don't have a tracking number. We just want to know the process and the cost, you know, for future reference.
About 6 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
2:09 UPS menu: UPS tracking numbers usually begin with 1Z and are 18 characters long. If you're receiving the package and do not have the tracking number, please contact the sender. You can also sign up for UPS My Choice to see all incoming packages by going to ups.com slash mychoice. Or go to the UPS app. Is there anything else I can help you with?
2:32 Caller: Could I just get to a representative to ask about intercepting or rerouting a delivery in transit? I just want to find out who can do it and what it costs.
About 7 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
2:42 UPS menu: Which sounds right for you? One, change delivery. Two, authorize packages left at address. Three, shipment cost. Four, none of those.
2:54 Caller: One. Change delivery.
About 6 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
2:55 UPS menu: Which sounds right for you? One, change delivery. Two, why a package has delivery change. Three, none of those.
3:05 Caller: One. Change delivery.
About 6 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
3:07 UPS menu: Which sounds right for you? One, change delivery. Two, why a package has delivery change. Three, none of those.
3:17 Caller: Three. None of those.
About 7 seconds of silence on the line is cut here.
3:18 UPS menu: Let's try another way. Say, track a package, change a delivery, schedule a pickup, report a problem, find locations, or something else.
3:29 Caller: Something else.
We hung up here.
