Why I am BOYCOTTING the US Postal Service

C

crossfox21

New member
I made a deal on another site for the sale of some trapping equipment. 12 snares were sold to him. I sent them out but he never received them. 3 weeks later, I received the same package....WITHOUT the snares!! Sticker on the package said "received at Seattle Depot without contents"
The package appeared to have been opened and then taped. I confronted the Postal Worker about this. She said "the contents probably fell out in transit" I said "I would like to get my snares back or my money refunded" She said "Sorry, but that can only be done if the package was insured"
I said "So, what you are telling me is...I need to insure my package from theft of a Postal Worker?????!!!! Because obviously my package was opened and the contents stolen while in transit"
Of course the look she gave me was the "deer in the head-lights" look.
I filed a claim on their web site. Regardless of the site stating that they would "assist me within 2-3 business days" it has been 4 days and no answer.
Anybody have any advice? I am seriously thinking about taking this issue to the top and fighting it to the bitter end. Stealing is stealing in my book.....and someone needs to pay!
 
Not to be unsympathetic, but sometimes these types of issues are similar to "you have problems with your electric company, then go somewhere else". IMHO, the USPS has made major strides in the past few years. They are light years better than they were 20 years ago. Are they perfect, no. But then, who is?
 
Does going postal ring a bell. These guys have burned me a time or two. I try to send my high end calls insured. I always send delivery confirmation. That seems to help my package not get LOST.
 
Sorry about your loss, I used to work for the postal service while in college and if you could only see what your mail and packages go thru its a wonder we get what we do. The system is better than in the past but there is still mail lost and destroyed every day. As in all businesses there are some who have no respect for other peoples things. Our packages litterally get thrown around so its really easy for tape to come lose or cardboard get tore. Then your package gets loaded and un loaded thrown around some more and the next thing you know its empty and your stuff is scattered on loading docks and trucks over a couple states. There is lots of unclaimed things at all post offices. Theres actually a person who tries to piece together torn mail and packages to try and figure out what goes where. Hope this was the case and they were not stolen. If its anything that matters always insure.
 
I always insure for 2-3 times the actual value. That way the other guy gets his money back and I get paid for my lost item and my time. They dont know what is in there or what it is worth. You could tell them anything when it gets lost.
 
always ship with insurance.you leave your self wide open for what you are going through right now.when you ship with out insurane you are giving the thives a way out because they know nothing is going to be done.on the other hand if usps has to come out of pocket for something that was insured you can bet your butt someone is going to look into it asap.
 
Crossfox21,

Do you really believe that a Postal Employee would open a box of snares and keep them? The chances of that happening are extremely slim. Think about it... It's an extremely small segment of society that would have ANY use for snares and what are the chances that a Postal Employee that chanced to open your package would be one of those? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

You should have insured them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

Sorry for your loss but the way I see it is you have only yourself to blame. Next time wrap more carefully and INSURE! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

$bob$
 
It's not just USPS. My buddy and his sons build quarter midget and micro sprint race cars and they just had a titanium axle stolen while being shipped UPS. All they received was the empty tube. But because of insurance they got their money back.
 
Ive been lucky with postal shipping on items, other than the boxes showing up rough Ive always gotten my stuff, ups on the other hand I have had them steal from me. Claimed to have deliverd a package one day and I watched the truck drive by the house, I think the driver ended up in trouble over that deal.
 
That's frustrating as heck, and I feel for you crossfox! I guess the lesson is always insure the package. The Canadian Postal Service is pretty good; but on rare occasions things just go missing. Cross-border shipments are especially difficult, as things can sometimes get tied up in customs for a long time. It is good that they are checking things, but it can be tough on both buyer/seller when you are doing a deal with someone you don't know and the package or payment is delayed.

I would imagine it is pretty tough to handle hundred's of thousands of pieces of mail, with no incidents of loss or damage. When I think of how many gloves and other small items I have lost over the years, you should all be glad I don't work in the postal service. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
If you have anything about trapping etc. (such as your company name)on the package, it could have been an anti trapping postal worker. Like someone else said, it is doubtful they had any use for them.
 
Sorry about your misfortune, I think you would be wasting your time fighting this, if you didn't insure the items the battle will pretty much end there. They dont care about it, they will just say insurance is what you needed. If you read the back of the reciept when you get insurance it still sounds like one heck of a battle even if insured to get them to pay. So you really shouldn't be surprised in this day and age to get bent over!
 
Maybe I won't get my money back...but I'll sure make them unhappy in the process.
The main reason I didn't insure is because they were snares. Snares don't break or get damaged. They can however be stolen.
So I should have insured my snares from Postal Worker thieves???
C'mon.....that is a racket!
If I ran my business like that you and me both would be fired.
From now on I will go with FedEX. You are automatically insured for $100 and get a confirmation number all at no extra cost. Imagine that!
 
Quote:
"Do you really believe that a Postal Employee would open a box of snares and keep them? The chances of that happening are extremely slim."



NO IT'S NOT!!! Anything that can happen will happen.

I witnessed it, and it seemed like something off of a television series. I'm an electrician by trade. I will not use FedEx for the following reason. We had some lights to install at a local FedEx hub. The strip lights we were hanging were on a mezzanine overlooking the garage bay were there was a huge conveyor looking thing running down the center that the trucks docked to. We were working a late shift of approximately 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. due to hub traffic, so that we would not be in anyone's way. We reported directly to the hub manager and he gaves us intructions on how to lock up over the course of the next 2-3 days. From the mezzanine we could see the entire hub, and being elevated approximately 12' no one payed any attention to as as they came in from their days route. At approximately 5:30 about 30 minutes after we started working, FedEx guys started lingering out of the hub. THIS IS NO JOKE, there was about 5 men lagging behind, hub manager included. They were lingering near the conveyor that still had a pretty good load of packages on it. One of them looks to the other four and said "looks like we have something interesting, a return address from Frederick's." Not paying any attention to us or not thinking we would catch anything started making delicate slices to get into the package. Pulled out some ladies underwear and stared at it like pervs. They stuffed the contents back into the box taped it back, and slid it down the converyor. I payed it no mind thinkin' they were a bunch of pervs. Who could we report it too anyway? The hub manager was in on it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. Over the course of the next two days the did the some thing each night to at least four to five boxes. For this reason I SWORE NEVER TO USE FEDEX!!!!! I told my employer about this as well so that he would likewise no longer use FedEx. A friend of mine whom I hunt with is a cop, he told me there wasn't much that I could do either. I just wrote it off and decided never to use them again. I'm sure it happens other places too, it just makes me feel better not to use them. So the jerks at FedEx know about that $100 insurance, and I believe some of them use it as an avenue to shop at the hubs. So Crossfox my friend you are no way whatsoever crazy for thinking that this could happen to you. Because it does!!!!
 
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You'll find that you'll have many problems with USPS unless you insure. I ship ALOT with them and I was even scolded by the postmaster here for stamping "insured" on the packages.

I was told that the PO handles insured packages differently. I guess that means that insured packages won't be smashed or stolen by postal employees.

You'll find that even insured packages are not insured against non-delivery. I've had insured packages that just never showed up. I was always told that insurance is for damage only, and without a damaged package available for inspection, no claim could be made.

The ID #'s on USPS packages are not for tracking and if a package is "lost in transit", no claim can be made.

Yep, they're almost as bad as UPS. FedEx is great.
 
Quote:
Crossfox21,

Do you really believe that a Postal Employee would open a box of snares and keep them? The chances of that happening are extremely slim. Think about it... It's an extremely small segment of society that would have ANY use for snares and what are the chances that a Postal Employee that chanced to open your package would be one of those? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

You should have insured them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

Sorry for your loss but the way I see it is you have only yourself to blame. Next time wrap more carefully and INSURE! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

$bob$




Insure?
Insure what?
An empty box?

Do you think the PO would pay the insured amount for an empty box?

Think again.

No matter how well you pack, you can't prevent someone from opening the box.

The PO will NOT pay a claim for missing items. Been there, done that. Their excuse is that everybody could ship empty boxes, insure them for $1000, and claim the item was missing. They WILL however tell you that occasionally a package may be torn apart by their sorting machines and they are supposed to be flagged by postal employees. However, if the employee doesn't flag it, there's no way to track it and you're SOL.
 
What makes one package more important than another is the fact that it is yours.Delivery conformation and insurance and even package tracking are key.Now I don't work at the post office but my wife does and she has told stories similar to what you are saying.The postal service handles millions and millions of mail each day and with all the mail there is bound to be some casualties your just happened to be the one of them.When a company employs that many employees there are going to be a certain amount of crud with sticky fingers.They do get caught and they do loose their jobs for theft but I seriously doubt that anyone said to themselves hey there are snares in there an I want them.Your package probably got caught up in the automated line somewhere and the contents are laying in the trash in some postal loading dock.
I am sorry to here of your loss but exactly how much mail have you lost and how much got where it should have?
 
I do work for the postal service as a mail sorter. It is just temporary while I try to get into law enforcement so dont hate me because I work for them. The area I work for is rather small compared to most others and we still get a few packages without contents daily. Sometimes the item is laying in with the container and it is set aside and management determines what to do with it. Sometimes it is obvious that a certain item came out of a certain container, otherwise they contact the sender to see what was supposed to be in it.
Working for them, I would insure every package that has any chance at all of being broken or crushed as I see how it is handled in shipping, parcels are crushed and thrown around, not because noone cares, but because there are thousands every single day. It would be impossible to have each one stacked neatly with the heaviest on the bottom and lightest on top.
I do know theft occurs, I have never seen it, but I am sure it happens. If a postal worker is caught stealing or even opening mail not only are they fired, the postal inspection service comes in and handcuffs them in front of all their coworkers and they are charged with a crime, possibly facing jail time. The postal inspection service can watch workers without the workers knowing it so a worker never knows for sure whether they are being wathced or not. For these reasons I doubt much theft goes on at all. Not to mention you lose a job that pays well and comes along with government benefits. All that risk for some snares? I really doubt it. My guess is they fell out in a container.
I would ask the postmaster if he/she could determine where the package was prior to being at the Seattle Depot. Perhaps the snares are sitting at wherever that was. As far as "taking it to the top and fighting til the bitter end" dont waste your time. Remember, it is a government agency, they will do nothing but give you hassle, paperwork and all kinds of phone numbers to call.
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I always insure for 2-3 times the actual value. That way the other guy gets his money back and I get paid for my lost item and my time. They dont know what is in there or what it is worth. You could tell them anything when it gets lost.

If you put in an insurance claim you will have to prove the value of the item. It may also constitute fraud if you tried filing a claim with the value 2 or 3 times the actual value. The Postal Service has its own police, the Postal Inspection Service, and they investigate these kinds of things all the time.
Also, insured packages are put in with all the rest, not "treated different" as someone said. Someone also said they stamp their packages "insured", this doesn't matter at all because the postal service puts a sticker on it with a barcode if it is insured through them and once it gets to wherever it's going the barcode is scanned.
Like I said, try seeing if they will help you determine where the package before the Seattle Depot and maybe it can be found there. Sorry about your loss, like I said don't hate me because I work there I'm just telling you like it is.
 
Quote:
Someone also said they stamp their packages "insured", this doesn't matter at all because the postal service puts a sticker on it with a barcode if it is insured through them and once it gets to wherever it's going the barcode is scanned.




I can assure you that the Postmaster in my town told me that they will not accept my packages for shipment if uninsured packages are stamped "insured". She told me that it's USPS policy that insured mail is handled differently than uninsured mail. She told me that falsely identifying the package's contents as "insured" constitutes mail fraud and is subject to criminal penalties.

When I asked her why they would handle insured packages differently, she told me that the USPS makes more money on insurance than they do on postage.

I'm not sure why anybody would find this behavior by a Government agency surprising. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
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