On December 13th, 2012 I shipped 6 wrapped Christmas gifts from the Oakland post office to my sister in Las Vegas. They were shipped parcel post, using a single USPS box I purchased there. A postal employee taped the box up in front of me. I wrote “Do Not Open Until Christmas” on the side in black magic marker. The address was written in a label. I paid for the transaction with my American Express card, and kept my receipt.
On December 24th I received a phone call from a man in California. After speaking with him for several minutes, we figured out that 4 of the 6 presents I had boxed and shipped to Las Vegas had instead been shipped to him. The four presents had arrived in California in a different box than the one I had shipped mine in. In addition, there were a couple of other gifts in the box that were neither mine, nor his. The box was not damaged and was neatly taped. He offered to ship the 4 gifts that were mine to my sister’s address in Las Vegas, and I told him I would send him a check for the shipping costs.
I called my sister and asked if they had received anything from me. They received the same USPS box with “Do Not Open Until Christmas” in black magic marker on the side. The box was undamaged and neatly taped. Inside were the remaining two gifts. (two beer mugs – one now broken from rattling around in a now mostly-empty box)
On December 28th I went back to the post office and explained what had happened. I was asked to fill out a form, which I did. The guy behind the counter told me he thought it was a case of “rifling” – someone opening boxes in search of valuables. I agreed. I was told I would be reimbursed for the shipping costs the next day when a supervisor was available. The next day I was called by that supervisor, repeated my story, and was again told I would be reimbursed. I was told that the clerk would refund me in cash, and to come into the post office to receive it. Before I left the house to do that, I received another call, this time from the postmaster, saying that I would not be reimbursed – and that I should have insured the package!
Needless to say I was angry. The U.S. Postal service is in terrible financial shape, and I don’t think they are going to draw more business with customer service like this.
I’d like to hear from others in the town if they’ve had any similar experiences.
John Baiata
Years ago I had a similar incident and the Postmaster (Frank Leone) said having insurance was the only way reimbursement could be made. As a side note, the reimbursement does not include the cost of the postage, only the contents.
This is one of the many reasons the USPS is going out of business. For-profit shipping companies such as USP, Fedex, DHL, etc. would do everything possible to make this right because it makes for a somewhat placated customer. This is why online businesses such as Amazon ship their products using UPS or Fedex instead of USPS. You’ll always see this kind of “rifling” going on regardless of what shipper you use but the private, for-profit shippers will generally do everything they can to prevent it and make the customer whole if there is a loss. Sorry for your experience Mr. Baiata. I hope someone at USPS makes this right.
absurd…this is what you can expect with the goverment running the health care system