Lost Knives in mail, USPS Denies Claim

R

rwknox

Joined
May 2, 2015
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Well folks, the subject says it all. I shipped 4 knives insured for $2,500 on June 15th. The knives never made it to their destination. I filed an insurance claim with the USPS and they denied my claim. If anybody has any experience they can offer for advice on how to proceed, I would greatly appreciate it.

I gave the USPS:
-Copy of the shipping receipt with insurance value.
-Copy of PAID receipts from Busse for each item.

The letter they sent me says that the proof of value is insufficient and they do not elaborate any further. They say proof of value must show:
1) Article Description - Receipt from Busse gives full description of each item.
2) Completion of Payment - Receipt is marked PAID and indicates a zero balance.
3) Method of Payment - Receipt clearly indicates store credit was used.

What else can I offer them, any suggestions? I was thinking screenshots of forum posts for the original sale for Ganza items and copies of the Op2Wks email announcements.

Update to address several of your questions:

I have spoken with a rep from the insurance division at the post office. She was unable to address some of my questions however they were able to give one explanation.

I shipped 4 knives 1 box. 2 knives were purchased during a Ganza before Op2Wks. 2 knives were from Op2Wks. I got invoices from Busse. The invoices from Busse for the Ganza knives indicated a date of when I requested the invoices rather than the purchase date. The claims person took that as the purchase date and denied my claim because the date I requested the invoice copy was obviously after the date shipped. NOW, Busse clearly labeled on the receipt that purchase was June 22 2015, but they did not look at that. After bringing this to the attention of the claims rep, she has "escalated my ticket" and I am waiting for a call back from the USPS claims supervisor.

I have now spoken with Amy from Busse (she is the best person on Earth to me right now for the record) and she is going to try to get the dates corrected on the invoice for me.

I will indeed contact the inspector as my next measure if I cannot solve this with an appeal and some updated documents.

PayPal cannot help me because I am the shipper. Also FOR THE RECORD, I have completely refunded the buyer's money.

Also just to be clear, purchasing insurance DOES NOT actually cover you. The USPS requires that you prove the value of the items. This is simply intended to be a hurdle and is complete bullshit.

Rob
 
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That is beyond discouraging - I sure hope it works out in your favor because it seems like you did everything needed properly.
 
Sorry to hear about this .

I'm concerned. I really thought my packages were covered for the amount I insured. No matter what the price bought from manufacturer.

What's the point in insuring a 2800 Moab if you can't prove its worth that much? Am I reading this wrong? What happens if the knife has changed hands 30 times and you don't have actual receipt. Does a PayPal invoice work? Or money order?
Sorry to derail thread. Hopefully this brings about answers.

Edit, could it be "store credit was used"?
This shouldn't matter anyway. If you insure something for 2500 you should get 2500.
 
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I'm disheartened to hear this news. I was under the impression that packages are insured to the extent that you pay for. Never once have I been informed that proof of value is required. Total BS in my opinion.

I wish you the best of luck in resolving this matter. As another stated, get in contact with your Postal Inspector or Annex office and see if they can help.
 
OP:

Very disheartened to hear of their shenanigans and trying to weasle their way out of it, but I really think that this is what is giving them the impetus for denial:

"3) Method of Payment - Receipt clearly indicates store credit was used."

I am not a lawyer and not an expert in such laws but in their topsy turvy rationale, they evidently do not equate $2500 in store credit to $2500 in actual pay out value!

I am also very interested to find out as to how this situation further develops and evolves. I also recommend that you pay a visit to the Postal Inspectors.
 
I have been shipping computer equipment inside a multi-site company for 20 years and in my experience none of the carriers insurance is worth buying, so we stopped. They fight tooth and nail and as soon as you meet their terms they seem to change. Just stick with it and eventually you may be able to get them to pay or settle. I think it is built into all of their systems to deny payment a few times to get 90% of the people to give up then just pay out the last 10% who are a thorn in their side.

Have you called Busse to see if they would help you generate a receipt that is more to the PO's liking? I'm not saying anything dishonest, just the prices and the note that it was paid in full. Should not matter that a shop credit was used, that's your money regardless.
 
I'm assuming the Shop Credit came from one of the Busse gift card sales a while back?
Several of our forum members work or did work for the Post Office. @Monofletch posted some helpful info in another discussion in GBU to obtain proof of value:
Monofletch said:
You can always get a written estimate from your local dealer. ...or the knife maker. The original sales receipt isn't the only form of proof of value that the post office will accept. It sounds like some mis communication.
Click to expand...

Maybe contacting the shop and asking for verification of the funds spent on the knives?

Best of luck, and I really hope this works out for you!
 
Where at on the chain of delivery does the tracking stop?

USPS Insurance is a PITA because otherwise it'd be super easy to scam the gov't. out of $$$. Not making excuses, but that's just the way it is. They make it hard to process claims purposely...sucks for us in the public who are honestly beaten out of our money.

Also, some dishonest, opportunistic package handlers have been know to target packages with high insurance fees posted on the shipping label...it can be like a flashing neon sign saying: "Steal me, valuable goods inside!"

I never use it for those reasons.

If you want the "surest" shipping USPS offers, chose Registered Mail...it's expensive, it's strict on how you seal your parcels, and it's slower than Priority--

but there's a paper trail generated by actual people who touch the package at every interval and they're held personally accountable if it disappears between stations.

The advice give so far from the other brothers is solid. There's a BF brother who is a postal worker and has helped a few of our members who've had similar problems...his screenname is: monofletch...pm him!
 
This is why you use PayPal's 4% fee and use goods and services. If you had shipped with goods and services and had had signature upon delivery and tracking it would be easy to make a PayPal claim. Surprised no one has mentioned this yet. No need to even buy insurance it's in the 4%...
 
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Imagine all the extra money people spend on insurance and all the claims never made- There should be enough in the kitty to cover those losses that do happen. Still, it doesn't surprise me you'll have to fight for it- they profit from those who just give up.
On another thought, I've watched a couple make it to me with USPS in the last couple weeks and it would seem to me quite easy to find out who's pocket they ended up in- those things are scanned in and out of every stop to the detail.
 
Package may still turn up and if the knives are worth approximately the value you claimed then you will be covered, it will just likely be a long process. Standard insurance practice to deny a claim and some people won't go further and save some payouts
 
rwknox said:
Well folks, the subject says it all. I shipped 4 knives insured for $2,500 on June 15th. The knives never made it to their destination. I filed an insurance claim with the USPS and they denied my claim. If anybody has any experience they can offer for advice on how to proceed, I would greatly appreciate it.

I gave the USPS:
-Copy of the shipping receipt with insurance value.
-Copy of PAID receipts from Busse for each item.

The letter they sent me says that the proof of value is insufficient and they do not elaborate any further. They say proof of value must show:
1) Article Description - Receipt from Busse gives full description of each item.
2) Completion of Payment - Receipt is marked PAID and indicates a zero balance.
3) Method of Payment - Receipt clearly indicates store credit was used.

What else can I offer them, any suggestions? I was thinking screenshots of forum posts for the original sale for Ganza items and copies of the Op2Wks email announcements.
Click to expand...

I had the same thing happen and i was told they deny all insurance claims the first time you send it. Also you should recieve part of the package in a bag in the next month or so. More than likely the box got damaged and they will not ship or repackage them. So they go to atlanta with the rest of the lost mail to be auctioned. Now when you recieve your box top send it along with your paperwork again and it should go through.
If not find the payment method you used to buy them and try that route.
 
KnifeKnutz said:
This is why you use PayPal's 4% fee and use goods and services. If you had shipped with goods and services and had had signature upon delivery and tracking it would be easy to make a PayPal claim. Surprised no one has mentioned this yet. No need to even buy insurance it's in the 4%...
Click to expand...

He didn't mention if he used PayPal-- he may have...but even if he did, that only covers the buyer-- the buyer gets his $$$ paid as the purchase price back. The seller is still not made whole. The idea behind USPS postal insurance is that it covers the guy who SHIPS the parcel, ie, in this case, the seller.
 
I am going to edit the original post in order to answer many of the issues addressed here.
 
rwknox said:
PayPal cannot help me because I am the shipper. Also FOR THE RECORD, I have completely refunded the buyer's money.

Also just to be clear, purchasing insurance DOES NOT actually cover you. The USPS requires that you prove the value of the items. This is simply intended to be a hurdle and is complete bullshit.
Click to expand...


INSURANCE THROUGH SHIPPING COMPANIES IS A SCAM. THEY ARE USELESS! DO NOT BUY INSURANCE. I learnt the hard way after losing $900 AUD to AusPost!!!

You should NOT have refunded the buyer through Paypal, that transaction is now complete and you just lost your REAL insurance money through Paypal. You should of called Paypal right away and told them what happened. They COMPLETELY insure the BUYER and the SELLER up to like 20 grand if you use Goods and Services.

Hate to say it but I think you are chit outta luck...

Really hope you somehow get your cash back mate. Goodluck.

PSA: ONLY USE PAYPAL GOODS AND SERVICES DONT WASTE CASH AND GET FALSE HOPE FROM SHIPPING COMPANY INSURANCE.
 
That's what I thought but looking more closely at paypal's requirements it may have to show "delivered" not just "shipped" to be covered in this case
 
KnifeKnutz said:
You may be right but I would assume under goods and services the buyer and seller are both protected as it offers seller protection also
Click to expand...

I'm not gonna derail the OP's thread any further...but that's not the way PayPal Goods & Services works. You can PM me or just check PP's terms of service....
 
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