No joy with USPS
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No joy with USPS
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Topic: No joy with USPS (Read 337 times))
bchannell
Plinker
Posts: 129
yes
No joy with USPS
«
on:
October 18, 2021, 05:16:38 PM »
I imagine this has happened before, but it happened to me and I want to pass it on.
I recently bought an Air Arms S400 MPR from a fellow and he mailed it USPS to me insured and packed in it's original box which has a foam cutout of the rifle and is VERY thick. When he sent me photos of the package open and then closed ready to mail the first thought that went through my head was, well, they'll have a hard time damaging that rifle. Well, they managed to break the stock at the wrist completely in two, and not a clean break. I called the PO and they told me I would have to have the package inspected. I took pics of it just as I opened it to document the break. I had tons of pics, the ship label, all the stuff. I go to the PO I was directed to go to and found the person I was told to see, who was a complete IDIOT. I explained my problem and showed him the pics. He started to tell me rifles couldn't be mailed to individuals, and before he could get going I stopped him and explained it was a air rifle. He acted like a jerk, but I remained polite. He then said he had to inspect the rifle and packaging. I told him it was in the parking lot in my car and he told me to bring it in. I refused, and explained he was welcome to go out and inspect all he wanted to and if he needed to keep the whole package and rifle, then HE could bring it inside, but I was not going to bring in what looked for all the world like a real rifle, as he himself had incorrectly assumed. He refused to go out. He then rudely explained that I was not going to get any compensation, and that if I did, ALL contents of the package would be confiscated, I could not keep the ammo, scope or any accessories that came with the gun. What an arshole!
So, I went home and pinned and glued the stock together and it doesn't look bad and stained the break in the finish. I have a gun reduced in value, and no compensation at all. thanks to the PO. I then called the Postal Inspector, whom I've dealt with before, since I used to be an FFL holder for many years. She is the nicest lady to deal with ever. I told her the whole story and that I had already accepted the outcome and repaired the rifle. She profusely appologized and said she wished I had called her first and that even now she could try to get me some relief for my situation. I told her if she wanted to help, then she could take a swing at the fool I had to deal with at the PO, and she assured my with a laugh, that he was in for a bunch more "training" as she called it. I took it he was going to get every &^^& duty coming and going for a while and be instructed on how to handle such situations. She also told me I did absolutely the right thing in refusing to carry a, what looked like a rifle into a PO if I was uncomfortable doint it. Nice lady and my hat's off to her, she has always known her job and never backed off from doing it.
Just a heads up, you will get a hassle from the PO if your air rifle is damaged and you don't have a business to help you out. I say this as being the only one who's gotten UPS to pay for a damaged firearm in my area, so I'm told, but that's another story.
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Parkersburg, WV
ranchibi
GTA Senior Contributor
Posts: 9384
yes
Real Name: Randall
Re: No joy with USPS
«
Reply #1 on:
October 18, 2021, 05:37:47 PM »
Sorry about your dealings with an a-hole at the PO! The postmaster treated you the way he should have, with a true apologetic understanding as these things do happen and none of it the recipients fault. Many years ago I was moving and contacted the phone company months in advance to switch my line over because my business was dependent on phone contact. Well, the day of the scheduled event I received a call saying the scheduled phone line was not happening that day…what!? I found the VP’s phone number up north (used my cell phone to call) in San Fran and lo and behold she answered the phone 5 minutes before closing and I politely told her what had transpired. She told me to please hold and 2 minutes later she returned and said to me please do not hang up, you gave us plenty of time to do this work. She said if no one knocks on your door in the next 7 minutes with the phone line switched over that heads will fall courtesy of her. ….less than 5 minutes later while we both made fun small talk my doorbell rang so I told her she said go answer it and she will hold online. I opened the door and an out of breath phone company worker asked me to see if my line was working, it did, he apologized vehemently. I then spoke with the VP who apologized again and that if ANY issue arose with my phone to call her DIRECTLY and she herself would handle it…I thanked her profusely! There are some at the top who care and don’t know what is transpiring under them until they are contacted personally.
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Bayman
GTA Senior Contributor
Posts: 4838
yes
Real Name: Ron
Re: No joy with USPS
«
Reply #2 on:
October 18, 2021, 06:10:22 PM »
I'm sorry that worked out badly for you. A friend of mine was an FFL and he said, "You'll die before you ever get the USPS to pay a claim on a damaged or lost gun". He said, "Use anybody else but the USPS." I'm inclined to believe him as my own personal experiences with the USPS were similar to the indifferent and incompetent behavior that the you had. I've also heard of guns being deliberately damaged in transit by anti-gun workers because the boxes obviously contained rifles. Anytime I ship a rifle or someone ships me a rifle I have them separate the action from the stock and put it in a plain brown box. This shortens the package which saves on shipping cost and makes it less likely to get damaged accidentally or deliberately.
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Trucker3573
Sharp Shooter
Posts: 799
yes
Re: No joy with USPS
«
Reply #3 on:
October 18, 2021, 06:40:19 PM »
Personally I would have brought it in and started the whole damage claim process. Who knows they ultimately might have paid for a brand new gun. If not you would be no worse off. I will tell people (I work for one of the huge shipping companies) to really talk with people you are buying product from to make sure they take extra precautions to protect the item. Do the same if you are sending as well. They will use the excuse of inadequate packaging to deny a claim in a heartbeat. Now your case with a completely broken stock I can’t imagine they could pull that off. Usually the sender has to do all the legwork of a claim as they are the shippers customer not the buyer. Surprised they sent you. Maybe the company I work for is just different than the PO. Just something else to keep in mind.
Glad you were able to fix it but I really feel bad you kept after this you would have had a new rifle or reimbursements for the value of the contents.
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USA, MI
null
Expert
Posts: 1057
yes
Re: No joy with USPS
«
Reply #4 on:
October 19, 2021, 03:41:52 PM »
I still don't quite understand why you were afraid to bring a boxed up, broken rifle into the USPS counter...?
I've had issues before and they've opened the box with air pistols and rifles, sat them on the counter, and no one seemed to flinch an eye and this is in NY... well upstate NY at my local rural post office...
Technically I wouldn't go out to your car to go get it nor leave the counter. Not sure what their policies actually are, but depending on the locale of the Post Office, I would be leery too.
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1900colt
Marksman
Posts: 410
yes
Real Name: Mark
Re: No joy with USPS
«
Reply #5 on:
October 19, 2021, 06:18:12 PM »
Soooo much easier to make a claim online. I've done it a couple times and it's pretty simple. Next time, just do it that way.
And yes, if you take the item to them, they will confiscate the entire packag if a claim is paid out.
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USA, Wisconsin
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No joy with USPS