2 Beckers STOLEN!!!

Well, that SUCKS BIGTIME !!! Rest on the fact that eventually they will get caught, because if they do it once, they will do it more. I used to drive tractor-trailer while in the US Army in Europe. We used to haul mail from all the bases to Rhine-Mein AB. We had to go to the American side & drop off the registered mail first. They would first check the #'s, then cut the seal, then check the pieces they had to sign for. Then they closed it up & we drove to the German Flying Tigers side of the AB to deliver the rest---with no seal. There was no problem for years & years. Then, as i was getting ready to go back home & get out of the Army, we got a bunch of new guys. They were stealing all the stereo equipment & speakers that GI's were sending home. Their attitude was "tough shit if they were too cheap to insure it". I told them i want no part of it & if i ever caught them in the act, they were done. So, I got out & found out a year later that the C.I.D. put infra red night vision cameras/video in the trailers. There were 8 of them that got caught. One was sentenced to damn near 40 years, because he got x amount of time for each time he did it. Criminals are a cowardly & greedy bunch. Thats why they always get caught. They have kept me employed for 24+ years. There will NEVER be a shortage of them either !!! LOL :D
 
Tracking says the package is awaiting customs clearance, but the package is with me. Also, the package came back as "Return to Sender". Inside the box, was the letter that was supposedly sent because the items are contraband.

There is really no way to get this back as I called and spoke to someone, but they didn't care.

At least if there is a dishonest person working around me, the last thing I want is them actually working around me. Everyone just seems to pass the buck along these days. When I was a kid, I remember you could trust people on their word and now it is tough to do that.
 
europeanoutdoorsman said:
Hi All,
I was going to have some DuraCoat work done by K9-Handler. I sent the items out with insurance, tracking, the whole set of "safe" things. Oh, I live in Europe by the way. I got a letter from US "Customs" yesterday saying that my 2 knives are contraband. This was a sort of mass produced letter. They didn't mention the actual items, just made slight, indirect reference to them. So, I gave them a call since my tracking number says it is still in customs, but the box itself was actually in my hands. Yet another thing is after I called them, I was informed that my item was not logged in some sort of contraband database. The letter itself should not come back in the box I originally sent, but it should take quite some time (3-6 months) for them to go through the back log of paperwork and send a real letter out to me.

Pretty much because my knives weren't logged, they aren't illegal in the US, hell they are made there, the letter and processing of them properly never happened, this has lead my to think that someone working there has sticky fingers. Even when I brought this up to the person at custom who I spoke to, she agreed, but said there is "nothing they can do".

Thank god I have another BK2 cause the 7 and 2 are my favorite fixed blades.
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I'm having a hard time understanding what happened. Are you saying it was stolen before it reached "Customs" and a fake letter was sent to you, or they were actually seized by the US gov't? " US Customs" doesn't exist anymore. The agency you would be dealing with is "US Customs and Border Protection" or CBP. I would be a bit suspicious of anything marked "Customs" as it would either be a very old form or fake. Also, if you're saying the knives disapeared while in the hands of CBP, "Nothing they can do" is not what I would expect to hear. If seized, there would be a record. I've bought multiple khukuri from England and they come via Royal Mail and US Postal Service. I've had zero issues. Please clarify if possible. Thanks.
 
The letter I received said my knives had been seized because they were contraband. However, nothing makes sense, which leads me to believe that these were stolen.

My package was marked (physically) as being returned, not delivered to the destination. The tracking info says the package is still in customs. The letter was within the box when I received it.

Given that the letter was in the box, this is suspicious for 2 reasons: 1. When I called Customs, they told me that first the letter shouldn't have gotten to me so quick because there are policies and logging things that happen, so it should be months or weeks at least. 2. The should seize the entire package, box and all and the letter should be sent separatly later.

Additionally, there is no log of the package being received.

If whoever received it, received an empty box (items were stolen before it reached Customs), then why would they send it back to me?

Do you understand what I mean? If the box was empty, then there is no contraband, so it had to be someone at the receiving end of Customs or (US Customs).

The letter itself looked official, but made no direct reference (i.e. naming the items which are contraband). It just said I attempted to pass items into the country which are contraband, without listing specific items by name or description. It looked like a mass produced notification. I say that because I receive packages from family here all the time and they come with a delivery confirmation, so customs needs me to go to their office and show my ID and sign for it so that I can pick it up. They send out a letter to e stating that something has arrived for me and what documents too bring (sometimes I purchase stuff from the US).

I told what I think happened to the person I spoke with. I was told that there is no way to know who took the items. I asked there is no way you can see who scanned the box in (box was scanned as having arrived to the US). Basically, it sounded like I was talking to someone who didn't know anything or didn't care.

Anyway, I just purchased another BK7.

Before this, I never had any issues.
 
I'd keep calling until you get someone who is helpful. I know you are disheartened by this incidence, but there will be someone there who will be willing to help. If you get someone that unhelpful / uncaring again, ask to talk with a supervisor or ask if there's a better number to call, because they should make this right. What service level did you use to ship the packages? Many items are insured up to a certain value, whether or not you purchase it.

If it was mailed USPS, call or file a complaint with the postal inspector. They have to do something about it and will investigate a lot further than a customs agent. https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx?pagewanted=all
 
Hey Everyone,
Thanks for the support and help. I mainly posted this just to give others a heads up and I hope it doesn't happen to anyone else. I am lucky that these weren't customized yet too. I am upset by what happened. I will leave it be for now and try to sort it out myself.

It is nice to know that the forum has a lot of kind, honest, helpful people.

Thanks again!
 
Contact Ka-Bar and apprise them of the situation. Since you have insurance file a claim immediately.
 
I'd say something about customs and homeland security but I'd probably get reamed out like the time I was stupid enough to post in the political forum
 
file your insurance claim. collect insurance. win.
 
Tommythewho said:
I'd say something about customs and homeland security but I'd probably get reamed out like the time I was stupid enough to post in the political forum
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You wouldn't be wrong & we wouldn't be mad at you !!! I have a LOT to say myself, but i can't, until after retirement. No, i don't work for them but my employer has a "gag order" on all it's employees---" All comments to the media MUST be made & directerd through the public relations supervisor or disciplinary actions can result." ( that is code for YOUR FIRED ! )
 
It sounds like either someone in Customs stole the knife, and sent you the form letter so you wouldn't cause a fuss, or someone in USPS stole the knife, and sent the form letter so you would think Customs did it. Thieving bastards! Personally, I would cause a fuss, involving both Customs and the U.S. Postal Inspectors, and maybe even complaining to the nearest U.S. State Dept. embassy or office. It's likely that there is a theft ring, not just a one time kleptomaniac at work. You seem to have chosen a saner course of just filing an insurance claim and buying another BK-7. Of course, that's just what they want you to do.

I'm probably irked more than usual about this because I've had my mail tampered with. I had ordered several inexpensive Mora knives from Ragnar some time ago, and when the box arrived, it had no packing slip, and no packing material. The knives were just rattling around loose. That didn't seem like Ragnar, so I emailed him, and he swore that he had wrapped the knives well, and inserted the packing slip. So apparently someone at USPS decided the box was interesting enough to open up, pulled out the packing material and slip, decided they weren't worth stealing, then threw them back in the box and taped it up. Of course the local USPS office claimed they didn't know anything, couldn't do anything, etc. which unfortunately is probably true. Still annoys me.
 
eternal10 said:
I just sent a knife to canada that i sold here.USPS would not insure it, i tried everything and they told me no insurance on international shipments.
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You can insure internationally for up to 675 and express for up to 5000. I just mailed a package to Canada yesterday Insured for 1500. Tell your clerk to read the rules as they clearly are ignorant to them.

europeanoutdoorsman said:
You guys also should know that FedEX and UPS "franchises" don't always hire savory folks outside the US. The company has no control of who gets hired or not and thus there are often unknown criminals working there. Also, years ago, I worked with a guy who worked at the Airport in the customs section and he was bragging about how people would bribe him and how he's steal stuff.
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Fed ex has a secondary company called Fed ex Ground here. They are fiercely unpopular with standard FedEx as the Ground crews are shady as hell and give FedEx a bad name.
 
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