Insurance and trades

robgmn said:
I belong to a number of different forums and this thread exemplifies one (of many) common things that people believe in: that their personal experience defines reality and that that particular reality is in effect for everyone.

It can actually be unnerving when i deal with it on a professional level.

Kniffehunt, here's the real deal, take it or leave it:
If the aforementioned rules of filing a claim were in place and on paper at the time of your problem, you got screwed over by a witting/unwitting employee of the post office, NOT by "The US Post Office".
Had you presented a written copy of these rules (which you could have demanded from a worker at the Post Office), and asked them if they'd like an attorney to review it and your case, they most certainly would have considered all the facts and given you a refund IF a refund was due (the IF remains and IF until you can provide proof otherwise).

Denying a valid claim against loss of goods is theft from the customer. The USPS takes theft VERY seriously and would not abide an employee stealing from a customer.

Had you been improperly denied after meeting all of the written requirements of receiving a refund, you could very easily have run it up the chain of command and gotten the error corrected.
Your failure to have done that does NOT translate into your experience defining the reality of shipping, nor what will happen to anyone else who may encounter a similar situation.

You can get angry, you can insult people, you can post, block posts, read posts.
It's not however, going to change reality.
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+1

You've stated this way better than I could've. This is exactly what I was trying to say.

Here's a rather simple example: I work at Home Depot part time as I study to become an Industrial Engineer. In my department, we have a panel saw that explicitly states we only cut wood products from our department (pretty much only plywood). When people come to me with a door, countertop, piece of plexiglass, sheet of sheetrock, ceiling tile, or whatever, I tell them I cannot cut it on the panel saw. Why? Because those are the rules, and they are the rules for a reason (a whole different discussion). When the person's response is "But I had it cut before at XXXX Home Depot by XXXX", I simply provide the same response, because that isn't going to change my answer. Just because some guy (who may be fictional in the first place) didn't abide by the rules, doesn't mean that I'll break them too.

Just because the USPS employee didn't process knifehunt's claim correctly doesn't mean it will happen to everyone. This single experience does not mean that trades are value-less in the eyes of USPS. That is just WRONG. Just follow the simple rules outlined by Monofletch and you will be just fine.
 
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korn_2956 said:
No offense but that isn't what this thread is about, it's about the post office losing your stuff, homework can't prevent that.
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None taken, but it answers the question on a much broader level. If you dealt with as much of this type of thing as we have, you'd most certainly agree. I understand the specifics of this topic, but the fact remains that being careful can mitigate many issues from the beginning.
 
Monofletch said:
Those three hoop are pretty rough. Proof of mailing/insurance..proof of value...and proof of damage/nondelivery. Were in the world do you guys come up with this stuff?
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Unfortunately, even if you prove all of that, there is no guarantee that USPS will settle your claim. Where do I come up with this stuff? 15 years experience working for law firms handling claims against insurance carriers.
 
If you say so. You guys must have some strange postal employees. That is what I am required to have when I pay process a claim. I guess I've been doing it wrong all these years.
 
bodog said:
With a trade... Would it be easier to go to paypal and each person on both sides of the trade send a payment of whatever the agreed upon worth of the knives are?
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I've done this. The problem with just trading is there really isn't an incentive to send anything. This method creates an incentive to send the agreed upon item because hypothetically if one or the other counter party doesn't send something, or it's not as described, a claim could be filed. Yes, this involves a transaction cost. This method isn't risk free, but it's as close to risk free as anyone will get in an online trading scenario with an anonymous person.
 
If you're mailing something of any significant value, insure it. If you have to file a claim, have your ducks in a row. Chances are it'll go smoothly. Like anything else in life, there's the occasional dumpster fire. Thankfully, that's the exception that proves the rule.
 
alfred mcdougal said:
I've done this. The problem with just trading is there really isn't an incentive to send anything. This method creates an incentive to send the agreed upon item because hypothetically if one or the other counter party doesn't send something, or it's not as described, a claim could be filed. Yes, this involves a transaction cost. This method isn't risk free, but it's as close to risk free as anyone will get in an online trading scenario with an anonymous person.
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I don't get what you mean by no incentive to send anything in a trade. The incentive is to not be a douchbag cheat and to not get a thread started about you on here and no one doing any business with you again, right?
 
korn_2956 said:
I don't get what you mean by no incentive to send anything in a trade. The incentive is to not be a douchbag cheat and to not get a thread started about you on here and no one doing any business with you again, right?
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True. However, I would imagine that those are way far behind monetary gain on a scammer's list of priorities or concerns.
 
Well, maybe you're an honorable person who is treating claimants fairly; however, I've been through the process from the other side and I can tell you it's not that easy. Just do a google search and you'll see all the complaints from consumers. I experienced it first hand when after proving my claim, USPS initially denied it. It wasn't until I threatened a Congressional Inquiry into the Postal Service's unfair claims practices that I got results from the Postmaster General's office. Your average citizen doesn't have my experience so doesn't know what steps to take when their claim is denied; it's my experience that USPS takes advantage of that.
 
Our local PO told me I could not ship a knife in the U.S. Mails. I did not accept that answer. I contacted higher authority. The knife was mailed.

Our local P.O. told me I needed a receipt to get insurance proceeds for an old knife that I shipped to a knife-maker to be rehandled. I had no receipt. I sent an affidavit from a knife dealer as to the value of the knife together with pictures of eBay auctions of similar knives. I contacted higher authority. The claim was paid.

If you do not know your rights, you may get, shall we say, screwed over.

Higher authority is a Google away.

If you are accurately told your rights and take the position that you have no rights, whose fault is that?
 
Thomas Linton said:
Our local PO told me I could not ship a knife in the U.S. Mails. I did not accept that answer. I contacted higher authority. The knife was mailed.

Our local P.O. told me I needed a receipt to get insurance proceeds for an old knife that I shipped to a knife-maker to be rehandled. I had no receipt. I sent an affidavit from a knife dealer as to the value of the knife together with pictures of eBay auctions of similar knives. I contacted higher authority. The claim was paid.

If you do not know your rights, you may get, shall we say, screwed over.

Higher authority is a Google away.

If you are accurately told your rights and take the position that you have no rights, whose fault is that?
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I know where you are going with this... It was probably my fault for not pursuing it further, I wish I had. Funny you should mention they said you couldn't ship a knife. Earlier this year I went to my regular P.O. and the Postmaster was tending one of the registers, and I got him. He asked what was in the box, and I told him a knife. He would not mail it for me, he said it was classified as a dangerous weapon. I had to drive across to another P.O. to mail it. Not one Postal Clerk has ever asked me what was actually in a package. I'll never tell him again if I were to end up in his line.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Our local PO told me I could not ship a knife in the U.S. Mails. I did not accept that answer. I contacted higher authority. The knife was mailed.

Our local P.O. told me I needed a receipt to get insurance proceeds for an old knife that I shipped to a knife-maker to be rehandled. I had no receipt. I sent an affidavit from a knife dealer as to the value of the knife together with pictures of eBay auctions of similar knives. I contacted higher authority. The claim was paid.

If you do not know your rights, you may get, shall we say, screwed over.

Higher authority is a Google away.

If you are accurately told your rights and take the position that you have no rights, whose fault is that?
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+1 on this. You must pursue it, especially because the clerk may not always know how to handle the situation properly.
 
knifehunt said:
I know where you are going with this... It was probably my fault for not pursuing it further, I wish I had. Funny you should mention they said you couldn't ship a knife. Earlier this year I went to my regular P.O. and the Postmaster was tending one of the registers, and I got him. He asked what was in the box, and I told him a knife. He would not mail it for me, he said it was classified as a dangerous weapon. I had to drive across to another P.O. to mail it. Not one Postal Clerk has ever asked me what was actually in a package. I'll never tell him again if I were to end up in his line.
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My local post lady knows me as the "knife guy". She obviously told me that autos are a no go, but I have shown her a few of my knives, and talked with her quite a few times. I even sharpened her scissors once. I'm going to say knives are more than ok so long as they are safely packaged.

Sounds like your local PO is dumber than rocks and doesn't even know their own policies.
 
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