So, this year hasn't exactly been going my way. It started with the car accident, then I lost my cell phone (not sure if I even posted about that one!) and then we got the bad news about our taxes. I'm trying to stay positive though and make the most of what life is throwing my way. The most recent mishap was that a package my niece sent me with her old cell phone was ripped open and the cell phone and charger were stolen. (I had hoped to use this as a replacement for my phone now that she's on her fiance's plan.) The person was kind enough to leave me the cell phone packaging in the box, but took the other stuff. This picture shows how the box was delivered to my LOCKED mail box.Needless to say, I was livid! I just felt so violated. I really hate that feeling. I felt helpless. (The only other time I felt that way was when we drove across country and our car was broken into. We had several items stolen, in addition to our passports, social security cards and bank info. Ugh, that was a nightmare!) I don't want to accuse anyone but the only people who had access to the box were the employees of the post office. This package came from MA to CA. Quite a long distance to have been delivered in that condition, which only leads me to believe that the incident happened once it left my local post office, en-route to my house. Usually the PO will tag an item as damaged if they knew about it while it was in their possession. The package had nothing on it.
I called our local PO and the person said he'd check with the driver this week. I have little hope that anything will come out of that. I also emailed the PO itself to formally log a complaint. They said they'll respond within 1-3 days, so we'll see what happens. Unfortunately the package wasn't insured, so I'm not sure that they'll do anything. It's bothersome that we have no real protection against something like that happening to our mail.
Question : Have you had anything stolen from your mail before? If so, were you able to get it resolved or did you just have to deal with it?
I haven't personally, but one of our local mailmen was charged with theft a few years back because they found out he had stolen thousands of dollars from BIRTHDAY AND HOLIDAY CARDS on his route! Seriously? You feel okay stealing $20 from some little kid on her birthday? What a douchebag!
ReplyDeleteI have little to no faith in the USPS. That's one of the many reasons I've never felt comfortable mailing checks for my bills in the mail. I think the only thing you can do is file a complaint and try using other services - like UPS or Fedex. Ground shipping with those companies is actually pretty cheap for the quality of service you get. I recently shipped a HUGE box that weighed 27.8 pounds, and it only cost $6.
Thanks for the suggestion Red, that's a great idea! And the prices don't seem bad either :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a PAIN!! So sorry to hear the bad news - wish I could help! I've never had any issues YET with mail service but I sure won't send any cash through the mail and when I send a cheque I wrap it inside a couple of pages on writing paper first so it can't be seen through the envelope. You are finding out the hard way that not everyone (even bonded citizens) are honest:(
ReplyDeleteThat is so unfortunate! I know it's hard to say this now, but it's worth sending packages insured. Just like Red mentioned above, people suck. Some people were caught stealing Christmas cards (and the money in them) around here a few times. Your post-person is responsible for getting that mail to you safely, though. Hope your complaint is heard and it doesn't happen to anyone else. The second you make something idiot-proof, someone makes a better idiot...
ReplyDeleteI had my husbands watch stolen from the mail when it was mailed back to us after being repaired by Eddie Bauer. All that arrived was an empty box. I was so pissed off! I called the post office but because it wasn't insured they said there was nothing they could do. Obviously the thieves who WORK AT THE POST OFFICE ( yeah, I said it...) know this. The moral of the story....always get or have things insured when mailing them.
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@ McKenna - Thanks for sharing your story. The post office never responded to my written complaint, so I'm just going to consider it a lesson learned and always insure my packages or use someone else to ship.
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