Need help with USPS Fraud issue

[Leland Pate]

I am soliciting guidance from those who have been through anything like this. I just got off the phone with my little brother and am really bummed out!!!.

Background:

My brother is a gun nut. A couple years ago, he got on a waiting list for some very expensive and highly desirable gun parts from Lage manufacturing. I won't get into the unimportant details, but after a long wait and considerable expense, his long awaited kit was delivered to my mother's house 4 or 5 days ago with "signature required" priority mail service from the USPS. He had it delivered to my mother's because she is usually home whereas he is not. Makes sense. Anyway, the problem we are having is my mother never got the package.
When Eric logged on-line to see what the heck happened he saw that it was marked as delivered and signed for by "E. Pate". Well, he didn't sign for it and my mother didn't sign for it. My mom looked at the timestamp and has said she was home when it was supposedly "delivered". Eric looked at the scanned image of the signature and doesn't recognize it (obviously). So, what the hell happened??? It really doesn't matter. He didn't get his parts and I am cynical enough to know that he is really standing alone on this issue with no one in particular who cares about his loss. The shipper doesn't care because he's already been paid. The USPS thinks their butt is covered because they've got a "signature".

Like I said, I really don't care to speculate on what may have happened to his parts as it is unlikely they are just going to reappear. Whoever has them, has them intentionally and by fraud. I am wondering what advice I can give him as a recommended course of action here. He is going to have to convince someone in the USPS that fraud was committed if he has any chance of successfully making an insurance claim, right?

Can anyone offer us any advice?

My little brother is a very good guy who works his heart out to afford the relatively few nice things he has. I think that's what upsets me the most here.

Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome!

[Joe Bob]

Ask to talk to the driver. Get the driver over to the house and/or the driver's helper.

USPS hires a lot of temp help during the Holidays they use two people for deliveries.

Make a stink, they will eventually cave. I assume it was insured, make a claim. If it wasn't and it was paid for via Credit Card, call them as well.

[stomachmonkey]

What was the value of the parts. Call the police, sounds like theft to me. Drivers are known to sign for something themselves and just leave it. So either the driver did that or took it himself.

[Joe Bob]

AND if'n yer out in the boonies, the delivery people can be contractors. They are where I live, now.

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

AND if'n yer out in the boonies, the delivery people can be contractors. They are where I live, now.

You don't have to be out in the boonies for 'em to be contractors. They're all contractors on the island here.
If the package was insured, he should go talk to the postmaster. If it wasn't, he needs to file a police report. Tell him to go to the PO to make the call and request an officer to respond. May take a while, but they'll actually drag the postmaster out they'll generally cave.

My business had a rash of thefts occur at the local PO. Stuff would get dropped off, but never scanned. We filed 50-60 mail theft reports and were told to piss off, called the police and we were told to itemize our losses, including postage, so that a check could be cut. Next time we were there, there were 2 inspectors watching over everything like a hawk. Haven't had a problem since.

[legion]

I've been through this to some degree.

I've had packages show up "delivered" in the USPS tracking system without ever getting them. I've filed formal complaints, and they've always mysteriously show up 2-7 days later. I've been told by postal employees that the "tracking system" doesn't really track a packages whereabouts, but just estimates where it is. My opinion is that most postal employees just game the system so the tracking system doesn't in any way reflect reality.

I have things sent UPS or FedEx if I want to be able to really track them. Though I have had UPS drivers sign my signature and leave the package.

[Joeaksa]

Its called "self releasing" in that the driver signs for it and drops it. Speeds things up but if they are a contractor and stealing things they do not even stop at the house.

Contact the head of the USPO that supposedly delivered it and start making waves...

[Por_sha911]

Go to the PO and ask to speak with the postmaster. Ask how to file a formal complaint. They have a policy and form for everything. Next, definitely contact your credit card company.

[Leland Pate]

Thanks for the information. I'm a little encouraged by this. I'll let you all know how it works out.

[pwd72s]

Good luck, Lee...Hope your local postmaster is a good one. Some are, some are just bureaucrats who don't like being bothered by those they are supposed to be serving.

[RWebb]

BTW - postal inspectors sometimes follow the delivery people around on foot, bicycle or in unmarked cars - so they do check on them

[spuggy]

Few years ago, I bought a set of Magnacore plug leads on Ebay for a great price, new. Asked the vendor where they were, eventually. He provided shipping details, including a signature that wasn't me.

About a week later, knock on my door in the evening. It had been mis-delivered to one of my neighbors, who opened it before realizing that it wasn't for her and got scared about "interfering with the mail" - she sat on it until her husband came back from out-of-town and took care of it.

Heck, I opened an Amazon package a few months ago, thought "Cowboy paperback? WTF?", looked at the address label and went and gave it to the person it was addressed to.

I'd involve USPS first, then the credit card company. Just the fact you're willing to talk to the Postmaster should demonstrate that something needs to be addressed.

[Superman]

Tell the Postmaster you are the founder of SCWDP.

[WolfeMacleod]

I recently had a major shipping snafu. Lots of $$ on the line.
Guitar builder ordered parts. I made, and shipped Express mail just before Thanksgiving. They should have arrived on Saturday.
Come Monday, he calls, fairly irate. they never arrived....
I tell him they shipped to him address. I give the address to verify.
He says he moved... 15 MONTHS AGO.
Well, I never got the notice that he moved, and shipped to the address on his Paypal account like I always have. He never updated. The post orifice has been forwarding his mail, up till just after his last purchase!

At this point, he's pretty upset. Several thousand dollars on the line for him if he can't get his guitars out quickly. We both start talking to his old post office, who takes their sweet time trying to locate the package, retrieve it, and forward it on to him. The new tenant of the house wasn't being very cooperative, either.
After about two weeks, I decide to eat it and replace the parts. He had used up the last of those particular components on the earlier build. I do the build in one day, and go to mail them out. Literally seconds after the transaction at the post office, I get a call from his old postmaster. "We got your package, we'll forward it on immediately"

[Joe Bob]

Your client is upset because HE neglected to update his PayPal account? Typical ignorant retail customer. He's stoopid and it's your fault.

As to the USPS finding the package right after you do the right thing....that's typical. Hope you get one of the orders back.

I;m dealing with Sears, prepaid parts, package comes out.....right parts number on the box, different part inside. Send the part back, reassemble the stove. Stove works until Christmas week. Still no parts and no operating stove.....call Sears and it's "what parts"?

Kill me now.....

[RWebb]

Sears sucks

[Racerbvd]

Any luck?? A Colt Python was shipped 2nd day from OR last week, UPS says they can't find it Not a happy camper

[enzo1]

I'd be Pi##ed..... not good

[Normy]

I had USPS deliver three packages to my door yesterday; one addressed to me, and two addressed to someone else.

ALL had my home address!

The driver dropped them at the front door, rang the bell, and then walked away. I opened the door, looked at the packages [Hmm? What did I order now....], and promptly ran out and caught the guy before he could drive away. If I hadn't....then I'd have them in my possession and the real addressee would be without. It wasn't my regular postal carrier, so if eventually this guy made a stink about where his packages ended up, then I doubt by that time that the carrier would remember where they actually went.

What's the solution? I guess that USPS could make a database that links homes with addresses, so as to find situations like mine where the wrong name was paired with the wrong addy and kick the package back to the person who mailed it, and/or have the carrier demand ID. Both are going to cost money.

Good luck-

N

[jyl]

No need for a solution. If mail is MIS-addressed, it doesn't get to correct person. Boo hoo.