I agree with you that not performing a service as agreed to the cost of the service should be refunded. In this case though, that cost is just the cost of shipping. Does the USPS actually refuse to reimburse the shipping cost? Now on the other hand, it’s not the fault of the USPS that you decided to put $5000 worth of diamonds in your greeting card that cost 37 cents to mail. If you want to have your item cost refunded then it makes sense to charge more to insure a more expensive item.
I’m confused. Jayrot, do you not understand how shipping works? In particular, do you not understand how uninsured, untrackable USPS shipping works?
If they cannot prove your package exists-either by tracking number or by insurance, how do you expect them to be able to guarantee your package? If you do not pay for these two services, you cannot expect to know the disposition of your items. If you don’t know the dispo of those packages, how can they pay you for them?
Look at it this way-the USPS was created for shipping one thing; letters. They have built in some features to make it more amenable to sending boxes and larger packages because that’s where they were losing ground to other shippers. Since the USPS system is based on shipping envelopes with no tracking data(and consequently, no guarantee of ever receiving even an envelope), they have to build these features into the mailing of larger items. Features you must pay for.
Don’t be all bent out of shape because you cheaped out on shipping and got something lost. You pay more money to ship vis UPS or FedEx because they have a large tracking system. This tracking system makes it more difficult to lose a package. They also make you pay for insurance for items worth more than $100 as well, so it’s not just the USPS.
The only time I have yet to see UPS pay out is when their rough handling damages an item. They don’t pay for lost packages most times, and they make you waste your very precious time pursuing them for the payout.
Get over it, and next time, send it priority, with signature required, tracking and insurance. Perhaps you should just drive your package to its destination?
Sam
Most general transport operators.
My whole career is as a transport lawyer. Dealing with cargo damage/loss is a major component of that. The philosophy of cargo liability is something I have had cause to think and read about perhaps more than most.
Others have already said what I’m about to say but let me see if I can bring it all together for you.
The basic points to understand in relation to general goods transportation are:
1/ A system to handle shipments that are essentially robust so that they usually won’t break even if there is the occasional negligent handling is cheap. A system that will handle shipments well all of the time is orders of magnitude more expensive.
2/ Similarly, a system that assumes that shipments are not of such importance that occasional loss due to negligence will matter too much is cheap. A system that will virtually never lose something is expensive.
3/ A system to establish the fragility and importance of each shipment and that each shipment has been properly received for shipment and delivered, will incur cost.
4/ Therefore, the most efficient (and therefore cheapest) system is one that keeps no records about any particular shipment, and assumes all cargo is essentially robust and of only moderate importance and treats it accordingly.
Carriers do offer such a system. Such a system is usually the lowest priced option. It involves no declaration of value by the sender, and no payment related to value or importance (such as a payment usually termed “insurance”). I will call such a system a “Basic Carriage System” (or BCS).
There are three systems of liability that could be adopted by carriers for a BCS:
5/ if the goods are alleged to be lost or damaged the carrier pays (the insurance model)
6/ if the goods are lost or damaged due to the carrier’s fault, the carrier pays (the fault model)
7/ the carrier does not pay if the goods are lost or damaged (the no liability model)
There are inherent problems with all three models.
8/ the insurance and fault models are inequitable. If the carrier must or may have to pay, the cost of them doing so will have to be built into the price to the sender. It is inequitable that the cost to one customer of sending a holiday postcard will be increased to allow for the fact that the carrier will inevitably build into the price the cost of having to pay for the occasional loss or damage to a rare and expensive book sent by someone else.
9/ the insurance and fault models are open to abuse because the parties have no official record of what the shipment was, whether it was ever sent, or whether it was actually delivered and how and why it was lost or damaged. Proving how goods were lost or stolen will be very difficult for a customer. The carrier will deny all claims, and customers will make false claims. If there is a deeming provision to the effect that loss or damage is assumed to be due to carrier’s fault, then proving to the contrary will be difficult for the carrier.
10/ the fault model is highly inefficient because a large amount of resources will be expended on the matters outlined in 9/. Money will be spent on lawyers (wait a minute, I said that like it was a bad thing! ;))
11/ the insurance and fault models are inherently problematic in that many shipped items have only a subjective value.
12/ the no liability model is inequitable (or is perceived to be) because the usual societal norm is that we should pay for the consequences of our actions
13/ the no liability model places no pressure on the BCS to take any care at all in handling things, which is also inefficient.
There are good things about each model too:
14/ the insurance model and (theoretically) the fault model mean that customers are paid for their lost and damaged goods. Assuming most people are honest, and most loss/damage to goods in transit will be due to the carriers fault, this seems fair, but see points above.
15/ the fault model means ideally that the person to blame pays. Though whether this actually occurs is dubious, see above.
17/ the no liability model is efficient and therefore cheap
Carriers usually operate a BCS on the no liability model. They ignore 12/ in favour of 17/ on the obvious pragmatic basis. For most people, most of the time, that is a good thing. While 13/ is a problem, if people lose all trust in a BCS they will go elsewhere.
If Rosco’s House Cleaning Service offered you the choice of a more expensive guaranteed service or a cheaper service in which they won’t pay if they break your furniture, what would be wrong with that? If Jimmy’s Builder’s offered you the choice of an expensive guaranteed wall or a cheaper one that might fall down and they won’t pay if it does, what’s wrong with that?
You pays your money and you takes your chance.
USPS does have systems in place to track packaging and to insure them, but they are payed services and require extra handling . Each time the package or letter gets to a new place it has to be scanned and when it gets to the destination there is paperwork that needs to be filled out. It takes a little extra time at each stop and can not be dealt with with the automated machines.
I can’t find the site but USPS handles some magnitude more volume in the course of any given business day. ( I kind of remember it was even more packages but I can’t find a site so that memory could be faulty) Unless it increases the number of employees it has as well as its equipment and storage (which ain’t gonna happen) there is no way to automaticaly just track stuff. The fact is that USPS loses very little, but items might take detours. Your package could still show up.
I too have received those letters from FedEx.
I’ve then phoned them, said “I don’t fucking think so.” gone all devil hell-spawn on them, and recieved a refund and compensation promtly.
So - they will happily cover your package - you just have to ack like a total cunt.
Fortunatly, I’m very good at that. 
Somebody else would be in here bitching if the USPS policy was to automatically charge more and only offer the discount if you didn’t need your package tracked and/or insured.
“What kind of scam is this?? They automatically charge for services you don’t need and will remove them only if you ask?”
I’ve seen UPS pay in an instance where the package was pretty obviously run over by a truck. It crushed a 6" diameter 1/4" wall almuminum tube. We had insured it for our full retail price, so it was something of a windfall for our company…we got to sell one to UPS, and another to the origional customer. Only glitch was it took us about 3 mos. to build one, so the customer was rather peeved, but at least they saw the first one arrive on schedual.
I’ve had tons of fun with UPS being horrible for deliveries. I worked as a receiving manager for a large retail box. UPS on average delivered 90 packages a day. To receive these they only have you sign once and apply that to all packages. The UPS guys want to get the stuff off their truck as quick as possible. Reading each box label as they throw them off is difficult at best. UPS often delivers things to the wrong address in this manner.
Basicaly the procedure was count it to the best of your ability and pray for the best. When I was having too many issues of signed for packages missing I had my associates only sign for one box at a time. The UPS guy got alot better at checking his truck and my associates hated me for that period.
The biggest UPS headache I had was a company in the next town over had the same address as us(minus the zip code). My regular driver took a day off the temp driver delivered two days worth of packages to this other company. Seems simple right? UPS goes over and picks up all packages delivered incorrectly to that address right? Nope! UPS considered their obligation completed as the made a delivery and received a signiture.(made sense to them no matter how many supervisors I spoke with) I as the receiver had no ability to ask Proof of Delivery on the packages. UPS would only allow the shipper to request a POD. Most my vendors had submited bills to corporate and some had already been paid. So getting vendors to work on my behalf to request POD’s for me was difficult; they already got their money for the orders. 40 plus hours of my time went into going through all overdue PO’s, determining which could have been shipped UPS, calling each of those vendors to find out where our orders were, any that had been shipped UPS and had not been received needed the vendor to prove a POD, then go through all the POD’s and determin which had been signed for at the other company. Contact the vendors of the purchases misdelivered and ask them to request the package be picked up and sent to us. What a colosal waste of time.
My opion is USPS is miles above UPS when it comes to customer service.
Is there any special reason why you didn’t find out what company had your packages, contact them and ask for them to help you arrange some sort of pickup, rather than dealing with your vendors?
Seems like a rather simple fix…
Sam
Because UPS won’t do a pickup at the request of the receiver they mis-delivered to, or at the request of the intended receiver, only the shipper. Or at least, that’s the way it was back when the company I work for did UPS calltags for mis-delivered packages to our customers. Now we just send replacements–it’s quicker and less hassle.
The two people I’d managed to get in touch with at that company claimed they had not received any of our packages dispite me giving the name of the person who signed for them; who they admited worked for them. When we received the missing packages they weren’t open or anything I have no idea what was happening at that place. They just couldn’t be bothered to give straight answers.
The airlines. Actually, they’re far worse than USPS ever dreamed of being.
Virtually all reasonable plane fares these days are non-refundable. Look at some of the rules:
Can’t go? You just give your ticket to someone else, right? Nope. “Ticket may not be transferred…”
Luggage destroyed? Tough luck. I tried to carry on a custom-made digeridoo (musical instrument) I got for Christmas. Security said it could be used as a weapon. The airline checked it, put it in a plastic bag with “fragile” stickers all over it, and then tossed something heavy on it and crushed it. They won’t pay me anything. Hell, they won’t even return my phone calls.
Got sick? Need to delay a week? Toss away your ticket and buy a new one.
This one killed me. Fare from California to New York on special: $99. Fair from California to Denver: $399. The flight from California to New York stopped in Denver!. After asking about the Denver flight and arguing over the price, I told the ticket agent I’d just buy the $99 ticket to New York. She said if I got off in Denver and didn’t complete the flight, my credit card would be billed the extra $300!
There may be some problems with the USPS, but they could definitely give customer service lessons to the airlines!
Pay cash.
To the best of my knowledge, you cannot reserve airfare in advance with cash. You certainly can’t use cash over the phone or over the internet, and if you wait until you get to the airport counter, you will be unlikely to get that fare. You can visit a travel agent, but some of them charge. Alternately, you can buy a prepaid credit card with just enough to cover the airfare. Use it and toss it.
Yeah, as long as it is only worth $100 or less. I fell for that whole line when UPS lost some non-refundable airline tickets I sent some friends. I just gave the envelope to our shipping clerk and told him to send it. It got lost, we send out a lot of packages every day and they don’t get lost, but my tickets did.
File a claim with UPS, they give me $100 to cover $1800 worth of tickets.
I should have purchased insurance, but neither me or the shipping clerk thought twice about just sending them. At the time, insurance was only $.37/$100 value.
FWIW, I do a lot of selling online and have had a lot better luck with USPS than UPS.