This post is about 10 years in the making. Several years ago I sold Princess House Crystal. I had sold a cake dish online & went to the post office to send it to the buyer. I was explaining to the postal clerk that the item was fragile & even told the clerk what the item was. I stressed how important it was for the item to be handled carefully. The clerk responded that once packages entered the postal delivery process ALL PACKAGES ARE THROWN.
I was shocked and frustrated. I had packed the cake dish carefully and insured it. I had written fragile on the box- but it still faced a tumultuous future. Fortunately, the cake dish made it in one piece, but I still felt frustrated & helpless. I knew that no matter what precautions I took at any point of sending any package through the United States Postal Service questionable circumstances existed.
Jump forward to two month ago. As many of my readers know, I travel a lot for work. At the end of my last assignment I sent some things home to myself. It would have been difficult to carry everything on the plane. One of the items I needed to send was a brand-new purchase that I had made. I don’t want to reveal what that item was yet because it will be the topic of a future post, but it cost me $300.
Some of you may be thinking- why didn’t I wait until I got home to make the purchase, but I actually needed the item while I was on my assignment. Soooo…I bought the item, used it, and then boxed it up to send home. With knowledge of what I had been told in the past, I made sure to pack it carefully. I made sure it was cushioned well & put bright red FRAGILE stickers on EVERY SIDE of the box.
I took it to the post office & sent it home via three-day shipping. I was actually hoping things had changed over the past decade. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt & think positively about others. I was really hoping that the postal service had made positive changes over the years. Not only did my package not arrive on time but…
As you can see, my positive outlook was all in vain. Actually, if I had not taped the box the way I did the entire package would have completely split wide open & everything inside would have spilled out. It is almost like the postal workers had a contest to see how badly they could treat my package. I sent other packages at the same time that arrived in similar condition but they did not contain anything quite so valuable or quite so fragile.
The $300 item is completely useless to me now. I filed an insurance claim on the postal service website. In my claim, I explained that I am a medical worker traveling to different hospitals to help out & told them that they needed to pay for the damages they caused. I ended up taking another assignment very far from home & it was not practical to carry the useless, damaged item with me, so I took pictures- mostly for evidence because I figure I will have to take them to court.
I filed my insurance claim on August 16th. They finally sent me a letter regarding the claim on September 25th. I wouldn’t even have known about the letter if my landlord wasn’t kind enough to collect my mail & forward any important items to me. The letter from the postal service said I have to take the box & item into a post office within 20 days or the claim will become invalid. SERIOUSLY?!?!?! They don’t even respond for over a month & then they are going to only give me 20 days?????
I have attempted to contact them by phone & email multiple times over the past month & a half but gotten nowhere with them. I took the letter & my pictures to the post office where I am working now & asked for the Postmaster. The Postmaster was not in- BIG SURPRISE. The same thing happened back home. The Postmaster is NEVER there. I talked to a supervisor who told me that I have to bring the package in to the post office.
Sooooo… here we are. This is not an isolated situation. I came across a video not long ago that was humorous but all to true. The postal workers do NOT care about you or your packages. They abuse packages like they are total & complete trash. Just recently, I had another package nearly demolished. I needed to send my rent payment home to my landlord. I always send goodies for her furbabies- I love animals. Here is what happened.
I have put the postal service on notice that they have the same deadline they gave me. I sent them a response letter, both online & through the mail, letting them know that they have 20 days to pay my claim. If they don’t, I will be filing a lawsuit. I am confident I will win with all of my evidence- my photos & emails I have sent them. Of course, it is a major hassle since it is taking so long- but I will not let them get away with treating my packages- and me- like trash.
If you have had similar experiences, be sure to share below. Maybe if enough people expose their abusive behavior they will change some of their bad habits- maybe.