USPS Registered mail disappeared - advice ? plus images of 3 of the coins
drfish
Posts: 938 ✭✭✭✭
Sent 15K value (12 coins) double boxed to GC on 2/22/24 by Registered mail. The coins went to the Atlanta north metro sort center that evening and there haven’t been any updates since. My local PO made a mistake at check out and put the value at 1500, rather than void the transaction the Postal clerk added the additional fee to bring up the value to $15,000. When I tried to file an insurance claim online I found that the amount was set to $1500. On Thursday I spent 80 minutes on hold and the CSR initiated a search and told me to file an insurance claim. He said I would either have to file a paper claim or get my local PO to change the insurance amount and update the system(he couldn’t find my second payment but I do have the receipt which is linked to the registered mail tracking number) . The next day the Valencia Ca PO emailed and told me they had checked and the package had never made it there . He gave me the back line for the Atlanta sort center. I called the sort center and the operator there told me they are closing and moving to Palmetto Ga. She also said they don’t search for missing packages, my package will show up eventually and refused to transfer me to a supervisor. She told me to go to the PO I shipped from. The clerk at my local PO couldn’t help and rang for a supervisor. She listened to my story and told me to call USPS. I asked if there was a manager on duty to correct the insurance amount so I could file online. she said she couldn’t do it but she’d find someone to help. After 30 minutes she hadn’t come back so I left. I called the USPS special number for a paper claim form (which they can’t email!?! ) which should arrive in 7 business days. So at this point just file the paper insurance claim and it’s USPS problem or is there any other recourse?
Comments
Isn't there any online tracking that would allow you to see where it was received last?
Registered mail is signed in at every transfer.
I'm not sure if/when it is time to get the Postal Inspectors involved but they'd certainly be able to cut through the runaround.
I’m sorry for the upsetting and messy situation you’ve encountered. I suggest contacting the U.S. Postal Inspector.
If you believe you've been targeted by a scam involving the U.S. Mail, you can get help by contacting your nearest Postal Inspection Service office in one of three ways: Call 1-877-876-2455. Visit www.uspis.gov to report suspected fraud online.”
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
You can keep calling until you find someone helpful. They aren't all equally skilled or equally accommodating.
The first thing you need to get done is to have the insurance amount corrected. I can't believe the local PO let that go through. The point of insurance is not to simply pay the right amount but to pay FOR the right amount of insurance. I would make a nuisance of myself at that branch until they fixed it.
While you're doing that, the package may show up. Registered tracking is not always 100% and if the sort center is moving, they may have transferred the locked items.
"He gave me the back line for the Atlanta sort center. I called the sort center and the operator there told me they are closing and moving to Palmetto Ga."
This is key.
For reasons unknown Registered packages can sometimes take weeks if not occassionally, months. With the closing down one location and opening up another I'd imagine the "months" could come into play here.
Just in case the package is stolen, would you be comfortable letting us know what coins were contained within? You might get a jump on finding them if you do divulge. (I'd understand though if you don't want to at this juncture.)
peacockcoins
JBK - yes tracking shows up online, that night (2/22 )went from my PO to the sort center and no updates since.
Mark - Thanks for that number , if no updates from USPS by my day off Thursday I will call the Inspector.
jmlanzaf - After 80 minutes of hold time to get zero useful info not sure I want to waste more time going that route hoping for someone competent. My second receipt says 15K registered mail with correct tracking so the mail in claim form should work if I send copies of both receipts
braddick I will post info on the Seated dollar and two trade dollars later this evening . All CAC and nice coins so easier to look out for then the other coins in the shipment
I sent a registered package to PCGS on 2-20 that would have gone through Atlanta.
I filed a Missing Mail form on Friday and got a call saying to give them 3 days to look for it.
15 plus years using registered mail....0 problems.
This year, two problems with registered mail, almost three.
Good luck with your claim.
Now CAC
Also now CAC
Also CAC
the tracking we have access to online is not as complete as USPSs intranetwork for registered mail.
making a 'theft/loss' claim with the inspector general is a good idea
According to the USPS phone CSR and whatever flavor of manager I spoke to at my PO in their system it also hasn’t moved past Atlanta North Metro sorting facility.
Will definitely call Inspector on Thursday if no movement or USPS updates.
I would give it a couple more weeks based on my experience. I have had tracking stop like you to only have it show up later. I have recently had a bad experience with a registered mail parcel, insured for $7,000. When I contacted my PO about it they were already aware of missing package. I even got a phone call from Office of Inspector General Special Agent about the missing package.
If you are going to make a claim, you need a receipt (from someone like GC or other) along with the payment method showing it paid for (i.e. credit card statement or PayPal record). If you don’t have those you might find the claim rejected and you appealing…good luck there! If you bought from a forum member your are probably SOL.
Sometimes I think it is better to ship these packages incognito. When you declare 15K value it is very tempting for every person in the chain of custody. Private insurance may be the way to go. Anything under 1K I just ship Fedex and don't say a word about value.
I hope this all works out for the OP.
You need to file an online search first with the tracking number of your USPS registered package. Then since it has been more than 15 days you file a claim here. You need photos, original registered certificate photo, recipient details, sender details, etc. Calling is not as effective as online documentation I have found.
https://onlineclaims.usps.com/OICWeb/
I just did this with a package that sat in Seattle 2 weeks, then in Atlanta one week. Once I actually filed the claim so they would actually have had to pay, magic. they found the package, sent it to the recipient and all was well.
Good luck.
National Commemorative Medals of the U.S. Mint:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/medals-tokens/national-commemorative-medals-united-states-mint-1940-present/alltimeset/195526
Registered mail is often slow to update tracking. There's still hope.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
I sent a package with tracking number to Chicago once, it was stuck at Chicago distribution center for 2 weeks. Your package might show up later.
I think it will be ok. Registered just takes time.
Call the post office general.
They will give you the phone number of the regional person you need to open a case with.
Generally they will take 48 hours, research the case and get back to you with a response to where the package is.
I've probably called on 10-15 missing parcels (one as late as 4 weeks), opened cases, and to date have had good success.
The USPS isn’t what once was. In my book, their service went to pot during the shutdown.
Most likely this package will show up, eventually. I’ve had registered stuff get stalled for weeks on end without tracking updates. Fortunately, I have some friends who work at my local PO and they can usually figure it out if I pester them enough.
I’d pursue all of the available options in the meantime.
Online tracking with Registered Mail is useless. Certainly get your insurance straightened out with your record of payment though.
It's likely your package will show up later this month. 3 1/2 weeks since mailing sounds like a long time. With Registered Mail it is not.
You do recall that registered mail is tracked every step of the way, and it is either in a safe or in the custody of the signer until it's passed along... even assuming you could sell the contents for the insured value, that's not a lot of money to risk a secure job with decent benefits on.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
What a headache!!
I agree that registered mail is SLOW. I had a package go missing for a few days. When I called the PO, they told me not to worry and to just go about my day and that it would eventually turn up. They were right and it did.
I hope this happens for you.
Otherwise, I would really hound them. You must be your own advocate, and not take no for an answer. Speaking to the postmaster or a supervisor is always the best.
Good luck!!
“I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947)
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I stopped using Registered with USPS insurance and went with private insurance and just overnight the coins. Much, much faster. My theory is that the less time in someone else's hands, the better.
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The only coin sent to me by registered mail took 21 days to travel 400 miles. Registered mail can move very slowly.
Edited to add that Fedex is sketchy at tracking, reporting, delivering, asking for signature confirmation, you name it and they are horrible at it. They told me at 7PM that my coins would not be delivered until the next day, and then delivered it two hours later where a box with $15K declared value sat on the porch for 15 hours with no signature confirmation. Somehow, they snuck up to the porch quietly and ran away without getting a signature and without alerting the dogs, which is hard to do.
This failure to get signature confirmation has happened repeatedly with coins returning from PCGS, but I'm not sure who delivered the earlier graded submissions.
I'm sorry to hear your situation. Be prepared for a long and grueling process if the package is not found. When you file the claim, the USPS will want you to provide "what you paid for the coins", They won't just accept your stated value even though you paid for the insurance. Had I not found an advocate in Jacksonville, FL via my local Postmaster I never would have received my declared value.
If I could find a link to my thread from few years ago it might be helpful to you, but I'm lost doing that search. I know it was on the Open Forum and concerned a 1947-S Dime.
Which is why I self insure. The post office doesn't run their insurance program in an ethical or honest manner.
I'm not certain if this is the thread @lablover was referring to, but below is a potential-
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1015018/some-good-news-it-just-got-more-interesting-the-rest-of-the-story/p1
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I just sent a $2k package to GC priority self insured and was sweating out the entire trip. Mine made it
This happened to me also. Here is a quote from my situation a couple years ago:
Your declared value means nothing. USPS lost a registered package (coin) of mine and I had to "prove" it's value. I provided a statement from @MFeld on Heritage letterhead, and they rejected it. They wanted a copy of the purchase receipt, which I diid not have, so they rejected the claim! Miraculosly, 3 months after I sent it, it showed up at the purchasers door. They are the worst!
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/poor-planning-before-opening-metro-atlanta-usps-facility-reason-to-blame-for-missing-mail-palmetto/85-fc48e35b-4db4-444e-b690-60f24acfd045
This likely explains why they can’t search for package . One of my coworkers had sent an important payment by check late February by Priority which also disappeared. Had to cancel check and send a back wire.
Sorry to hear the trouble but I think it will show up eventually.
As many others have said, contact Postal inspection, if still in system, they will get on it and be much better at getting answers you need. I have had a lot of problems with packages including registered that pass through atlanta, some taking weeks, so still hope. The one issue I feel will be the big hurdle, if you end up having to do a claim, is getting the post office to acknowledge and correct the insurance amount of the package. They are always looking at ways to turn down a claim IMo
Called Postal Inspector phone number yesterday. At this point the best the gatekeeper CSR would do is “escalate” the case to the Ca USPS Consumer Affairs division (I also got the Ca consumer Affairs direct phone number) I would guess with the complete meltdown with the Palmetto sort center they are being flooded with lost mail complaints and potential theft is low on their list.
I got an initial email last night and Ca is supposed to contact me within 3 days. Thanks for all the advice
Thanks buddy, that is the thread. See page two for the lost coin story.
Sounds familiar; they rejected mine three times if I recall correctly. Having an advocate out of Jacksonville, FL saved me thanks to my local Postmaster.
If it hasn't already been mentioned?
Could you add a GeoTracker??
AirTag??
Or similar to the package and track it yourself?
I may be getting ready to ship some Ike dollars.
I'll probably use UPS.
A tracker for that package would be a good test.
I do have me business card tape on all individual packages and double boxed.
I had a registered package go off the grid for 2 weeks. Then in one day it made if from CA to WI. Fingers crossed this works out for you. USPS is still the best. I have dealt with an employee stolen package from UPS and they did nothing to help.
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 35 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
I sincerely hope your package turns up.
Any updates?
Sounds like they just say "My Bad", with "integrity" getting no respect, as the word and it's meaning fades away.
Dingbats.
The Postal Inspector didn’t take the case turfed it to Ca CSR who said best to file a claim as they would rather find the package than pay a big claim .Claim submitted 3/20 -no answer or tracking updates so far.
Did you ever get the insurance amount corrected?
How did you file the claim on 3/30 when it's only the 28th?
Mike
My Indians
Danco Set
I don’t think you will get update that soon especially your insurance amount is so high.
I had a coin that lost tracking and I got my money from eBay. Six months later it showed up in my P.O. Box. I emailed the seller asked him to send me a PayPal invoice so I can pay him back. That’s just an international registered mail.
3/20 submitted claim
I included a PDF of all the receipts from my local USPS which showed insurance to increased to 15K ( and listed the same tracking number ) in the claim.
Last time I filed a postal claim online (1-2 months ago), it asked me how much I paid for insurance and allowed me to upload supporting documents to show the amount if it differed from the original paid amount tied to the tracking number. I’m a bit confused on why you didn’t go the online route and do this the easy way, but hopefully the paper receipts will be acknowledged.
There was no option to change insurance online - that line was prefilled . I filed online and explained the insurance in the first “item” description upload along with PDF of insurance receipts.