The post office doesn't have to ASK YOU what's in the box. You are supposed to know the law. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse especially when shipping out of the US to a foreign country.
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USPS won't honor my claim because the iPhone "is a prohibited item." Is that right?
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The post office doesn't have to ASK YOU what's in the box. You are supposed to know the law. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse especially when shipping out of the US to a foreign country.
Absolutely. Ignorance is no excuse for violating the law. "Officer, I didn't know talking on a cell phone in Kansas is illegal, I'm from Utah where it is OK." It is YOUR responsibility to know the rules.
I don't know about USPS but I'm sure it's the same.
My family owns a UPS store. And When u insure it with UPS it's actually a 3rd party (Crawford) insurance company that's invovled. They have to assess the situation see reports, and then the insurance company either approves it or not. So it might not be USPS itself that doesn't want to honor your claim.
It's like insurance with everything, health insurance don't cover SOME of my medical needs. My friend hit a deer and it wasn't covered under his premium.
The USPS clerk shouldn't have taken your package to begin with, I always call UPS International and double check that it's ok to ship when a customer wants to ship something overseas.
But at this point there is nothing you can do.
My family owns a UPS store. And When u insure it with UPS it's actually a 3rd party (Crawford) insurance company that's invovled. They have to assess the situation see reports, and then the insurance company either approves it or not. So it might not be USPS itself that doesn't want to honor your claim.
It's like insurance with everything, health insurance don't cover SOME of my medical needs. My friend hit a deer and it wasn't covered under his premium.
The USPS clerk shouldn't have taken your package to begin with, I always call UPS International and double check that it's ok to ship when a customer wants to ship something overseas.
But at this point there is nothing you can do.
Here's what's on the USPS' site about banned items in Russia: http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ps_013.htm
"Transmitters and transceivers of any power, except Panasonic radiotelephones, models KX-T7980, KX-T9000, KT–T9050, and KX-T90890."
Sounds pretty vague to me. It doesn't specifically say "phones" or "cell phones."
I will send my letter of appeal in a few days. It's better than giving up.
Your iPhone (or any cellphone) is CLEARLY considered a transceiver,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transceiver
However you should DEFINITELY not give up because you could simply get lucky.
Ouch. Sorry you are having such problems with an eBay sale.
Is there any way to track the package on the Russian side? I know you found out through USPS that the iPhone is "prohibited" in Russia. But do you have info that it reached Russian customs and what exactly they did with it? Any chance it was delivered and your buyer is claiming it wasn't?
Is there any way to track the package on the Russian side? I know you found out through USPS that the iPhone is "prohibited" in Russia. But do you have info that it reached Russian customs and what exactly they did with it? Any chance it was delivered and your buyer is claiming it wasn't?
oh the ignorance in this thread.
if anything it's not the OP's fault and the OP shouldn't be out of money. the buyer is the one that agreed to purchase the item and was probably aware of Russia's import laws. they were trying to find a way around it. they were the ones taking the risk and so they should be the ones fully responsible for this entire incident. OR the buyer stole the phone.
EITHER WAY, insurance was purchased. when the seller purchased insurance, USPS and the OP sign a contract to ensure the item meets it's location.
i'm sorry to hear that this happened to you but i guess as a last resort you can sue their ass or go to the media.
and to the person that used that analogy with the speed limit, smh.. wow
edit: one more thing. just because it's a prohibited item doesn't mean it gets confiscated and the first person to see it can snatch it to resell.
if anything it's not the OP's fault and the OP shouldn't be out of money. the buyer is the one that agreed to purchase the item and was probably aware of Russia's import laws. they were trying to find a way around it. they were the ones taking the risk and so they should be the ones fully responsible for this entire incident. OR the buyer stole the phone.
EITHER WAY, insurance was purchased. when the seller purchased insurance, USPS and the OP sign a contract to ensure the item meets it's location.
i'm sorry to hear that this happened to you but i guess as a last resort you can sue their ass or go to the media.
and to the person that used that analogy with the speed limit, smh.. wow
edit: one more thing. just because it's a prohibited item doesn't mean it gets confiscated and the first person to see it can snatch it to resell.
I don't think with USPS there would be a contract to esure the item meets its location because its not like UPS, DHL, or FedEx where they have their own drivers delivering. With post office stuff it goes to russia and russian post men would take care of it. So I would assume that USPS's responsible for the package to get to Russia's customs and that's it, the rest is in russian hands. Also an insurance covers, lost, damages, and theft. When customs hold the item, i don't think it will fall under and of the 3.
Oh the ignorance that is in this thread, especially the one I am quoting above.
When you sell something in America, within this country, or without, you need to know the laws pertaining to the importation, or exportation of the prouduct to that country. That is your responsibility. When something is imported into the US, US Customs will confiscate anything they please, at your expense. No insurance company, will ever pay anyone on an item that was confisicated by customs.
The same thing goes when you are shipping any other country. No insurance company would pay a dime to you for sending something that was illegal for you to ship into that country. Whether you know it or not.
I am not saying you should not fight for the insurance, what have you got to lose?
Maybe that isn't fair, but it is the way the law and the insurance companies work.
OBJECTIVELY, I would agree with you...again, however, you are missing the point about the corruption that exists within Russia. I'm NOT telling you this is how it SHOULD be, but I am telling you this is how it is.
You can't insure an illegal act. He violated an international law by sending a prohibited device to Russia. Insurance agents will insure you car but if you destroy it while committing an illegal act they will not pay you. If the car gets confiscated by the police and destroyed or sold at auction because you sold drugs from it your insurance company won't pay you. If an item you ship gets confiscated by customs because it is illegal you won't be reimbursed. YOU CANNOT INSURE AN ILLEGAL ITEM OR ILLEGAL ACT.
He wrote IPHONE 4 on the customs declaration. No matter what happened to it, stolen, confiscated or lost it was an illegal shipment, a banned device, and is not covered for that reason alone. HOW it got lost doesn't matter. It's not insurable by the US Gov't because it was shipped illegally. EVEN IF THE BUYER GOT IT IN 1000 PIECES he wouldn't collect because the item is not supposed to be shipped into that country. Being a prohibited item voids the responsibility of the insurers especially if it was confiscated by their customs.
Maybe he knows a congressman who can talk to someone and help him get paid for his illegal device that got lost. But "sue their ass" .... whose? The US Government? Your honor, my client shipped an illegal device and it got lost or confiscated by the ruskies. He want to be paid his insurance. He'd be laughed out of court.
AT MOST they would give you back the insurance FEE. The guy told the USPS it was an iPhone and wrote it on the declaration tag. He blew it right there.
Well, on the Customs Form, aren't you suppose to be truthful with the description?
Is the Customs Number trackable outside of the U.S?
My first post on this forum, I just signed up here, because I have some experience with shipping iPhones worldwide.
USPS Customs number (both Priority Mail and EMS Express Mail) ARE trackable outside of USA.
Here is a perfect example Express Mail success: EC502462653US
Here is an example of failure (like yours): EC502365665US
USPS has worked like clockwork for me to many countries (Vietnam, China, Germany, UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc) however, I have had a few recent issues with Russia.
I have a buyer in Russia that buys 5-6 iPhones per month from me. I have shipped all to him via USPS EMS (Express) service, insured. About 12 packages have arrived just fine over the past 2 months, however a few have gone missing after "International Dispatch" (failure example above)
Now I have 2 insurance claims with USPS to deal with (1 filed about 2 weeks ago and the other just a few days ago). I have read here your problems, and on the other ShipItTo website other people's problems with insurance claims.
My issue is this: In our cases, the phones never actually even entered Russia according to the scans, so they were not "lost" in Russia, but on the way to Russia. Prohibited items or not, how can USPS deny our claims if they never even got scanned into the receiving country?
Of course the question arises about the labeling marking the actual value of the item, but I ALWAYS mark the full value of the items, for insurance purposes such as this. I have always marked the contents as "used phones" and even now I will indicate the IMEI #'s on the customs form item description to maybe put some fear into whoever would look to snatch the phones.
As an addition, I will now always be using only Priority Mail to Russia, not Express. They go through different delivery routes once they enter the country, and Express items can be more easily singled out, or generally would contain items of higher value.
Please keep us posted on your progress with your appeal, as I feel I may have to deal with the same BS in the near future.
Also, I couldn't find it just by scanning quickly the whole thread again: did you use Express or Priority?
-Nick
USPS Customs number (both Priority Mail and EMS Express Mail) ARE trackable outside of USA.
Here is a perfect example Express Mail success: EC502462653US
Here is an example of failure (like yours): EC502365665US
USPS has worked like clockwork for me to many countries (Vietnam, China, Germany, UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc) however, I have had a few recent issues with Russia.
I have a buyer in Russia that buys 5-6 iPhones per month from me. I have shipped all to him via USPS EMS (Express) service, insured. About 12 packages have arrived just fine over the past 2 months, however a few have gone missing after "International Dispatch" (failure example above)
Now I have 2 insurance claims with USPS to deal with (1 filed about 2 weeks ago and the other just a few days ago). I have read here your problems, and on the other ShipItTo website other people's problems with insurance claims.
My issue is this: In our cases, the phones never actually even entered Russia according to the scans, so they were not "lost" in Russia, but on the way to Russia. Prohibited items or not, how can USPS deny our claims if they never even got scanned into the receiving country?
Of course the question arises about the labeling marking the actual value of the item, but I ALWAYS mark the full value of the items, for insurance purposes such as this. I have always marked the contents as "used phones" and even now I will indicate the IMEI #'s on the customs form item description to maybe put some fear into whoever would look to snatch the phones.
As an addition, I will now always be using only Priority Mail to Russia, not Express. They go through different delivery routes once they enter the country, and Express items can be more easily singled out, or generally would contain items of higher value.
Please keep us posted on your progress with your appeal, as I feel I may have to deal with the same BS in the near future.
Also, I couldn't find it just by scanning quickly the whole thread again: did you use Express or Priority?
-Nick
Nick, THANK YOU for this info!
Was this item an iPhone? If so, this I could use this as evidence that my iPhone could in fact been lost and not confiscated. This is a huge favor, but is there anyway you can email me a scan or photo of the Customs Form for this particular item? You can blur out your address if you wish. This would help me a lot. Please send to dexmarkflip23 [at] yahoo dot com. I can send you $5 via Paypal for your time.
Hmmm . . . I sent my package Priority Mail, and after to my postal rep just a few minutes ago, he told me Priority Mail is NOT trackable outside of the USA.
Yes it was indeed an iPhone, 2 of them in the same package actually.
I just sent you an email.
Was your package send USPS Priority or Express mail?
Priority labels with "LC" as the first 2 letters of the form are not trackable outside of USA.
Here is a Priority package I just sent to Russia, tracking like clockwork outside of USA: CJ354015148US
Your package *should* have updated with an arrival scan into RU, just like mine did! That's our issue, they are getting lost ON THE WAY to Russia, not IN Russia.
As long as the item gets scanned into Russia, it will get reliably delivered. Our issues are that our packages never even get the initial scan into RU!
The only tracking info I have is that it left San Francisco Customs. So is it safe to say, that my phone never made it to Russian Customs, and that it was lost/stolen?
Okay, so I just contacted the claims department.
1) Priority Mail is trackable outside of the USA.
2) When USPS sent an inquiry to the Russia Post about my missing phone, Russia replied "we do not have any record of the item."
My conclusion is that my item never even made it to Russian Customs, and that it was lost during transit. And because I bought insurance, I should have been covered.
1) Priority Mail is trackable outside of the USA.
2) When USPS sent an inquiry to the Russia Post about my missing phone, Russia replied "we do not have any record of the item."
My conclusion is that my item never even made it to Russian Customs, and that it was lost during transit. And because I bought insurance, I should have been covered.
I'm in the same boat with my Express package that left customs through NYC on Sept. 3rd.......yours is from way before that. I would assume that yours (as well as mine) is lost/stolen....most likely the latter, but can't prove 100%
Your situation just emphasizes that there is a problem and it's obviously not being addressed at some level..for all I know it could be someone unloading the damn express plane that arrives into Moscow, since the scans never actually get updated with "Arrival Abroad..." and don't get scanned into customs in the first place.
I can accept that it was stolen, but the thing that gets me is when I hear of people not being covered by insurance because the item is "restricted" in RU...that is BS....according to USPS's own logs of our tracking info, the packages never even hit Russian soil. Also, I am working on finding direct documentation from Russian customs or the Russian Post Office that says shipping cell phones to RU is NOT restricted.....I have a feeling I'll be having to fight the same fight you will
"No record of receipt" - same conclusion in my investigations as well. If they received it, and then subsequently confiscated/denied it in customs, then USPS would have grounds for saying it's gone because it was restricted....but that's just my view.