USPS won't honor my claim because the iPhone "is a prohibited item." Is that right?

[Anonymous Freak]

Okay the same thing happened to me however my "empty box" was returned. I followed my package via USPS Tracking and it passed customs with flying colors and continued on its way to its destination. Somewhere between customs and delivery to the buyers destination the iPhone was removed from the box and a non Russian customs agent wrote "item is being returned because the weights are different than what was specified on the USPS declaration. Sure the weights are different once the contents of the box are removed, LOL. I'm afraid USPS Insurance is going to get stuck with this one and it will be up to them to investigate what happened. Most likely the individual in Russia responsible for the last leg of the delivery is going to be in the hot seat for this one. Not my problem. Rest assured ladies and gentlemen the insurance company handling USPS deliveries will be coughing up the money on this one and they're not going to be happy about it.

I'll keep y'all informed

Um, no, they won't pay. If you declared an item that the destination country has forbidden, USPS isn't liable at all. And the individual in Russia won't have squat happen to him. Corruption in the Russian postal system is rampant, and the only time people even get a "slap on the wrist" is when someone major complains. (Example: Intel.)

See USPS Prohibited items to Russia:

Transmitters and transceivers of any power, except Panasonic radiotelephones, models KX-T7980, KX-T9000, KT–T9050, and KX-T90890.

From USPS Mailability:

131.33 Return or Seizure of Mail

A country may return or seize mail containing articles prohibited or restricted within that country, whether or not notice of such prohibition or restriction has been provided to or published by the Postal Service.


131.4 Mailer Responsibility

Regardless of any statement in this manual or the statement of any employee of the United States Postal Service, the burden rests with the mailer to ensure compliance with domestic, international, and individual country rules and regulations for mailability.

Sorry, man, you're likely out of luck.

 

[TheResults]

Two years later and you never told us what happened! Wtf man!?

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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.

I can't believe that it's almost been two years and you never told us the outcome! Not cool man!

 

[Wrathwitch]

...

 

[mattopotamus]

Two years later and you never told us what happened! Wtf man!?

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I can't believe that it's almost been two years and you never told us the outcome! Not cool man!

people stop complaining on forums when they get what they want....I bet he got his money back

 

[SR45]

Two years later and you never told us what happened! Wtf man!?

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I can't believe that it's almost been two years and you never told us the outcome! Not cool man!

And I cannot believe your first post on this forum was to bring up a very old post...

 

[djransom]

Trolling at its finest...

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I'll call the International Claims Processing on Monday, but I want to know if I'm the only victim here.

- I sold an iPhone via eBay on Jul 17 to Russia
- I bought insurance
- After a month, the buyer filed a claim about not receiving it
- Earlier today, I received a notice in the mail denying my claim.

When I shipped this item, I bought insurance for it because it was my understanding that insurance covers for damages, lost and theft. The USPS' denial of my claim is based on the package containing "prohibited items." How does an average citizen like me suppose to know what's prohibited in Russia or in any country for that matter? Is there an official Prohibited List of items? If so, is the American public fully aware of it? I clearly wrote down "Apple iPhone" in the Description section of the Customs and Declaration form. If anyone should have an official list of prohibited items, I would think it would be all of the postal services here in the U.S. Why didn't the Postal Service here in my town stop me from shipping it? Why didn't the customs department in San Francisco stop the item from being shipped? eBay sells stuff every second throughout the world. You'd think they'd be aware of such a list, and stop sellers during the listing process from selling the item.

Like I said, I will call on Monday and appeal their decision. What are my chances? Do I have a strong case for getting my money back?

Thanks for your time!

File at Small Claims Court - up to $5000. Bring your contract and knowing that iPhone was written in the packing slip, it should be an easy win for you. And when you win, you will also receive your fees you paid for small claims. They may settle out of court.

 

[ixodes]

I personally believe your first mistake was trusting the USPS with a package. I was in the shipping business for 4 years and will NEVER use the USPS for anything but post cards and letters that I don't care if they get lost. It's all UPS and FedEx for me. I know they aren't perfect, but they are far superior to the USPS.

This is very sage advice. I could not agree more.

USPS is about as disorganized and useless as they come.

 

[Superbbrr]

You shipped an iPhone sold on eBay to Russia? LOL. Hey OP, I'm a Nigerian prince, I'll send you a $10,000 cashiers check, cash it and send me back $5,000. Ok?

 

[LittleGwen]

wow.. just terrible..! i definitely think you should fight it. that's pure BS. You even got insurance for it.. why the hell should they take money for insurance when they're not gonna even honor it. if it's a prohibited item, why not send it back to the seller? that;s just terrible. I had a slightly similar thing happen to me. I bought some cosmetic stuff from Asia and DHL was the carrier. Apparently, my shipment could not pass through customs... i have no idea why! and so I contacted DHL AND the company I bought it from and they both claim they are not responsible. So basically, I wasted a hundred bucks. I hate how dismissive and sloppy people work just because it's not happening to THEM.

 

[Glideslope]

Sing for Bing.

Sorry you are so bitter ... it is only advice which can be ignored by anyone but you ... by the way Google is useless for me ... maybe it works for you, but to each his own.

I also live in Florida ... you should not be so nosy ... and please do not send any more emails to my website.

Find something better to do with your time.

Let's all Sing the Bing Song!! No?

 

[rayrza7]

Hello macaddict23,

Hello, I know this post was originated a couple of years ago however I am in the same scenario as you were and I was hoping you can tell me if you had any luck getting refunded for the lost Iphone. I recently sold an Iphone5 via Ebay to Azerbaijan and they are claiming they never received it. Ebay held me responsible and USPS denied my insurance claim for the same reasons you provided. I do not understand how they can get away with this when like you said we clearly wrote it on the custom form and no where on the back of the custom form it says items that contain lithium batteries/cells is prohibited.

Any feed backs is highly appreciated.

Thanks!