comic123
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posted on October 20, 2000 05:46:33 AM
Can anyone provide a direct link to the USPS web site where I can make a complain/suggestion/etc?. I know there is one out there, just forgot the link & I can't find it through www.usps.com
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borgt
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posted on October 20, 2000 08:06:02 AM
http://pe.usps.gov/feedback.htm
And then click on the household or business link toward the bottom. I made a complaint once about our super-rude relief carrier and they actually responded!
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eoi
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posted on October 20, 2000 09:49:03 AM
I have found that the USPS doesn't take complaints very seriously. The union pretty much insures that employees can't be held accountable for screw-ups.
If you really want to rattle the cage, complain to your congresscritter, and ask that it forward your letter to the Congressional Oversite Committee.
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comic123
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posted on October 20, 2000 09:50:03 AM
Thanks, I have one package that is taking over a month and it has delivery confirmation.
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on October 20, 2000 09:57:16 AM
I've used their online website to leave a complaint (the same one) probably half a dozen times, but I never get a response. I don't think they really want to hear from you- they just want you to think that somebody is doing something about the problem.
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DWest
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posted on October 20, 2000 10:39:09 AM
I made a complaint using the USPS website because I had paid for delivery confirmation service and the package was delivered, but never scanned. I asked if they made refunds for failure to provide the service. In their response USPS thanked me for bringing the problem to their attention and they promised to try to do better in the future -- but sorry, no refunds.
I've seen a number of class action lawsuits settled for less egregious actions. Last week I received a notice from a credit card company that I'd been included in a class action suit that was being settled. The complaint filed against the company was that it was improper for the company to require payment by 9:00AM on the due date. The credit card company has agreed to refund the late fees to those who were charged such fees during the last several years.
Maybe I should contact the attorneys who handled the credit card case and inquire if they are willing to take on the USPS!
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Meya
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posted on October 20, 2000 10:45:58 AM
I had a package going from Ohio to New Jersey that was insured for $95 using the blue insurance form. You can track those forms on the USPS web site, and I had been watching to see if this item sent on October 10th ever showed "delivered" on the site. It finally did, showing delivery on October 18th. That is 8 days from Ohio to New Jersey. This is the first Priority package I have had take so long. I never heard from the buyer either, and I had sent an email to them when I shipped on the 10th. I wonder what the postmark says...
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eoi
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posted on October 20, 2000 10:46:20 AM
The problem with the USPS is that it is allowed to operate like a business and a gov't agency, which ever is most profitable on a case by case basis. I believe there is a legal donctrine that the gov't doesn't have to allow you to sue it.
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DWest
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posted on October 20, 2000 10:55:10 AM
The U.S. Government can be sued, but it must be in federal court. Claims for monetary damages are filed in the Court of Federal Claims. Claims for declatory relief are filed in U.S. District Court. I think I will read 28 U.S.C. to see what I can get going against the USPS! LOL
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on October 20, 2000 10:56:36 AM
DWest-
Funny you should mention refunds. I mailed a postcard once, addressed on the front to a particular business. It had my home address on the back, along with the message I was sending. The post office delivered the postcard to my home.
I took it to the post office, and asked for a refund, since they failed to deliver it to the intended recipient. They refused to refund, claiming that they had although they had delivered it to the wrong address, it had been delivered nonetheless, and I had therefore received the value I had paid for.
It was obvious at this point that any further discussion was useless.
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DWest
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posted on October 20, 2000 11:09:00 AM
MrPotatohead,
Did it happen within the last 6 years? If so we might have the start of something here. The other day I was at the Post Office in my office building. One of my co-workers was patiently waiting to make a complaint. The previous week she had paid for priority mail and delivery confirmation service to have some important documents delivered. The package was sent to her home address because the USPS had forgot to put the postage on her package. It is fortunate she had purchased deliver confirmation service because she was able to match the label with her stamped receipt to show that our little PO was the guilty PO station. Of course, all she received was a "Sorry, let's try it again."
I think we should all unite and take them on! On the other hand, I'm a federal employee - would you consider being the named plaintiff?
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krs
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posted on October 20, 2000 11:38:17 AM
Forget it. You cannot sue the USPS. However, you can bring suit against individuals responsible for your damages in federal court.
Better document your case and be prepared for major expenses. Those individuals, if you can successfully find out who they are, will be represented by federal attorneys at no cost to them.
You'll spend many thousands of dollars up front and likely be in limbo for more than a year, all for your relatively puny package?
It'll be Chow Time, and you'll be what's for dinner. They'll gobble you up and grind you to pieces beneath the weight of massive molars, and IF you should improbably prevail, you'll likely be audited at taxtime for the rest of your life.
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DWest
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posted on October 20, 2000 11:44:36 AM
KRS,
I work with DOJ and Agency attorneys all of the time. They are the easiest ones to beat in a court case! In cases against the feds we have sometimes toyed with the idea of contracting with private counsel.
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on October 20, 2000 11:50:30 AM
Either way, it isn't worth the trouble of a fight over a 20 cent postcard (which I'm sure they're well aware of).
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rab1
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posted on October 20, 2000 03:54:15 PM
Postal Employees are people too!! I am a postal employee and a seller on ebay. I know from experience that the Postal Service does take all complaints seriously. At smaller Post Offices talk to the Postmaster, at larger Post Offices talk to the Consumer Affairs people. We are human and do make mistakes just like you yourself do. I use Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation on all of my packages and have had only one out of 75 or so take more than 3 days. As a shipper I am very happy with the service I have received and as a postal employee I feel that the Postal Service has provided the service that I have paid for.Thanks rab1
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snowyegret
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posted on October 20, 2000 04:15:28 PM
This was Sat. The package that came Tues. was just very neatly slit open. 
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barkrock
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posted on October 20, 2000 04:51:31 PM
I'm sweating bullets at the moment, as USPS has demolished a violin I shipped. The blasted thing was wrapped, in a sturdy case, and wrapped and padded again. The box was undamaged, but it appears that it was dropped end-on as the neck of the violin broke off. Anyone here have any idea if the insurance will pay up for this? I suspect it happened when I mailed the package, and I watched the clerk drop it end-first down into a mail cart (and yes, it WAS marked fragile on all six sides!)
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on October 20, 2000 05:11:18 PM
Postal Employees are people too!!
Evidence from my local post office might not support your claim.
In all fairness, if postal employees really want to be treated like people too, treating their customers as people (who are bringing them the business that makes their jobs possible, by the way), rather than as an annoying interruption would go a long way towards that goal.
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lillauralou
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posted on October 20, 2000 05:36:09 PM
I don't think it is really fair to group all postal employees as not treating customers like human beings. Yes a lot of people may have problems but I for one have never had a problem with the employees at the post offices I go to to ship my products, they are all courteous and try to help out as much as they can and I have never had a problem with anything being broken or damaged packaging, so to say it is all of them really isnt fair.
Lil Laura Lou
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digitalman
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posted on October 20, 2000 05:59:07 PM
I filed an insurance (indemnity) claim on Sept.17 with the USPS for a package that I sent to Italy that never arrived.
I have not received the refund yet so the other day I asked the Postmaster how long it usually takes to get a refund and she said "I wouldn't look for it tomorrow". At the rate that it is going I wont look for it this month.
Has anyone else been refunded for International Indemnity and how long did it take to get the refund.
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grizetta
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posted on October 20, 2000 06:22:48 PM
After dealing with the Post Office and Ebay packages for several years. I finally got smart! I now use UPS with daily pickup. No more waiting on line for hours. Automatic insurance up to 100.00 and all packages have an attached tracking number. The heavier packages are 1/4th the cost of what I had been paying the Post Office. Had a UPS insurance claim and it was resolved in record time compared to the Post Office. My Post Office days are over. Thnak God!
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eoi
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posted on October 20, 2000 07:03:29 PM
How postal employees don't treat us like humans:
Personal experiences
1) Having to demand that a clerk get the IMM to prove that this is such a thing as international surface bookrate.
2) Having a clerk tell me they he was not going to serve me because it was 5 minutes to closing time, and then screaming at me and insulting me when I told him, that if your open you'll serve me.
3) having to climb up the chain of command to the regional postmaster to get the local post office to accept that packages under 1 lb can be sent special standard rate (bookrate). The clerks told me that the Point of Sale system overrides the DMM Rates, and that the POS rates are the offical rates, not the DMM. (that will only make sense if you deal with the USPS often).
4) When I bring in 20 flat rate priority mail envelopes that are all $3.20 (per the DMM) having to put up with the clerk slowly weighting everyone, and trying to charge me based on weight.
5) Being told that a US passport is not valid ID for writing a check (inspite of the sign on the window that says it is...)
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reliques
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posted on October 20, 2000 08:12:33 PM
DWest....When my delivery confirmations do not get scanned or get scanned improperly (delivered to wrong zip code), I bring my delivery confirmation receipt to my post office and they give me a refund.
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DWest
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posted on October 20, 2000 08:45:30 PM
reliques,
If I collect all of my receipts and check them against the database, I bet I can request a refund for a tidy little sum. Thanks for the info!
The only reason I use delivery confirmation service is to document the date of mailing for insurance claim purposes.
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