USPS Fishing Rod Claim

[wet_dream]

Sorry if this is not the right section of the forum to ask, I didn’t really know what other sub-forum would have been more appropriate. Moderators please move/delete if inappropriate.

 

Long story short: I shipped out a Megabass XX Orochi EMTF as part of a trade and the rod was damaged during shipping. There is a visible dent on the PVC which aligns with the area where the rod broke. I insured the rod for $300 but do not have an original receipt. On the online claim form, USPS is asking for “Proof of Value”, so I attached images of various sites showing MSRP of the rod, as I have no other way to show the value of the rod.

 

Has anyone here had to file a claim and had success or do they make it difficult for the customer? Anyone have any tips on increasing my chances of being reimbursed?

 

Thank you guys for any input you might have. To add salt in the wound, I was initially going to purchase the rod I traded for but offered up my EMTF as a last second trade. Had I just bought it outright, I wouldn’t be in this mess.

 

WARNING: Graphic pictures attached...

[Yudo1]

I can't really help you, but I can't believe they bent a pvc tube. What the heck did usps do to damage that?!

[CroakHunter]

7 minutes ago, Yudo1 said:

I can't really help you, but I can't believe they bent a pvc tube. What the heck did usps do to damage that?!

Probably got sideways on a conveyor. And everything behind it smashed into it creating a log jam

[wet_dream]

2 hours ago, Yudo1 said:

I can't really help you, but I can't believe they bent a pvc tube. What the heck did usps do to damage that?!

I’m not sure if it’s a common occurrence but this is the second time it’s happened in the last couple months. 1st time I was on the receiving end of a rod.

 

I just submitted the claim, we’ll see what happens.

2 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

Probably got sideways on a conveyor. And everything behind it smashed into it creating a log jam

Makes sense, I was wondering what could have happened to bend the PVC.

[Preytorien]

I don't have experience with this exact case as I've never had a broken rod, but I have submitted a case to UPS for a computer they nearly completely destroyed in shipping. The box was completely torn up. I can't believe the driver even delivered it - knowing that whatever was inside was surely obliterated.

 

The only advice I can give is to CONSTANTLY....and I mean WITHOUT RELENT.....bug them, pester them, call, email, about your case. They love tying things up to hope you'll go away.  

 

Don't miss their call - you won't get the same person back if you call them. Sometimes I think they call at weird hours so you will certainly miss the call but they can argue that "Oh sir we did attempt to call you." 

 

Keep transcripts of emails, record calls if you can, just completely document everything you do in correlation with them.

 

But if I can reiterate one thing it is absolutely bug the CRAP out of them - as they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. 

 

My case took 2.5 months to resolve, but they finally did. Hopefully yours is resolved MUCH sooner. 

 

Good luck and God speed 

[wet_dream]

Thanks for sharing your experience and it’s a shame they made you jump through hoops just to be reimbursed for something that was clearly damaged during shipping. I’ll try to constantly hound them if they don’t reply in a timely manner. Thanks for the tips. I’ll make sure to document everything along the way.

[Chance_Taker4]

I had a NIIGHTMARE of a time with USPS Insurance claim. I shipped a couple rods that were delivered broken. I filed my insurance claim and was denied at first because the "proof of value" they wanted was the purchase agreement between me and the buyer not the actual msrp of the product. Then it was denied on the grounds that a PVC tube is not an "applicable way to ship objects." I ended up filing a complaint with a deputy postmaster general where I said even though PVC is an "approved" method of shipping it is much safer than putting the rods in cardboard. Also that is a rod is broken in a PVC tube it would break in a cardboard tube. I finally had the claim approved and refunded shipping and MSRP value of the rods. I refunded the buyer back his money since the post office told me that was between me and him and settled everything.

[evilcatfish]

Where did you buy the rod from? I know TW and other places can get you a copy of your original invoice 

 

I do think it's bs though that you have to provide proof of value. You paid extra for $300 in insurance, they broke your item, now they need to pay up 

[LxVE Bassin]

I had a broken rod tube from the last rod I bought. The tube was was broken a little under half way. My rod came out unscathed and I think what really saved it was the rod having a composite blank. If it was graphite it probably would of broke. My bad shipment came from UPS.

[wet_dream]

1 hour ago, evilcatfish said:

Where did you buy the rod from? I know TW and other places can get you a copy of your original invoice 

 

I do think it's bs though that you have to provide proof of value. You paid extra for $300 in insurance, they broke your item, now they need to pay up 

I bought the rod second hand from a local fisherman, so unfortunately I’m SOL as far as providing a receipt. It’s frustrating that I tried to be as thorough as possible in packing the rod, making sure it’s wrapped in bubble wrap and even securing the butt of the rod to one end of the tube so that the tip doesn’t bang into the other end. I understand accidents happen but I haven’t bought or sold many rods that have needed to be shipped and I try to keep it local to avoid this. But this is the 2nd time it’s happened in maybe he 8-10 rod transactions I’ve had.

[npl_texas]

I recently shipped 3 Dobyns Champ XP's and one broke.  I got $500 insurance just because I had a bad feeling.The guy I sent them to sent me pics right when he received them.  I uploaded those pics and filed a claim at USPS.com and received my money in exactly one week.

 

I try to use PVC only now.

[iabass8]

You're in for a battle....just keep pestering and pestering until you get the claim approved. File a complaint as stated above /w the post master general if you get it denied for no reason. They will look for any possible reason to deny a claim. When they ask for proof of anything, provide them with more then they could possible need. 

[npl_texas]

I recently shipped 3 Dobyns Champ XP's and one broke.  I got $500 insurance just because I had a bad feeling.The guy I sent them to sent me pics right when he received them.  I uploaded those pics and filed a claim at USPS.com and received my money in exactly one week.

 

I try to use PVC only now.

 

EDIT:  And on this same note what in the heck do they do to these things to break them.  They are very hard.  It seems like you would have to try to break it.

[wet_dream]

4 minutes ago, npl_texas said:

I recently shipped 3 Dobyns Champ XP's and one broke.  I got $500 insurance just because I had a bad feeling.The guy I sent them to sent me pics right when he received them.  I uploaded those pics and filed a claim at USPS.com and received my money in exactly one week.

 

I try to use PVC only now.

 

EDIT:  And on this same note what in the heck do they do to these things to break them.  They are very hard.  It seems like you would have to try to break it.

I’m glad it worked out for you. And, 1 week doesn’t seem too bad, it’s the horror stories of having to constantly pester to get a positive outcome that other’s have experienced which has me worried.

 

In your case, what was your proof of value? Was it a PayPal invoice from the sale or an original receipt from the original purchase of the rod?

 

I really appreciate everyone’s input so far. Looks like an uphil battle.

[npl_texas]

1 hour ago, wet_dream said:

I’m glad it worked out for you. And, 1 week doesn’t seem too bad, it’s the horror stories of having to constantly pester to get a positive outcome that other’s have experienced which has me worried.

 

In your case, what was your proof of value? Was it a PayPal invoice from the sale or an original receipt from the original purchase of the rod?

 

I really appreciate everyone’s input so far. Looks like an uphil battle.

I uploaded the TW invoice.  I did everything online and didn't have to pester or anything.  It was actually smooth.

[Lead Head]

Can't speak for USPS, but UPS moves every package through facilities on conveyor belts. Long package gets stuck, others pile up behind it and "pop". 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

MSRP from a reputable retailer is one of their own requirements. You shouldn't need a receipt. Screen shot of a pp or copy of check should suffice as a purchase agreement. You can collect but need your ducks in a row. 

[rippin-lips]

Definitely a crappy situation. I’m still curious as to how can pvc be bent far enough to snap a rod in the strongest area but not break. Is it the super thin wall pvc? That would seem more likely to happen than with sch/40. 

[wet_dream]

I can’t seem to understand it either. And no, this was not a thin walled PVC pipe. Here’s a picture of the PVC pipe from a separate incident when I was on the receiving end of a damaged rod.

 

 

Someone had to have witnessed that along the way.

49 minutes ago, rippin-lips said:

Definitely a crappy situation. I’m still curious as to how can pvc be bent far enough to snap a rod in the strongest area but not break. Is it the super thin wall pvc? That would seem more likely to happen than with sch/40. 

 

[fishwizzard]

PVC will bend a great deal before it snaps and an extreme bend will look like that pic.

 

At one of my old jobs we had a truck driver who was not the best at backing into the admittedly tight bay door.  We rigged up some shc40 pvc pipe "bumpers" to help him, but the dude would still back into them from time to time.  

 

 

[illinifan4152]

I had this exact thing happen to me before. Shipping PVC tube through usps, they bent it and broke the rod in half. Luckily i insured it. Similarly to you, I didnt have the original receipt. It was a dobyns champ extreme for reference. When i filed the claim, I provided a copy of the paypal transaction and copy of the MSRP and specs from dobyns website. It took about 1.5 months for the total process but I received a 100% reimbursement of my insurance claim, even thought my insurance was the MSRP of the rod, not the amount of Paypal transaction ($350 vs $220). I hope this helps. 

[wet_dream]

29 minutes ago, illinifan4152 said:

I had this exact thing happen to me before. Shipping PVC tube through usps, they bent it and broke the rod in half. Luckily i insured it. Similarly to you, I didnt have the original receipt. It was a dobyns champ extreme for reference. When i filed the claim, I provided a copy of the paypal transaction and copy of the MSRP and specs from dobyns website. It took about 1.5 months for the total process but I received a 100% reimbursement of my insurance claim, even thought my insurance was the MSRP of the rod, not the amount of Paypal transaction ($350 vs $220). I hope this helps. 

Thanks for sharing your experience, and I’m glad it worked out for you. Gives me some hope. A couple questions for you since you’ve had first hand experience:

 

Did you have the buyer mail the damaged rod back to you? If so, did you wait until the claim was resolved before having them ship it back?

 

I’ve read some posts online about how USPS may request to inspect the rod before deciding to accept/reject a claim. I do not want to hurt my chances of them accepting my claim, so I’d like to do everything by the book.

 

I am planning to stop by the Post Office on my next day off but wanted some

input from someone who’s experienced the process. I’ve read some stories of people receiving conflicting information depending who you speak to at the Post Office.

 

I don’t mind waiting a month and a half if things eventually go my way, but also don’t want to burden the other person in this trade by having them hold on to the damaged item for a prolonged period while USPS review my claim. I’m hoping to salvage the rod somehow, it looks like it broke pretty close to the handle so maybe I can get it repaired. 

[npl_texas]

Well after reading this it looks like I was extremely fortunate to have everything go so smoothly with my claim.  If I had read this prior I would have been super worried.

 

I hope everything goes as smoothly for you as it did me, @wet_dream

[illinifan4152]

14 hours ago, wet_dream said:

Thanks for sharing your experience, and I’m glad it worked out for you. Gives me some hope. A couple questions for you since you’ve had first hand experience:

 

Did you have the buyer mail the damaged rod back to you? If so, did you wait until the claim was resolved before having them ship it back?

 

I’ve read some posts online about how USPS may request to inspect the rod before deciding to accept/reject a claim. I do not want to hurt my chances of them accepting my claim, so I’d like to do everything by the book.

 

I am planning to stop by the Post Office on my next day off but wanted some

input from someone who’s experienced the process. I’ve read some stories of people receiving conflicting information depending who you speak to at the Post Office.

 

I don’t mind waiting a month and a half if things eventually go my way, but also don’t want to burden the other person in this trade by having them hold on to the damaged item for a prolonged period while USPS review my claim. I’m hoping to salvage the rod somehow, it looks like it broke pretty close to the handle so maybe I can get it repaired. 

In my experience, I had the buyer send me he rod back and I refunded him is money. So processing the claim was in my hands, not in the hands of the buyer. After I filed the online claim I believe you receive a confirmation from usps via email and then you have to take the recieved info and damaged item to your local usps for their review. They will then hold it until it is process. Once processed I know they may want to keep the damaged item. I was fortunate to take it to my local post office where I frequent and was able to get back the broken rod on top of my insurance claim money so I could then warranty the rod for much less. So I technically made out. Typical process is they refund you the claim money and keep the item. 

[Finnz922]

Good luck. I had a terrible experience. Questionable behavior by buyer and terrible customer service by USPS. IMHO of course.