UPS up to some Shenanigans I think. Part 1

[Michael W]

Okay fellas there's a long sad story but unfortunately it's true.
I recently purchased a MasterPiece Arms ba-22. I had some problems with this weapon right out of the box I contacted MasterPiece Arms and they informed me that they would like me to send the weapon in for repairs. They took care of all the paperwork for the shipping and it's cost. They sent me a premade shipping label.
As many of you are aware when you purchase some rifles they give you a inexpensive plastic Plano case and it does a pretty good job of keeping the rifle from getting damaged during shipping. So when it came time to ship the gun back I put it in the plastic Plano case and then put that case inside a plain cardboard box and attach the provided shipping label. I took it down to my local UPS Store where they put it on a scale and gave me the weight which I have retained a copy of (thank God). A couple of days later I checked the tracking on the box and it was at that point I found that my box and made it to UPS's Alabama hub but while it was there the contents of the Box disappeared. And like any other responsible Shipping Company they did the correct Thing by throwing away my empty box. Below is the actual wording on their activities log in the tracking section.
"Merchandise is missing. UPS will notify the sender with additional details. / All merchandise missing, empty carton was discarded. UPS will notify the sender with details of the damage."
The Box weight almost 17 lb when I took it to the UPS Store.
I called up UPS and they told me that the originator of the package request would be contacted. They could not tell me if there was any insurance on the box other than their standard $100 default insurance.
I tried to get ahold of MasterPiece Arms(which is a very good company by the way , as far as customer service goes) but the customer service person was not available until Monday.
I guess what I'm trying to get to here is, even if they find a gun at the UPS hub should I accept it? I would have no idea what happened to the gun while it was missing. In 5 years will I get a knock on my door asking me to produce that gun because it was used in a robbery or to kill somebody while it was missing? I know that's a little far-fetched but it's an unknown.

 

[BullGear]

Sometimes they do misplace a package. I'm not sure if I would appreciate them "losing" my firearm. I think your best bet is to talk to Masterpiece Arms. They will probably make it right for you.

Good luck!

 

[Bigfatcock]

Call and report a stolen firearm. That'll get the wheels turning. That's what I did when UPS "lost" a shipment of mine.

 

[acudaowner]

I look at it as a bunch of bs insurance for what the post office doing there job and delivering my package to my house ? they mess that up enough without me paying extra , the seller sending me my ordered goods ? if they want to get paid they had better or i call my cc company and stop payment or better yet have them get my money back and so far they have been pretty good at it when needed . so why pay an extra fee ? if the item arrives to me broken You just usually need to cal the company and most will fix the issue if they don't wanna then its back to the cc company and they take care of it either way I am not paying an extra fee . just make sure you document with pictures everything write names down dates and times . but that is my opinion you are going to do what ever it is you want to do good luck to you sir .

 

[Michael W]

I look at it as a bunch of bs insurance for what the post office doing there job and delivering my package to my house ? they mess that up enough without me paying extra , the seller sending me my ordered goods ? if they want to get paid they had better or i call my cc company and stop payment or better yet have them get my money back and so far they have been pretty good at it when needed . so why pay an extra fee ? if the item arrives to me broken You just usually need to cal the company and most will fix the issue if they don't wanna then its back to the cc company and they take care of it either way I am not paying an extra fee . just make sure you document with pictures everything write names down dates and times . but that is my opinion you are going to do what ever it is you want to do good luck to you sir .

That's good advice. Problem is I didn't just purchase the gun and and waiting on its delivery. The gun is a return under warranty so I don't think I have any credit card protection any longer. My only hope is that since it's going back to the manufacturer of the gun they will be able to replace it without much trouble. I hate to see him do that because they're good people and I don't believe it's exactly a multimillion-dollar business. I trust it they'll do the right thing in the end.

 

[TheHorta]

Call and report a stolen firearm. That'll get the wheels turning. That's what I did when UPS "lost" a shipment of mine.

This is your answer. Like any good corporation, liability mitigation always goes to the head of the line. Always.

You wanna “See what Brown can do for you”? Inform them it’s a firearm, then sit back and relax.

 

[Darryle]

Did you actually take this to a UPS stand alone store?

If so, you are going to be disappointed by UPS's response.

 

[Mike Casselton]

They discarded the empty container.
Big clue here

 

[Michael W]

Did you actually take this to a UPS stand alone store?

If so, you are going to be disappointed by UPS's response.

Yeah I'm a little afraid of that I got a weird feeling when I talked to them about it. A good Lord the box was addressed to MasterPiece Arms what the hell did they think was in it

 

[Krob95]

First and foremost, you’re supposed to ship firearms through a UPS hub. Not the ups stores. I mean. If you wanna do it the right way. Second I would get in touch with law enforcement and let UPS know you’re reporting them for a stolen firearm. Third, you ALWAYS pay for the insurance on the value of whatever you’re shipping in case some sketch shit happens. Especially on firearms, scopes, etc.

 

[vh20]

The empty box was "discarded" in the trash at the home of the employee who stole the gun and smuggled it out of the hub in the box it was shipped in.

 

[The D]

Yeah I'm a little afraid of that I got a weird feeling when I talked to them about it. A good Lord the box was addressed to MasterPiece Arms what the hell did they think was in it

Just spitballing here...

If you do call your firearm in as stolen, you will be explaining the situation thoroughly to the authorities. The name of the shitty little store you dropped it off at will definitely come up. This is just me but, if a small business I owned we’re implicated in a firearm theft from a customer every employee would be given 1 day for said item to show up then everyone fired and reported. Unless the owner of that UPS store is completely retarded, he will understand the situation

 

[Michael W]

First and foremost, you’re supposed to ship firearms through a UPS hub. Not the ups stores. I mean. If you wanna do it the right way. Second I would get in touch with law enforcement and let UPS know you’re reporting them for a stolen firearm. Third, you ALWAYS pay for the insurance on the value of whatever you’re shipping in case some sketch shit happens. Especially on firearms, scopes, etc.

I have no doubt in my military mind that the people at the UPS Store were sketchy as hell. And it wouldn't surprise me a bit if that's where it was taken from. But the fact is I shipped this rifle out of Florida it made it to the hub in Florida and then was shipped off to Alabama, where it apparently arrived there in one piece. In the 12 hour time frame That it was there at the Hub it came up missing so it doesn't really matter where I shipped it from it was stolen somewhere else I don't think that's much of a leg to stand on but it's all I got
I know ignorance is no excuse but I really didn't know you had to go directly to a UPS facility to ship.

 

[Krob95]

I have no doubt in my military mind that the people at the UPS Store were sketchy as hell. And it wouldn't surprise me a bit if that's where it was taken from. But the fact is I shipped this rifle out of Florida it made it to the hub in Florida and then was shipped off to Alabama, where it apparently arrived there in one piece. In the 12 hour time frame That it was there at the Hub it came up missing so it doesn't really matter where I shipped it from it was stolen somewhere else I don't think that's much of a leg to stand on but it's all I got
I know ignorance is no excuse but I really didn't know you had to go directly to a UPS facility to ship.

Hence my third point of always insuring your valuables because 99% of the time nothing will happen and it’s a waste of money. But that one time you dont, your stuff gets stolen. Hope they rectify the situation and charge whoever stole Your gun

 

[deersniper]

Insurance is a joke if you read the stories about them not paying.

Always ship USPS Registered mail for expensive stuff. Each parasite has to sign for it and it comes with a ton of insurance with it.

 

[Powder_Burns]

Insurance is a joke if you read the stories about them not paying.

Always ship USPS Registered mail for expensive stuff. Each parasite has to sign for it and it comes with a ton of insurance with it.

Can’t ship guns through USPS brah.

 

[Bigfatcock]

I'll say it one more time. Report the firearm as stolen. UPS didn't lose your 17lb rifle. Someone jacked your shit.

 

[deersniper]

Can’t ship guns through USPS brah.

You is wrong

 

[Bigfatcock]

Can’t ship guns through USPS brah.

Yes, you can.

 

[Cheyenne Bodie]

Insurance is a joke if you read the stories about them not paying.

Always ship USPS Registered mail for expensive stuff. Each parasite has to sign for it and it comes with a ton of insurance with it.

True, really the only concrete benefit of a large insurance on it is to motivate the white collars to resolve the issue. Small insurance I don't imagine has the same effect, but I'm speculating. I had to ship an upper once to Rainier, insured it for 3k$ if for only this reason alone.

 

[vh20]

Can’t ship guns through USPS brah.

You are clueless, "Brah". This is a long gun we're talking about here, not a handgun.

And in my experience, @deersniper nailed it, and for the reason he stated. Every person who touches it has to sign for it. If it goes missing, last name on the list is the one who is responsible. That cuts down a LOT on temptation to steal.

 

[BullGear]

Can’t ship guns through USPS brah.

Sorry, but not sorry. You're wrong.

432 Mailability | Postal Explorer

pe.usps.com

Pay attention to 432.3

 

[Darryle]

Can’t ship guns through USPS brah.

BS, Here are the rules, it is even perfectly legal to ship a long gun to another resident of the same state.

May a nonlicensee ship a firearm through the U.S. Postal Service?

May a nonlicensee ship a firearm through the U.S. Postal Service?
Español
A nonlicensee may not transfer a firearm to a non-licensed resident of another state. A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of their own state or to a licensee in any state.

The U.S. Postal Service recommends that long guns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any kind which would indicate the nature of the contents be placed on the outside of any parcel containing firearms.

Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

[18 U.S.C. 1715, 922(a)(5) and 922 (a)(2)(A); 27 CFR 478.31]

 

[roostercogburn98]

Handguns can go USPS


432.23 Manufacturers, Dealers, and Importers
Handguns may also be mailed between licensed manufacturers of firearms, licensed dealers of firearms, and licensed importers of firearms in customary trade shipments, or for repairing or replacing parts.

 

[Michael W]

Man I started some cat fights didn't mean to

 

[LawnMM]

In 5 years will I get a knock on my door asking me to produce that gun because it was used in a robbery or to kill somebody while it was missing?

I don't think there's a lot of people committing robberies with bolt action rifles, but that's just the opinion of a guy in LE.

Making quite the name for yourself in short order with these threads, aren't you?

 

[W54/XM-388]

I look at it as a bunch of bs insurance for what the post office doing there job and delivering my package to my house ? they mess that up enough without me paying extra , the seller sending me my ordered goods ? if they want to get paid they had better or i call my cc company and stop payment or better yet have them get my money back and so far they have been pretty good at it when needed . so why pay an extra fee ? if the item arrives to me broken You just usually need to cal the company and most will fix the issue if they don't wanna then its back to the cc company and they take care of it either way I am not paying an extra fee . just make sure you document with pictures everything write names down dates and times . but that is my opinion you are going to do what ever it is you want to do good luck to you sir .

Your rambling statement above is pretty much exactly why I refuse to ship anything of value unless it is fully insured and an adult signature required.
If the customer doesn't like the shipping cost which includes insurance, I tell them tough, don't buy it, go be an ass to someone else, I don't need the headache.

Basically as it sounds above, you are too cheap to want to pay for any insurance and want the seller to be out all the money instantly the moment it doesn't arrive.

It would be interesting to see what you have to say one day if someone does to you exactly what you are saying you want to do to some other seller.

ALL the package carriers will eventually lose or badly damage one of your shipments if you ship enough stuff.

Then you run into the problem of customers demanding you ship something again when something is delayed in transit, or they will fraud you with their credit card company and then if you cowtow to the blackmail threat (instead of standing firm that they need to wait a reasonable time), most of the time if they get both, they refuse to send the other one back or make it as hard as possible for you.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Just spitballing here...

If you do call your firearm in as stolen, you will be explaining the situation thoroughly to the authorities. The name of the shitty little store you dropped it off at will definitely come up. This is just me but, if a small business I owned we’re implicated in a firearm theft from a customer every employee would be given 1 day for said item to show up then everyone fired and reported. Unless the owner of that UPS store is completely retarded, he will understand the situation

Punish the masses for the actions of one.
Jeezus crisco, that sounds familiar.

 

[hlee]

Could be worse. Could have been your brand new valdada g2...

 

[W54/XM-388]

then everyone fired and reported.

You fire all your employees for spite to prove you are a tough guy and then double down by filing false police reports on all your employees, just be aware that some of them may be mad enough to get a lawyer to wring you out in court good and proper. Don't expect to have a business left after pulling that kind of stunt on your employees.

You have no clue how much you'll be paying out if some employees decide to get maximum legal justice.
Any half competent employment lawyer will tear you apart in court.

 

[SilentStalkr]

Here is what you do, call the ATF and the local police, report it stolen, give them the required info. Then call the UPS store and UPS corporate and tell them you have alerted the proper authorities to a stolen firearm. It will likely turn up quick. And they can tell you exactly what insurance was purchased, if any. That’s some BS if they tell you otherwise.

 

[JbBooks]

Can’t ship guns through USPS brah.

Yes. The. Fuck. You. Can!!! Brah!!

 

[Mr.BR]

Insurance is a joke if you read the stories about them not paying.

Always ship USPS Registered mail for expensive stuff. Each parasite has to sign for it and it comes with a ton of insurance with it.

So far my experience with UPS(not USPS) has been great , its costs 2-3x more than any other option but was faster and more secure.

If you read fine print insurance might not cover what you think, in some cases the upper limit for payout is something like 400$

Have been using UPS exclusively to ship rem700 match triggers to my US dealer ,after a scare with other carriers. when I enquired what about the insurance I pay in full for small but 5000$ worth packages, they said read the fine print 400$ best case and maybe nothing if the carrier is using contractors for some of the routes as the contractors are not covered by same insurance. Luckily for me and my customer, the package was just dropped off at the neighbor's place and he brought it to the guy couple of days later.

 

[SmokyJoe]

Since MPA “took care of all the shipping paperwork and the cost” the shipping contract is between MPA and UPS, and they probably insured it properly as they were aware of the value of the item being shipped. Further, I would imagine that MPA has a commercial contract with UPS that gives them more juice with them than an individual would have. In any event I imagine MPA will do the right thing. UPS definitely has some ‘splaining to do as a firearm disappeared under their watch

 

[Powder_Burns]

Well shit learn something new everyday. This actually made my day. I’ve got a fuckload of rifles in another state, and now I can mail them to myself directly instead of driving them or using a FFL.

 

[hlee]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When it absolutely, positively, must get where it needs to go- Registered Mail.

This also happens to be the recommendation of the USPS for shipping long arms...

 

[The D]

You fire all your employees for spite to prove you are a tough guy and then double down by filing false police reports on all your employees, just be aware that some of them may be mad enough to get a lawyer to wring you out in court good and proper. Don't expect to have a business left after pulling that kind of stunt on your employees.

You have no clue how much you'll be paying out if some employees decide to get maximum legal justice.
Any half competent employment lawyer will tear you apart in court.

This was an assumption that the firearm was lost between home and the hub, so from the ups store. I did not say immediately fire everyone and should have specified that every employee working that day was in deep shit. Presuming that the small ups stores may only have 2 or 3 employees at work any given time, it would be pretty obvious that someone knows what the situation is. So it follows from there, if someone knows but isn’t talking they can’t be trusted with “my” business. It’s not just that “everyone is fired”, those employees are suspects in the theft of a firearm. What kind of legal trouble are you in if you’re convicted of a firearm theft? Now, if an employee consents to a thorough search of their car and/or home that comes up clean, fair enough. No harm/no foul, maybe a few paid days off as an olive branch for the headaches

 

[chevy_man]

My BIL works in FedEx sales.

He has had a few issues with guns going missing. They turn the place inside out with their own investigations along with ATF. They always turn up.

UPS just had employees caught selling stolen firearms from a hub.


I have been using fedex and not had an issue.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Now, if an employee consents to a thorough search of their car and/or home that comes up clean, fair enough. No harm/no foul, maybe a few paid days off as an olive branch for the headaches

You want someone to "consent" to a search of their home???
I'm not sure what world you live in, but I'll bet most on here would want a HELL of a lot more than "a few paid days off" if some asshole employer decided they wanted to have that done.

If you tried to get the police to do it based on accusations that were proven to be unfounded, I'm pretty sure many on here would make it their mission in life to make sure you paid every last penny to a lawyer for years to come.

 

[GBMaryland]

If anybody hasnt already said this you call the ATF as well as report a firearm missing to UPS.

once the ATF gets involved all the bullshit will stop, because they have a tendency to bring the FBI with them.

I did this once to the USPS, and you’d be surprised at the number of people that got fired and how my shotgun suddenly showed up.

 

[The D]

You want someone to "consent" to a search of their home???
I'm not sure what world you live in, but I'll bet most on here would want a HELL of a lot more than "a few paid days off" if some asshole employer decided they wanted to have that done.

If you tried to get the police to do it based on accusations that were proven to be unfounded, I'm pretty sure many on here would make it their mission in life to make sure you paid every last penny to a lawyer for years to come.

So this is all hypothetical now, I didn’t see in a later post that this didn’t occur at the ups store

But... If this situation had occurred at the ups store and a police report had been filed, the employees would be suspects in a firearms theft case, which is a felony. So, anything a business owner could do would really be moot as the police/atf would be involved(if they’re doing their job correctly). See this post

My BIL works in FedEx sales.

He has had a few issues with guns going missing. They turn the place inside out with their own investigations along with ATF. They always turn up.

UPS just had employees caught selling stolen firearms from a hub.


I have been using fedex and not had an issue.

 

[GBMaryland]

Always remember that the UPS store typically does not use UPS corporate insurance for packages; they will typically use third-party insurance plans and it is very important that they cover firearms

 

[hlee]

What’s the penalty for “breach of trust,” and can politicians be charged with this?

 

[The D]

What’s the penalty for “breach of trust,” and can politicians be charged with this?

They can, but remember that they also control the rules. So the rules don’t apply to them...

 

[Vodoun daVinci]

I *just* shipped a Savage AccuStock to a fellow forumite and used UPS. It's a fucking stock - not a firearm. So I wrapped it up in plastic and paper and took it to the UPS store where I have shipped hundreds of items in the past. She starts filling out the stuff and then starts asking "funny" questions..."what is this?"

Machine parts. "It's not a gun?" Because it feels like a gun" No. It's not a gun - it is a plastic rifle stock - part of a machine. "I'm sorry sir, we can't ship firearms."

It's *not* a firearm! It is a plastic stock for a rifle. Do we need to unwrap the whole thing? Becasue if we have to do that I'm not paying you to put it all back together. "No problem (broken English) I just wanted you to understand that we do not ship forearms."

Fuck me.

So I watch her address the thing and get it all set and ship it. Then I track it and as it gets to where it's going they "change" the address to make sure it gets to the correct apartment. Fuck you, assholes, it's not going to an apartment. O gee, the address doesn't jive - bullshit it doesn't. The buyer jumps in and tells them where to send it - somehow they got the address wrong. Well...it was absolutely perfect when it was sent.

I think they realized it was firearm related stuff and were trying to hijack it but we caught them. Anyway...Dude got his stock. Watch yer UPS shipping that is firearm related. These guys know that *everything* is worth like 10X what it should be normally and they want it.

Fucking thieves and cheaters.

VooDoo

 

[Gatorshark]

If MPA sent the shipping label, they will see Monday that something has happened to the shipment and take some action..., more than likely.

Mailing anything with any carrier sucks ass unfortunately.

 

[GBMaryland]

CMP sent me to M1 grand via USPS one time, and they left them on the front door.

Carriers just suck in general

 

[The D]

It looks like the moral of this story is to use ups as an absolute last resort and buy as much insurance as possible

 

[Strykervet]

Did you actually take this to a UPS stand alone store?

If so, you are going to be disappointed by UPS's response.

Apparently this is a new thing. My PO said they've been getting empty Fedex and UPS shit more and more often lately.

You aren't supposed to send firearms or anything the commies don't like from one of those stores just so you know. Have them COME TO YOUR HOME and pick it up.

However, they picked it up and it's their baby now. If it went missing at the store, you'd just have been fucked I guess. Don't use those stores, they're not even necessary --not even convenient unless one's on the way to your front door.

 

[SilentStalkr]

It looks like the moral of this story is to use ups as an absolute last resort and buy as much insurance as possible

I’ve had one stolen from USPS before. It did turn up tho. USPS gave me shit to begin with, I contact the postmaster and he gave me some bullshit about me not being able to collect insurance for like 6 months and that they would have to investigate and so on. I said nah that’s not going to work. I said I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation here. He kind of balked. I said you got 48 hrs to find it. 48 hrs later or something, this has been years ago, I called and still no result. I said ok, I’m calling my buddy at the ATF that is director over the entire SE. Hung up. Called my buddy. Literally within 24 hrs or something, it turned up. Turns out they uncovered an entire weapon stealing op at the post office. Yeah, get the right people involved and it will turn up, I promise.