USPS steals/loses Gunbroker pistol shipment. How many months until USPS pays the insurance claim?

mikeinfwa

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Mar 20, 2002
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Friend is waiting for refund from the Gunbroker seller for a pistol lost/stolen by USPS way back on December 3rd

What is the typical wait time for Refund?

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This happened to me with a rifle. I had to get a friend at the ATF involved. There was a specific hub that was stealing this shit, come to find out. You need to write the postmaster and tell them you are getting the ATF involved, then like for real, get them involved.
 
USPS typically takes 30 days to issue an insurance payout, but I would bet money that this seller did not declare the firearm and will not be receiving a check.

I had a gun get lost during COVID, I sent the guy a refund within 30 minutes of USPS confirming that the package was “completely lost”. I did call the receiving FFL to verify it had not shown up, but you are dealing with a bad seller.
 
The shipper is a guy I have done lots of business with. He is good to go. Why was the missing mail request not put in for 18 days after it was out for delivery? When it’s out for delivery and doesn’t deliver for whatever reason it should track as an exception right away. Tell your “friend” to have some patience; the seller/ shipper waited a full 14 days for your”friend’s” payment to show up. When he gets his insurance payment he’ll pay your “friend”.
 
USPS has always allowed shipping handguns as long as you are an FFL.
Ah, I see. They accept FFL to FFL (vs Anyone to FFL like Fed Ex). Since I'm not an FFL, that option was never available to me so I didn't realize they would accept a handgun from an FFL. It seems like a stupid rule, as long as the shipment is going TO an FFL.
 
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Friend is waiting for refund from the Gunbroker seller for a pistol lost/stolen by USPS way back on December 3rd

What is the typical wait time for Refund?

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It typically takes 2 months to get your money back from USPS. They take 30 from the date of loss before they admit it is lost, then another 30 days to issue the payment. They have a third party that handles their claims.

If shipping dealer did not Form 1508 the shipment he will got get his money back.

The seller owes a refund no matter whether he gets reimbursed or not. If he refuses to reimburse for the lost gun call the ATF office responsible for his area and file a complaint. He probably didn't even insure the package.

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I don’t know how many parcel post employees there are in the US (USPS, fedex, ups, dhl, etc), but every one of them is a reason to only do gun deals from the trunk of a car in a Walmart parking lot.

Yeah, imagine that.. criminals working at US Postal Service involved in felonious conduct. If they ever get caught it never makes news headlines that Ive seen.
You would think it would be pretty easy to view videos as well as tracking the package and who touched it. But probably these criminals have learned how to beat the cameras and inept management
 
Sounds like the shipper might be reluctant to refund? Contact usps and ask about the status on the insurance claim via the tracking number?
I just almost went through this. Shipped a rifle and it got lost for 10 days, no info at all. I was just starting to wonder about the right course of action when thankfully, it showed up. The buyer was a prince throughout, far more patient than I. What I learned is that according to the Postmaster General its still the sender's until its actually received by the recipient. If its actually been declared lost then its the sender's responsibility to refund the buyer and wait for the insurance...which hopefully was used. At least that what I came to understand.

Why anyone would ever ship anything valuable without insurance is beyond my imagination.
 
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Yeah, imagine that.. criminals working at US Postal Service involved in felonious conduct. If they ever get caught it never makes news headlines that Ive seen.
You would think it would be pretty easy to view videos as well as tracking the package and who touched it. But probably these criminals have learned how to beat the cameras and inept management
This. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Once it tracks, "Out For Delivery", It is in possesion of a particular mail employee. If it then doesn't actually deliver, it's on him.
 
I do agree the buyer should be made whole in the end, however as a buyer I would not expect to get an immediate refund for a non-replaceable item. The package legit got lost . The USPS is 1000% at fault. The buyer and the seller will both experience pain. In the end, no matter how the claim shakes out, the buyer must be made whole. I bought some 118LR ammo off a member here. it went POOF at the UPS destination hub here in Minneapolis. Seller put in a claim and told me he would pay me as soon as he got his check, which he did. I was happy. I sucked it up. I got paid in a couple months.