International Parcel Gone Astray........

[voldermort 11]

I posted an item registered airmail to Holland in February - to date it has still not been received, it is on record that this item left South Africa by plane on 25 February therefore should have arrived in Holland by 26 February. When asking at the Post Office they told me (and somehow for once I do feel that are right) that as it is on record that this item actually did leave South Africa on 25 February they have done their job - unless the plane crashed (which it did not) the item did indeed reach Holland & it is now up to the Dutch Postal Services to locate this item.

However the buyer says when asking at his Postnl they say they have no record of this item been signed in - I did tell him that the RJ number which we work with for international parcels here in South Africa would change when it reached Holland - I also scanned him a copy of the receipt but he says that they are adamant it was not received & that he needs to refer back to SAPO.

So now I have SAPO telling me it is Postnl's problem & Postnl telling buyer it is SAPO's problem.

I can of course fill out an inquiry form but all that will accomplish is to let me know in writing that the item left on a plane for Holland on 25 February..........I have tried emailing Postnl but they only accept local emails & my email keeps getting bounced back.

I would phone them & I am sure they would find this item very quickly but there is a language barrier so I am really stumped as to what to do.

Has any seller been in this situation before & any suggestions.

[oaks and acorns 10]

You can contact PostNL via an online form which can be found here. There appears to be an international link on the same page.

 

I think that you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that the Dutch are quite ofey with the English language.

[voldermort 11]

Excellent, thank you - I am trying to phone, just having some difficulty getting an overseas line but I shall persevere.

[JohnBenn 12]

Hoop dat je goed te krijgen

[voldermort 11]

Hoop dat je goed te krijgen

 

I do believe you are hoping something........I hope you find the goods??

[ATA STAMP CENTRE 84]

Sam

I have only ever had two parcels go missing and both to the Netherlands-I send usa,england,new zealand and australia and poland-never a problem.

I think they have a serious stamp collector helping himself on that side-Too many coincidences with Netherlands-I shall not be supplying there anymore.

NEIL

[voldermort 11]

Sam

I have only ever had two parcels go missing and both to the Netherlands-I send usa,england,new zealand and australia and poland-never a problem.

I think they have a serious stamp collector helping himself on that side-Too many coincidences with Netherlands-I shall not be supplying there anymore.

NEIL

 

Neil

I have sent worldwide & have never yet had an overseas parcel go missing - like I said above as many complaints as we all do have about SAPO it must be admitted that as they say, it is down that the parcel left SA & unless there was an accident (which there obviously wasn't) it has obviously gone missing in Holland........but how the hell do they know which envelopes to target?

[RISadler 10]

From what relatives in the Netherlands tell me, their postal system is on par with the Italian system ... both wishing they had such an efficient postal system as ours!

[oaks and acorns 10]

Neil

I have sent worldwide & have never yet had an overseas parcel go missing - like I said above as many complaints as we all do have about SAPO it must be admitted that as they say, it is down that the parcel left SA & unless there was an accident (which there obviously wasn't) it has obviously gone missing in Holland........but how the hell do they know which envelopes to target?

 

Do you guys all pack the same way, standard stamp collector type packaging... stamp in dealer card between two pieces of cardboard, etc.?

 

#justasking

[ATA STAMP CENTRE 84]

Do you guys all pack the same way, standard stamp collector type packaging... stamp in dealer card between two pieces of cardboard, etc.?

 

#justasking

I suppose we do pack in a similar way ,although the parcel will differ in size according to item bought.

My "lost " parcels were insured so the contents had to be disclosed as philatelic items.

My buyer told me that there were 6 different sellers that sent items to them at this particular time and they never received any items from anyone.

If they(the post office staff at netherlands) know that particular buyer does receive a lot of stamps by seeing it on one parcel with contents disclosed then they could possibly target that buyers received letters as they know most will be stamps-And this buyer buys quality high value stamps.

The parcel that i sent that was stolen/lost had a high c/v of R21 000.00 .

Neil

[MsPlod 11]

My buyer told me that there were 6 different sellers that sent items to them at this particular time and they never received any items from anyone.

Huh?? There must be a way of tracking down where these parcels all disappeared? Has this buyer let you know the outcome?

The parcel that i sent that was stolen/lost had a high c/v of R21 000.00 .

Horrible Neil! How awful... Pity there is no way of marking stamps so that they can be identified if offered for resale.

[ATA STAMP CENTRE 84]

We can trace when the parcels left RSA-customer service is very helpful,but from there no way of tracing receipt at the receiving overseas post office-Although there is a tracking number,how and who do i speak to in Netherlands?The buyer checks with thier po but then communicate to me that they say parcel not received.Either at their customs or clearing depot or at the branch it goes missing"

Certain stamps are recognisable individually if they are rare but in collections there are too many to id and to look out for any to recognise them is impossible.

My parcel was insured but the maximum insurance i was informed when dispatching is R2000 AND the difficulty in claiming is a mission-invoices and proof of purchase.proof of value plus an affidavit ect are required.Taken three months so far and still awaiting my claim to be paid out.

SHOULD be any time now!!

NEIL

[MsPlod 11]

My parcel was insured but the maximum insurance i was informed when dispatching is R2000 AND the difficulty in claiming is a mission-invoices and proof of purchase.proof of value plus an affidavit ect are required.Taken three months so far and still awaiting my claim to be paid out.

SHOULD be any time now!!

Ghastly!

[voldermort 11]

We can trace when the parcels left RSA-customer service is very helpful,but from there no way of tracing receipt at the receiving overseas post office-Although there is a tracking number,how and who do i speak to in Netherlands?The buyer checks with thier po but then communicate to me that they say parcel not received.Either at their customs or clearing depot or at the branch it goes missing"

Taken three months so far and still awaiting my claim to be paid out.

SHOULD be any time now!!

NEIL

 

Good luck with the insurance claim - I had an insured parcel arrive at the recipient damaged (had been completely waterlogged somewhere along the journey, infiltrating right inside the envelope) after filling in all relevant forms & waiting months I was told that it was the buyers fault - when he collected it at the counter and noticed that the ink had run on the envelope (even though by then it was bone dry) he should have mentioned it right there at the counter and because he didn't - it was taken that he accepted the parcel as is therefore no money would be returned and SAPO absolved themselves of any blame.

Incidentally in response to an email sent yesterday to Postnl this is part of the reply - The Dutch addressee can contact 088-8688249, or the sender can start an investigation through ZA Post.

Right back to square one it seems.

[lilythepink 11]

That makes me think of the game - here we go round the mulberry bush!

 

Surely in this day and age there could be better ways for SAPO to offer a service to senders of international items so that they can confirm where the parcel is, even if it's in Timbuktu? What is it like in the USA, Ruthie? Are you able to track parcels once they have left the USA, bound for another country?

[Little Miss Muffet 83]

I suppose we do pack in a similar way ,although the parcel will differ in size according to item bought.

My "lost " parcels were insured so the contents had to be disclosed as philatelic items.

My buyer told me that there were 6 different sellers that sent items to them at this particular time and they never received any items from anyone.

If they(the post office staff at netherlands) know that particular buyer does receive a lot of stamps by seeing it on one parcel with contents disclosed then they could possibly target that buyers received letters as they know most will be stamps-And this buyer buys quality high value stamps.

The parcel that i sent that was stolen/lost had a high c/v of R21 000.00 .

Neil

I dont know how you labelled the parcel but if that was me I would never label it stamps worth R21,000 or insure it for R2000. If it is a flat parcel I would rather risk insuring it for R100 and label it pamphlet or book.

Rather label it Bible. Thieves dont read the good book

I think it is asking for trouble to label any parcel coin,jewellery,stamps etc.

Edited April 3, 2012 by geewhizz

[oaks and acorns 10]

Or pack the whole ensemble in a small pizza or sub box, which can be purchased at Toscas and the like for under R3.00

[ATA STAMP CENTRE 84]

I dont know how you labelled the parcel but if that was me I would never label it stamps worth R21,000 or insure it for R2000. If it is a flat parcel I would rather risk insuring it for R100 and label it pamphlet or book.

Rather label it Bible. Thieves dont read the good book

I think it is asking for trouble to label any parcel coin,jewellery,stamps etc.

Hi.please give me a little credit here -i have sent over 3000 parcels last few years with no problems and i understand how to label and describe items so as not to gain attention.

The parcel was asked to be insured by buyer against my advice but had to follow their instructions and do it as they wanted and on the label you have to describe what it is and that was philatelic items-If you falsely describe the insured items and you need to claim later then that can consitute fraud.Obviously the value of the parcel was declared as R2000 AS that was what it could be insured for.

I have never lost anything else except for this insured parcel and one other register mail also to netherlands about 2 years ago.

neil

[JohnBenn 12]

Hi.please give me a little credit here -i have sent over 3000 parcels last few years with no problems and i understand how to label and describe items so as not to gain attention.

The parcel was asked to be insured by buyer against my advice but had to follow their instructions and do it as they wanted and on the label you have to describe what it is and that was philatelic items-If you falsely describe the insured items and you need to claim later then that can consitute fraud.Obviously the value of the parcel was declared as R2000 AS that was what it could be insured for.

I have never lost anything else except for this insured parcel and one other register mail also to netherlands about 2 years ago.

neil

 

And if you label it as "gift"?can you still claim? Just need to know if I were to mail a high value item.Thanks

[MrAerospace 10]

This makes me think about that special, wonderful place where lost socks (usually one of a pair) go!

[voldermort 11]

As Neil says we all have our ways of wrapping & labelling insured items so as to avoid the least unwarranted attention by people who may have fingers that stretch too far - what gets me though is that the item sent to Holland which has now gone missing was not insured therefore had nothing on it - it was just an ordinary registered envelope & yet still they knew it was good to grab.

[Jongleur 10]

This makes me think about that special, wonderful place where lost socks (usually one of a pair) go!

 

To sock heaven?

[mrmouse 12]

on an international parcel i learned years ago never disclose whats in it , insure it for the value and tell them its a family photo , or just send it as returns No Commercial Value , i send warranty items back to France this way , value 10 Euro, damaged , no value , even if its not damaged they dontknow and dont care , mark it ROLEX WATCH 50 000 franc and see what happens.

[Not1CentMore 10]

I have had perhaps a dozen parcels go astray in the last 8+ years. Four were returned 'unclaimed' ('You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink'). The others.... well, it is anyone's guess, but methinks someone, somewhere, has a severe case of 'sticky fingers'.

 

Given the possibility that anything can happen between my corner and my Buyer's corner of the flat map (even those shipped within the US), I offer 'optional' insurance and note: "Parcels shipped uninsured will NOT be replaced due to loss or damage in transit nor will Buyer be entitled to a refund; in whole or in part" in all auctions. I also explain to Buyer, in winning email notification, same and 'suggest' Buyer have the parcel sent Insured / Registered. As they say here, "the ball is in their court"; insured or not. Registered parcels require signatures of every person who 'touches' the parcel between here and wherever, including signature upon delivery. Uninsured parcels require postage and Customs Form showing contents / value only.

 

Uninsured parcels are sent as 'gifts' and value is noted under $25.00USD. Insured / Registered are sent 'full value' and correctly described on Customs Form....just in case a claim for loss / damage needs to be filed.

 

I have a Buyer who had 3 parcels shipped December. Two arrived. The third did not. I have tracked it as far as 'arriving SA', then...'poof'. Buyer is requesting a refund. Buyer elected NOT to have parcels insured. I am now waiting for the "shoe to drop"; Buyer changing his positive to a negative for my not issuing a refund.

 

In another 'twist', I sent a Registered / Insured parcel to a Buyer in South America (6-Kindles declared and value $1000.00USD per Buyer request). Parcel took the 'scenic route' and it took nearly 2- 1/2 months to arrive; six days after a 'trace' was put on the parcel...methinks someone had their 'eyeball' on the parcel and was 'biding their time' until they could take the parcel home.

 

As Sellers, we can only do what we can do. The Buyer ultimately has the say-so on how a parcel is shipped; insured or not.

 

"The Customer is always right".... even when they are wrong.

 

Ruthie

Edited April 16, 2012 by Not1CentMore

[wayjen 10]

At this moment we have one Buyer asking about their parcel (tracking number) when we had sent it a month ago to them via BoB. We have another International Buyer who wants to dictate our T & C's and wants the item (small) sent via post without a tracking number. How do you win with Buyers like this?