So this is the timeline for the epic journey that my EMS package took:
August 24, 2019 = EMS package EN047828761JP was mailed out from Japan
August 26, 2019 = Reached ISC New York and was scanned as "Processed Through Facility ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)"
September 9, 2019 = I asked the sender to create an international inquiry ticket to find out why the package is taking so long to arrive.
September 9, 2019 = International Inquiry ticket was created by the sender.
September 13, 2019 = I received some documents from USPS to sign and send back to them to start the search process for the lost package and I sent it back to them signed the same day via fax and email.
September 16, 2019 = I tried to contact customs with a phone number that I found on Google for them to try to find out if they were holding my EMS package, the phone number for them is 1-877-227-5511 but I kept getting an automatic recording saying that if the package doesnt say "inbound into customs" that they dont have the package yet and that USPS has the ability to contact them directly if needed, the recording hangs up automatically after repeating itself several times.
September 19, 2019 = I sent an email to the USPS international Inquiry Group at [email protected] to ask them for a status update on the missing package and on my international inquiry but they didnt email me back.
September 20, 2019 = Since I didnt receive an email back from USPS I decided to contact USPS over the phone twice to ask if they received the documents that I sent them back via fax and email for the international inquiry group, and to check if my case has any updates. The first operator that I spoke to was really pushy and told me that my case was closed already since September 19th by USPS and that I should contact the sender to ask for a refund. I didnt believe the first operator so I called back agian and spoke to a second operator who told me the same thing that the first operator told me about my case being closed in the USPS system and that my package was declared lost by USPS.
September 20, 2019 = I contacted the sender and told them what USPS told me about the package being declared lost and that I should ask for a refund from the sender.
September 24, 2019 = The sender ignored the email that I sent them from my gmail address so I sent them another email using the contact form on their website.
September 26, 2019 = The sender responded after I contacted them via the contact form on their website with this message:
Dear Reinier,
Thank you for your inquiry and apologies for the belated reply.
First of all, Japan Post haven't received any notification from USPS for now.
According to Japan Post, they are asking you if you receive a storage
notification from customs or not.
Also, if you already received the notification, you need to reply back
the report to customs if you received a package or not.
Please check it out USPS when they sent you the notification and
confirm if you receive it back to them.
We appreciate for your cooperation.
September 26, 2019 = I contact the sender back and let them know that I havent received any letter from customs saying that my package is being held and informed the sender that I even tried to contact customs myself without customs sending me any notice.
September 26, 2019 = The sender responds back with this message:
Dear Reinier,
We really appreciated for your hard work in busy days.
Your case is not closed and still under investigation according to Japan Post.
Japan Post is waiting for a reply from USPS and we are waiting
for a reply from Japan Post.
Anyway, please wait for more while as we will ask Japan Post to tell
USPS you haven't received any notification yet and operators in USPS
answered the case was closed on SEP-19th.
September 30, 2019 = I received an email response from the USPS International Inquiry Group from a different email address, this time its a no reply email address at [email protected] with this message:
Dear Reiner,
Our apologies, we are unable to locate this item and it has been declared lost. The sender is the rightful payee in the claims processing. Please contact the sender for payment.
Regards,
IRG
September 30, 2019 = I contact the sender agian to let them know about the new email that I received from the USPS International Research Group and I attached a .pdf copy of the email that was sent to me for their records but the sender ignored my email agian. I decided to just give it some time to see if the sender contacts me with any status updates from Japan Post because they seemed to be waiting for official word from Japan Post before reacting to things when I emailed them.
October 12, 2019 = I contacted the sender to ask for a status update via the web form on their website and they responded back saying that they contacted Japan Post and Japan Post decided to ask USPS to look for the missing package agian one more time in the hopes of finding the lost package.
October 17, 2019 (54 days after the package was mailed out on August 24th) = The lost EMS package was sent to the Mail Recovery Center (MRC) in Atlanta, GA 30378.
October 22, 2019 = I called USPS over the phone to ask why the package was not moving from the facility in Atlanta, GA and the phone operator told me that they would escalate the case then I received an email from USPS a few hours later saying this:
"Our records show that the item was scanned at the Mail Recovery Center on 10/17/19.
When mail is undeliverable, they are sent to the Mail Recover Center (MRC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Items of value will be held at the in MRC for 90 days. You can submit an online inquiry for letters, flats, or parcels containing important original documents or items valued at $25 or more at missingmail.usp.... Along with a description of the package and contents, you will be able to upload photographs to assist in locating your item. Once your electronic Search Form is completed, it goes directly to the MRC Inventory database in Atlanta, GA at 12:01 a.m., where the system will begin searching the Mail Recovery Center Search and Inventory System for a match. If a match is found immediately, the system will alert the MRC staff and notify you via email or letter. The mail piece will then be returned or forwarded as requested.
If an immediate match is not found, the Search and Inventory System will continue to look for the item until a match is made or the retention period expires. The system will also send you periodic notifications of the status of the search. If the system is unable to match the search, final notification will be sent to you."
October 22, 2019 = I created the ticket that USPS told me to create and they respond back saying that the package was found in their Mail Recovery Center and that it will be forwarded to my address.
October 23, 2019 = USPS updates the tracking information to add this message:
October 23, 2019, 11:51 am,
Forwarded
ATLANTA, GA
Your item was forwarded to a different address at 11:51 am on October 23, 2019 in ATLANTA, GA. This was because of forwarding instructions or because the address or ZIP Code on the label was incorrect.
October 24, 2019 = I received the EMS package from USPS with a note inside of the box saying that it was delayed because it was marked as "undeliverable" by USPS (It arrived 61 days after it was shipped out on August 24, 2019). The box was opened and resealed by USPS with their own packing tape that has the USPS logo on it and several of the old labels had white stickers placed over them. The original EMS packing slip was missing and replaced with a label from the Mail Recovery Center.
This was the notice that USPS placed inside of the box:
This was the way everything arrived inside of the box:
This was what USPS did to the outside of the box:
Nothing looked like it was tampered with or missing from the inside of the lost EMS package when it arrived (luckily I had pictures of the way it was packaged by the proxy that they sent me before shipping it out) but it looks like the EMS packing slip which says the quantity of the items inside and the contents inside of the box either fell off during shipping or USPS took it off because it wasnt on the outside of the box when it arrived. I contacted the sender from Japan to ask if they could give me a refund for the shipping or a credit since I paid for EMS and it took 2 months to arrive but they didnt give me any credit or refund. USPS suggested that I ask the sender to include an invoice with the shipping address and the senders address inside of the box in the future in case the mailing label on the outside of the box gets torn off during shipping in the future.
One other interesting thing is that USPS removed all the old tracking history from their tracking website prior to my package being sent to their Mail Recovery Center on 10/17/2019: USPS Tracking info but it still shows up on the Japan Post website: Japan Post Tracking info ... its pretty interesting that USPS would delete tracking history from their website for an EMS package that was delivered 2 months late, maybe they were trying to cover their tracks?
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