Mailing art through USPS 0

[Stefanomjr]

Has anyone ever filed an insurance claim with USPS and what was your experience like? 

 

My cousin recieved some commission art sent to the USA from the UK. it arrived in perfect condition but the art felt a bit incomplete and the art dealer agreed to take it back so the artist could "finish it".

 

It was sent back in the same manner it was recieved but due to international mail issues a VAT was assessed and rather than pay the tax the dealer let it sit in customs for 60 days and it was sent back to my cousin... the idea was to send it back as a "return" to avoid the VAT.

when the art finally arrived back to the USA the packaging was gouged and while the art wasn't punctured it was damaged....USPS has denied to honor the claim... what's the point of paying  $80 for insurance??

[vodou]

29 minutes ago, Stefanomjr said:

the idea was to send it back as a "return" to avoid the VAT.

That is, of course, fraud. Nonetheless sorry things didn't work out.

[John E.]

I do have experience filing successful insurance claims on damaged art among other things, like comics. My educated guess is that your cousin paid for insurance going one way; USPS honored their end of the bargain and delivered it to Europe, but the insurance went null and void when it became a “return to sender” scenario. It is also possible that your cousin didn’t file correctly, by not uploading the proper documents that proves damage and value. 

[John E.]

Have your cousin try this. 

Call 1-866-974-2733

At the prompt say, “No”

then select “Action 2”

then “Action 2” again

and that should get you to a live agent in accounting that handles insurance claims. If anything, perhaps your cousin will get a better understanding of why the claim was denied.

Hope that works 🤞 I don’t keep the best notes.  

[Stefanomjr]

1 hour ago, vodou said:

That is, of course, fraud. Nonetheless sorry things didn't work out.

Yeah not sure about those details.  I assume the VAT was paid upon original delivery... does it get reassessed upon return? 

[Brian Peck]

5 hours ago, Stefanomjr said:

Yeah not sure about those details.  I assume the VAT was paid upon original delivery... does it get reassessed upon return? 

If you are referring to sending art to US no VAT is charged that is for import into UK. US customs does not charge import fees on items shipped to the US thru USPS mail.

[Blastaar]

Question associated with thread topic. Let’s say if I insure a package and send it and it arrives bent to the recipient, who’s responsible for filing for insurance reimbursement?  The sender or recipient? 

 

[vodou]

39 minutes ago, Blastaar said:

The sender or recipient? 

USPS - either. UPS - my experience, the recipient.

[Mighty Hal]

Although if the package never reaches its destination, it's up to the sender (USPS).