At 8:31am -0000, 06/06/07, mmtnospam@
gmail.com wrote:
> I mailed a pearl necklace to a jewelry shop in Renondo Beach CA on May
> 9. The item was in a padded envelope with my address inside a flat
> rate envelope with the jewelry shop address. Signature required extra
> fee paid.
> On May 18 the internal padded envelope was delivered to my house,
> empty, in an clear plastic envelope. On May 29 the post office
> delivered the flat rate envelope to the jewelry shop. It had been
> opened and resealed in the mail. The necklace was missing.
> I reported to the postal inspection service by their web site, and by
> phone. No reply or contact received. I have a photo of the very
> unique design.
> What should my expectations be for contact from USPS to acknowledge
> the missing necklace?
> What expectations for an investigation? When would be the correct
> time to ask for assistance from my senator or representative? Can I
> expect a search of the dead letter office using the photo of the
> missing necklace?
> Can I file a theft report myself with the local police in the city the
> mail was delivered to? Can I expect the postal inspector to file a
> theft report with the local police for searching pawn shops?
> It seems to me that no one would open a normal looking priority mail
> envelope unless they knew it contained valuables; and only someone
> working at the local post office would know the company was a jewelry
> store (not a known chain, privately owned)
> I did not buy insurance since I have no proof of value. This was a
> family heirloom with some slight damage to be repaired.
I'm sorry for the loss of the item, but since it was unique and of
significant personal value, you should have used Registered Mail, which is
how jewelery is typically mailed.
With regard to Postal Inspection, if you want to file a police report with
them, then do so. There's probably a report form to download from their Web
site. Then MAIL IT IN. Get a report or file number. You've learned that
filing on a web site or telephoning gets ignored.
