Stolen USPS Money Order

[Roofuss]

Whenever I send payment for a big ticket item { gun, lol } its with a US Postal money order and via certified mail, that must be signed for on the receiving end. Usually arrives within a day or so of the post office ETA. Never had any issues, and worth the extra cost to me.
I cannot say the same for normal first class mail !!

 

[SMSgt]

I bought a gun from a SWCA member on here and used a USPS priority envelope to send the check. I paid the extra 10 bucks for overnight. It showed up 8 days later. Luckily it had tracking and the buyer was able to follow it. The gun came four days before the check! I was a bit embarrassed but I thought overnight meant overnight.

Seller didn't even even ask me about it. I called him as I saw it didn't come out of my account yet. It was a big purchase with a big check.

It does. They just don't specify which night.

 

[VictorLouis]

. They told me to pack some tissue paper in the envelope next time to prevent that from happening again. .

Did he explain? Adds thickness to the envelope for a better 'grap' by the machine?

With PayPal, especially paying by credit card through PayPal, you have some protection against fraud - both from the credit card company and from PayPal if the seller doesn't actually ship you what you paid for.
.

UNLESS, the item/s are guns...or gun-related. Then, they refer to their policy and don't give a rip.

 

[Sevens]

Re: Paypal, and why nobody on this forum should ever use it

UNLESS, the item/s are guns...or gun-related. Then, they refer to their policy and don't give a rip.

Almost. They definitely give a rip. When they have determined you are buying or selling *GASP* firearms, they clutch their pearls and freeze your account locking any and all of your money.

There is no good reason for anyone in our hobby to support Paypal on any level.

 

[Doug M.]

Theft from home mail delivery has been a problem for years. About 20 years ago, a prosecutor's office in another county started advocating the use of PO Boxes to reduce the level of opportunistic theft other than PO employees. I have not used a street address for mail since the late 70s. Mail is just something else we check in the course of doing errands every few days.

When we did our last loan on the house, Wells Fargo notified us of a sale of the loan using the street address, which was not on the loan paperwork other than as part of the legal description. Every other piece of info on the paperwork was the PO Box. We sent the payments to the wrong place not knowing of the sale for 2 months.

I worked really hard to make the rep on the phone cry with my feedback. (I used terms not welcome here, including that their parents should have been celibate or engaged in some other form of gratification.) There was no excuse for the error and I had no obligation to be nice. Some people need to cry.

 

[BC38]

Theft from home mail delivery has been a problem for years. About 20 years ago, a prosecutor's office in another county started advocating the use of PO Boxes to reduce the level of opportunistic theft other than PO employees. I have not used a street address for mail since the late 70s. Mail is just something else we check in the course of doing errands every few days.

When we did our last loan on the house, Wells Fargo notified us of a sale of the loan using the street address, which was not on the loan paperwork other than as part of the legal description. Every other piece of info on the paperwork was the PO Box. We sent the payments to the wrong place not knowing of the sale for 2 months.

I worked really hard to make the rep on the phone cry with my feedback. (I used terms not welcome here, including that their parents should have been celibate or engaged in some other form of gratification.) There was not excuse for the error and I had no obligation to be nice. Some people need to cry.

While I completely understand your dissatisfaction and the need for the COMPANY to receive some seriously negative feedback, surely you realize the rep you got on the phone wasn't personally responsible for the mixup. I don't see where that person needed to be punished.
Though I can understand how venting makes one feel better.

 

[Pisgah]

From personal experience, the USPS's response will be -- it was delivered, tough stuff. You lose.

 

[Doug M.]

I had worked my way up to a person responsible for fixing the error. I often tell folks at the intervening levels that they are not paid enough to put up with me. There is no excuse for that kind of error. Someone should have been fired. How that message gets delivered is their choice, not mine.

 

[BC38]

I had worked my way up to a person responsible for fixing the error. I often tell folks at the intervening levels that they are not paid enough to put up with me. There is no excuse for that kind of error. Someone should have been fired. How that message gets delivered is their choice, not mine.

LOL, hopefully you got to someone who can effect some real change.

 

[Rule3]

I recently was in the process of purchasing a gun from a member. I sent payment by USPS Money Order in a Priority Mail Envelope. The envelope was delivered to the correct address, but was not there when the seller went to the mailbox. USPS GPS tracked the delivery truck entry to the correct address and house number. So, the priority mail envelope must have been stolen. This is the first time I have ever had this happen and so lesson learned to pay for Signature Required from now on. I have submitted a lost/stolen money order form and we will see if USPS will respond. This was a very expensive lesson.

Did you check if it has been cashed??


Money Orders | USPS

 

[Dave_n]

Rather than send any form of check etc., what I do is a direct transfer from one specific bank account, directly into theirs. That "specific account" has only a few dollars in it until I am about to send. I then transfer into the "low level account" and send from there. I use an FCU for doing this type of movement as they are much more efficient than any of the major/minor banks. Dave_n

 

[Bald1]

I've sold some guns on this forum. I've had a few buyers ask if they could send a personal check. They were long time members and it saved the a trip " into town". So I said ok…… I had an interesting transaction on GB this summer. I made an $1100 rifle purchase. I sent the seller a pic of USPS Money order and tracking number. An hour later he sent me tracking info for the rifle. I thought WOW! He just sent the rifle without receiving payment. They crossed in mail and he got paid the same day I received rifle.

 

[Doug M.]

LOL, hopefully you got to someone who can effect some real change.

*
I voted with my feet. Wells Fargo has a well earned terrible reputation for a variety of intentional misconduct and ineptitude. Under most circumstances, using them for any purpose is unsound.

I have had a few very frustrating experiences with serious incompetence involving medical insurers (Kaiser in particular, and among other things that I put in writing as a result, I referred to them as "Fuhrer"). Another one screwed up cashing a check for a clearly incorrect amount and then sent me a letter asking if I intended to leave their company. I not only put in writing that the manager who sent that letter needs to be fired for engaging in and tolerating serious fiscal misconduct AND I had already contacted the company and gotten steps taken to fix it but she did not check. Pretty clearly this manager was grossly incompetent and illiterate and I urged firing the dullard who hired her as they had not done the needed due diligence.

OTOH, my dialysis supply/treatment company has been pretty good and they went full stupid and changed the cassettes (pre-assembled tubing) in a way that was pretty dumb. (Shortened the tubing and it created a trip hazard.) I google stalked the president and found her email. I sent my complaint at about 1800, and had a call from one of my nurses by 0830 the next morning. The shortening had made for a trip hazard, and I am SURE that there are other patients who are much worse off than I am. Citing to the WA statutory definition of "vulnerable adult" probably clued them in 2 important things. The first is that I know of what I speak and do this for a living. The other is that they had not adequately considered the collateral impacts.

Circumstances dictate tactics. I have been harsh enough about WSP's regular (civil and criminal) misconduct at the command/executive level that the Chief called me at home because he was unhappy about what I had to say. Didn't care. Made it worse when I pointed out that I had an earned certificate when theirs was a legislative gift because their academy had never met state standards.

 

[Beemer-mark]

I like certified checks, written on the bank's account not the seller's. A CC can't have a stop put on it and the recieving bank has to verify the cashier. Put the check iin a box to mail, boxes are way lass likely to be lost in all the automatic sorting machinery. Lastly require a signature. You can also write a personal check for the amount, scan the check on both sides and email it to the buyer. If the buyer has the bank's mobile app on his phone he can take a picture and deposit.

Last month I had a buyer send me 100 twenties for some grips.

 

[BC38]

*
I voted with my feet. Wells Fargo has a well earned terrible reputation for a variety of intentional misconduct and ineptitude. Under most circumstances, using them for any purpose is unsound.

I have had a few very frustrating experiences with serious incompetence involving medical insurers (Kaiser in particular, and among other things that I put in writing as a result, I referred to them as "Fuhrer"). Another one screwed up cashing a check for a clearly incorrect amount and then sent me a letter asking if I intended to leave their company. I not only put in writing that the manager who sent that letter needs to be fired to engaging in and tolerating serious fiscal misconduct AND I had already contacted the company and gotten steps taken to fix it but she did not check. Pretty clearly this manager was grossly incompetent and illiterate and I urged firing the dullard who hired her as they had not done the needed due diligence.

OTOH, my dialysis supply/treatment company has been pretty good and they went full stupid and changed the cassettes (pre-assembled tubing) in a way that was pretty dumb. (Shortened the tubing and it created a trip hazard.) I google stalked the president and found her email. I sent my complaint at about 1800, and had a call from one of my nurses by 0830 the next morning. The shortening had made for a trip hazard, and I am SURE that there are other patients who are much worse off than I am. Citing to the WA statutory definition of "vulnerable adult" probably clued them in 2 important things. The first is that I know of what I speak and do this for a living. The other is that they had not adequately considered the collateral impacts.

Circumstances dictate tactics. I have been harsh enough about WSP's regular (civil and criminal) misconduct at the command/executive level that the Chief called me at home because he was unhappy about what I had to say. Didn't care. Made it worse when I pointed out that I had an earned certificate when theirs was a legislative gift because their academy had never met state standards.

No doubt you're a tough customer Doug. Someone who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
FWIW, I also avoid Wells Fargo, just because they have been accused of so many and varied forms of maleficence and incompetence. Around 20 years ago we did a mortgage re-fi through them and that all went well for us right up until we sold the house and paid off the note. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to persuade my mom to switch from Wells Fargo to a credit union - which is how I've done all my personal banking for the last 35 years.
As for Kaiser, they are my medical insurer and provider, and I have no complaints with the care and service I've received.
Everybody's experience is different.

 

[Onomea]

.. You can also write a personal check for the amount, scan the check on both sides and email it to the buyer. If the buyer has the bank's mobile app on his phone he can take a picture and deposit...

That's clever. I bet it does not need to be the same bank, but just a mobile bank app.

 

[Doug M.]

No doubt you're a tough customer Doug. Someone who doesn't suffer fools gladly.

As for Kaiser, they are my medical insurer and provider, and I have no complaints with the care and service I've received.
Everybody's experience is different.

*
My brother has told me my standards are too high. I apply the same to myself, so ... oh well. I am decently paid to be such a person at work.

The Kaiser thing was a perfect storm of bad timing. They had just sent me a "how are we doing" letter and then made some pretty bad errors in trying to tell me that my dialysis provider was not covered despite a contract with my primary provider (Multicare/Rockwood). The errors were due to a failure of reading comprehension, and silly stuff like trying to find my kidney doctor in Moses Lake when his office is in Spokane (which I told them) and he travels from there to a variety of clinics. I copied him on my hatemail. He keeps it on his computer for when he needs a laugh.

The transplant program is at Providence/Sacred Heart. Coordinating the work of the two is my problem and while not easy, the total of 5 different doctors makes for some potential confusion. I would not dream of imposing that on already busy medical folks; logistical silliness is not a skill I expect to find in doctors/nurses. I have received excellent care from both systems. Modest hiccups are the worst I experience. I did have one bad decision at the SHMC ER, and I did not understand it. One of my doctors did and he raised holy hell. The issue underlying it all was odd and they had to take pretty serious efforts for a diagnosis of exclusion and then addressed it. I never knew for some time how really ill I was. A gallon of blood transfusions in 9 days ... weeeee.

 

[beach elvis]

In 2019, I bought a Gretsch guitar online from a reputable seller. Paid for it through the usual channels, no sweat. Got a tracking number from USPS, good…good…,

Starting two days later, that same tracking # said, "delivery to be determined". A MONTH goes by! After a week, I got an email from the seller saying, "WTH! Saw it as not yet delivered."

At the end of 6 weeks, the tracking # STILL said, "Delivery to be determined". The same day I last checked that #, the guitar showed up on my doorstep. I pictured it showing up with the box looking like a claymore had been pointed at it but it was perfectly intact. No damage whatsoever.

How do you misplace a freakin GUITAR??? Not like it was an envelope or something small.

I got nuthin.

(edditid fer spelin)

 

[Wengayoo]

UNBELEIVABLE UPDATE!

UPDATE! I filed a lost/stolen report for my missing USPO Money Order and I received a notice from USPO accounting office a week later that said if the MO was not cashed in 10 days, I would receive a full refund. The MO was not cashed within 3 days, and after that it was cancelled by USPO. After 10 business days, I received a full refund check. This was after they verified delivery by GPS location of the mailman. It was suspicious though, because the USPS delivery time stamp was more than an hour off from a private neighbor video camera. In any case, I was blown away that they actually sent me a full refund!

 

[glowe]

Zelle is reliable, quick and free. NOTE: The seller should send a funds request to the buyer and only then should buyer send funds, so both parties know who's on the other side.

Not ready for prime time as far as I am concerned. Any service that directly links your bank account to their platform needs more time to ensure safety from fraud. The following is from a December 20, 2024 CBS report on Zelle.

Zelle "has been slow to implement anti-fraud measures, including closing accounts accused of fraud," Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with TD Cowen Washington Research Group, said in a report, pointing to the CFPB's allegations. "It also permitted the registration of emails that were impersonating legitimate entities, including Zelle itself."

Since Zelle launched in 2017, according to the CFPB, JPMorgan Chase received 420,00 customer complaints involving more than $360 million; Bank of America heard from 210,000 customers with more than $290 million in fraud losses; and Wells Fargo tallied $220 million in fraud losses by 280,000 people.