Stolen USPS Money Order

[Wengayoo]

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.

 

[Onomea]

Wengayoo, sorry to hear this has happened to you. I've had difficulty with a USPS failure to deliver for a certified check requiring signature, but was able to sort it out within 24 hours. (Postman claimed I was not home when I was — I caught him on a security cam clearly not making a good faith attempt at delivery — and I had to go to the PO to collect the check.)

My own view, perhaps contrarian, is that nowadays electronic payment — Zelle, Venmo, Paypal — is safer and less aggravating.

Hope you can recover your stolen money.

 

[Wengayoo]

Thanks for your reply, I have had the same happen with gun deliveries. Postman never came to the door for signature (per camera)....they re-delivered 2 days later. Yes, perhaps Venmo would be a better choice if possible.

 

[SafeTFirst]

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.

 

[Greyman50]

Times are getting worse, lame people working everywhere that just don't give a #@%=. Unsure how and if things will get better, sad situation.

 

[RT44nut]

I recently had a postal money order with tracking disappear in route for 2 weeks. Got someone at USPS assigned to try and locate and unless I'm wrong, they told me there was a 3 month period before it would be refunded if not found. I checked at my bank about a certified check, and was told the same, 3 months before they would refund. Please keep us informed on what happens. Luckily mine showed up stuck in a loop at a sorting machine. They told me to pack some tissue paper in the envelope next time to prevent that from happening again. Can't write what I said but it had something to do with a roll of toilet paper.

 

[BC38]

...My own view, perhaps contrarian, is that nowadays electronic payment — Zelle, Venmo, Paypal — is safer and less aggravating...

I agree about the less aggravating part of that statement, and use PayPal quite a bit - whenever possible in fact.
The biggest issue I have with Zelle and Venmo - though I have a Zelle account - is that if the seller is a scammer, you have basically ZERO recourse.
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.
My understanding of Zelle and Venmo, is that once the other party has your money, if they're scamming you, you're just out of luck, because Zelle and Venmo won't do a thing to try to help you recover your funds.
That's why a lot of scammers ONLY accept Venmo and Zelle.

 

[okiegtrider]

My own view, perhaps contrarian, is that nowadays electronic payment — Zelle, Venmo, Paypal — is safer and less aggravating.

This.

 

[ladder13]

Priority Mail screams IMPORTANT. When I sell, I tell the buyer to send regular mail. Not only does it get here about the same time, but it draws no attention. Save the buyer money too.

Also Signature Required means I have to go to the PO because the letter carrier never comes to the door, but leaves that "next delivery day is" in my mailbox which is at the kiosk near the community center.

 

[WardenRoss]

I've never had any problems using the USPS......

Until lately.

They lost a check being mailed to me...but it showed up 3 months later.

I mailed a check last month and it too disappeared but showed up to the vendor 3 weeks later.

My banker just instructed me to NEVER mail a check again. Only use an electronic method if at all possible.

Just sayin'....


,

 

[Onomea]

I agree about the less aggravating part of that statement, and use PayPal quite a bit - whenever possible in fact.
The biggest issue I have with Zelle and Venmo - though I have a Zelle account - is that if the seller is a scammer, you have basically ZERO recourse.
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.
My understanding of Zelle and Venmo, is that once the other party has your money, if they're scamming you, you're just out of luck, because Zelle and Venmo won't do a thing to try to help you recover your funds.
That's why a lot of scammers ONLY accept Venmo and Zelle.

One of the nice things about this forum is we get to know one another, and gain a degree of confidence in dealing with long term members who are regular posters. We have had a couple of cases — maybe more? — where a member's account has been hacked and a scammer has tried to impersonate a member. Our mods seem to do a good job of catching these guys pretty quickly though.

That's a good point you make about Paypal protection via tying one's PayPal account to a credit card.

Priority Mail screams IMPORTANT. When I sell, I tell the buyer to send regular mail. Not only does it get here about the same time, but it draws no attention. Save the buyer money too.

Also Signature Required means I have to go to the PO because the letter carrier never comes to the door, but leaves that "next delivery day is" in my mailbox which is at the kiosk near the community center.

Mike, I've had good luck with personal checks and the regular mail, too, both as a buyer and a seller. With higher amounts, though, I worry about mailboxes being broken into, etc.

I agree with the need to be very sure of who you are dealing with when using electronic payments. And always keep in mind if the deal is too good to be true, it probably isn't....

 

[Wengayoo]

Thanks for the input. I would emphasize that there are no worries about this seller, he has great feedback, and we had very good communication. No matter what, there is always risks in sending money, by any means, however this is a first for me in over 5 years. I will always require signatures for delivery from now on though. At least the mailman must perform the act and many of us have cameras now, so no excuses.

 

[paplinker]

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.

 

[Ματθιας]

I send/receive payment through the mail all the time. Even cash. I put it in those small invitation, thank you card, type envelopes w/the card. Looks innocent. Never had a problem.

Well the only problem was the hurricane that messed up everything on the east coast. My package from Florida was delayed a week. Nobody's fault.

As for electronic payments, I'll not use PayPal. Years ago they froze my account. Not only that PayPal is anti-gun. Screw PayPal!

My mail carrier is a childhood friend. He tells me that USPS doesn't have the quality of mail carriers as they used to, especially, when I comes to carriers and mail/packages disappearing.

 

[glenwolde]

I've had multiple failures to get a signature on "signature required". One was a firearm. Which they left on my doorstep. Just sitting there...

 

[madmikeb]

I had a refund coming from the IRS. They sent me a letter saying I should have it in 2-3 weeks, if I don't get it to let them know. Never came so I contacted them and they said the check had been cashed. Sent me a scan of the front and back of the check and the back had no endorsement or info of any kind.
Still going through the process with them so I don't know what will happen. Somebody got it though.

 

[Eddietruett]

Don't expect anything to come of your claim. About 2 months ago I had 2 deliveries of several thousand bullets each from 2 different vendors who both shipped priority mail. Ironically they both arrived the same day and were delivered to the wrong address which I found out 2 days later when a nice neighbor brought me the bullets. On the day of delivery when nothing was delivered, I filed 2 seperate claims with the USPS. Instead of canceling the claims, I decided to wait on being contacted and then canceling. I've heard nothing. This this the 3rd time in the last 18 months I've filed claims and only once was I able to talk to a representative, I think from Atlanta. She didn't say directly, but basically told me if the claim was under $10k it was going to be ignored. Back in the 90's I had several claims with broken golf clubs that were broken during shipping and they were handled quickly. Times sure have changed

 

[Mainsail]

USPS GPS tracked the delivery truck entry to the correct address and house number.

I called our local postmaster when a pistol magazine that said it was delivered wasn't in the mailbox. She told me the GPS tracking had it delivered to the gang-box that sits out in front of my house. I figure if it wasn't put in my box, it must have been put into one of the neighbor's box instead.

It showed up six days later, left on my porch by some woman I'd never seen before, so she doesn't live near me. I don't believe their GPS tracking.

 

[pasound]

Years ago, I sent Iowegan, a member over at the Rugerforum, a bank cashiers check for a brass frame for my Ruger SA. It never showed up, was not a priority mail send, but back then, who knew? We got it settled, I got the frame, and the bank was nice enough to stop the original check and issue a new one for free.

It's the wild west out there for mail order. Two different bulk ammo shipments, from two different companies the last couple of months. Both showed up at my front door. First one, the UPS guy was nice enough to drop it inside my door after I signed for it. Last week, a FedEx guy dropped my order at the door, didn't ask for my signature, never even rang the doorbell. I only knew it was here because I heard the truck's sliding door slam.

Pay extra for bad service? Seems so.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

Couple years ago, during covid, I sold a gun here on the forum and the buyer sent his payment via registered mail. Signature was required. It was delivered to the same house number but on the wrong street, just down the block. I managed to catch my postman the next day and he got the letter back to me. It was delivered to the wrong address by a substitute driver and the home owner signed for it. Neither paid attention to the actual mailing address. The only other time I had an issue with delivery was also with a signature required letter during the same covid time period. Ended up going to the post office to get that one after several falsified attempts to deliver.
Never had a problem with any payments coming through regular mail.
I wish they would lose my junk mail!

John