Insurance

I was just at the Post Office shipping a package and when asked how much insurance I wanted I gave a specific amount over the $50. The person behind the counter asked if I had receipts for the items and I told her I didn't. She responded by telling me that the PO wouln't honor the claim if something happened to the package if I didn't have receipts to first prove I had those items and secondly to verify the value.

Have any of you ever had to deal with something like this with any of the Big Three Carriers?

I've never had an insurance claim with the USPS, Fedex or UPS ever workout. Period. I've had packages damaged and not delivered that required signatures and still they weasel out of it.
Edit; but to answer your question, yes i've heard of that with Fedex and USPS.

From the USPS website:

What is proof of value?
Proof of value can include...

proof of purchase, like a receipt, invoice, or bill of sale
a copy of the cancelled check or money order
a credit card billing statement
a final and complete transaction sheet indicating the amount deducted from an Internet account
or other documentation indicating the amount paid

For damaged claims, you’ll also need to provide an estimate of the repair costs from a reputable dealer.

I would think just printing the paypal transaction page would fill the requirement.

Give them a copy of the Paypal invoice with confirmation number

Has anybody done the above and received compensation for lost or damaged goods?

Yes. They refunded the value + shipping cost. I refunded paypal so no fee from them either.

bail_w said:

Give them a copy of the Paypal invoice with confirmation number

Click to expand...

Yes, this is what I use. I just give them the paypal invoice and haven't had an issue yet.

I've had to file three USPS claims (all for between $50 and $100) - after providing them with a PayPal invoice, they refunded the claimed insurance value and the postage promptly. The $1,200 claim I filed with FedEx after they left a laptop in an apartment building without getting a signature that was stolen took more work - filing a police report, and having a lawyer send a letter.

Benn there, done this with USPS a while back....was a royal PITA 'cause of the amount, but eventually I got my 1k back from them + the shipping costs too....

It varies sometimes even with the local post offices.

I had a package that was insured for $200 go missing. I provided all of the documentation of the purchase through Paypal. They didn't care because I didn't have the item's original receipt. If you have an old item that you no longer have the receipt for...it's hit or miss. They don't care what you SOLD it for...they want proof of the item's original purchase price.

It took a lot of letters and filing an appeal to the Post Office Appeals Board to get my funds back. It's not a pretty process if the amount is above $100. I believe anything $100 or below can be handled by the local post office entirely.