PDVS2 - Stolen in transit (Germany)

[IanJ]

Hi all,

Just a heads up, I recently sold a couple of PDVS2's a few weeks ago to two separate customers in Germany and they were stolen whilst in transit in Germany with the courier.

Serial No.'s 0077 & 0082.

Luckily the items were tracked and were insured so nobody is out of pocket.

If you come across these two units then please let me know on my site - http://www.ianjohnston.com/index.php/contact

Ian.

[Fraser]

Sorry to hear this Ian. You may not be "out of pocket" but it is still a lot of hassle. I went through the same after a beautiful complete Lowe HF-150 radio 'stack' went missing whilst in the US Customs bond warehouse ! It was worth over £600 but was insured. It still made me angry to think that a fully tracked item somehow went astray in a so-called 'secure' environment.

I have heard that German Customs can be a bit if a nightmare, especially if products do not have a CE mark on them or do not meet other applicable German standards. I presume you would have been advised if the two consignments had been 'seized' by Customs ? In my case with the missing radio in the USA, I was amazed at how little the courier I dealt with cared about such losses and they just said "claim the compensation, your item is lost with no chance of it being found". I got the definite feeling that such losses are not uncommon and they do not spend much time hunting for the goods. Time is money and all that.

I understand that many items go missing en route to customers in Italy. No idea why Italy has such a problem but many eBay sellers decline to ship there for that reason alone. I use UPS and never had a problem with lost packages with them.

Once again, sorry you have had this annoying experience.

Fraser

[nctnico]

Sometimes it is not the courier to blame. Last year I saw a small UPS depot after being ransacked by thieves. It was a complete mess!

[Old Don]

Sometimes it is not the courier to blame. Last year I saw a small UPS depot after being ransacked by thieves. It was a complete mess!

When I was in the laptop parts business Italy was near the top of lost packages that I sent out. So I too refuses to ship there unless I had in writing from the customer that they would assume all risks.

[Mechatrommer]

i guess something really fucked up there (the same to what happened in China few days/week back) . i ordered an item from herne germany by DHL, the item sent back to the seller blocked by their customs, the seller has to refund. and then i ordered another item from EAST MIDLANDS UK by DHL as well (ebay shipping service) and it got slingshot to LEIPZIG -> FREIBURG -> BASEL SWITZERLAND and got back to LEIPZIG it should be here by now, what a bad day.

[Chris56000]

Hi!

It happens here as well with two well-known notorious UK courier companies - I spent £240 on one of those Tek oscilloscopes with the blue VFD on the top (2225 I think!) four years ago & I never saw it - I got a card claiming (emphasis on the claiming!) they'd delivered it nearby but polite enquiries failed to discover it's whereabouts until I saw it was it up for auction again five months later!

I didn't get refunded for it either - I knew it was the same squigglegraph because the VFD had some dots missing and I've a good memory for technical details of that type - I bought it for S or R!

Chris Williams

[IanJ]

I was speaking to somebody today who's brother did a summer job at a UK courier company. a few years ago.......

So, what happens is that when you send your package to a courier company the packages are all numbered with a 'zone' where they have to ultimately be delivered to.......the drivers then all stand at a conveyer belt and look for their numbers and pick them off and load up their van......thus driver Joe Bloggs might be loaded up with all packages marked "23"......his route.

What happens is that some rogue drivers will pick off other drivers numbers and stick them in their van......for personal consumption!

The two PDVS2's.......both boxes were slit open on the underside......same style of cut etc on both so I reckon nicked by the same person. Gawd knows where or how the empty boxes were found, there was no note or explanation.......yet anyways!
The courier has agreed I can go ahead and press for my compensation.......should be a no brainer.

Ian.

[Mjolinor]

You can gain some solace by remembering nostalgically these items that were lost when you see them on baggage battles or similar.

[Fraser]

Ian,

I hope your claim goes well.

I got a little burnt with my claim on the US theft I suffered. The compensation did not refund the insurance element of my shipping fee as they said that is a purchased product that I used and was non refundable. Cost me around £20. I even had to push to get the shipping cost refunded in addition to the stolen items agreed value.

Fraser

[Safar]

Maybe the courier thought it was an old fashion cellphone?

The general advice is to write as little detail as possible in the description (electr. components for example)

[Mr. Scram]

Sorry to hear this Ian. You may not be "out of pocket" but it is still a lot of hassle. I went through the same after a beautiful complete Lowe HF-150 radio 'stack' went missing whilst in the US Customs bond warehouse ! It was worth over £600 but was insured. It still made me angry to think that a fully tracked item somehow went astray in a so-called 'secure' environment.

I have heard that German Customs can be a bit if a nightmare, especially if products do not have a CE mark on them or do not meet other applicable German standards. I presume you would have been advised if the two consignments had been 'seized' by Customs ? In my case with the missing radio in the USA, I was amazed at how little the courier I dealt with cared about such losses and they just said "claim the compensation, your item is lost with no chance of it being found". I got the definite feeling that such losses are not uncommon and they do not spend much time hunting for the goods. Time is money and all that.

I understand that many items go missing en route to customers in Italy. No idea why Italy has such a problem but many eBay sellers decline to ship there for that reason alone. I use UPS and never had a problem with lost packages with them.

Once again, sorry you have had this annoying experience.

Fraser

Unfortunately, it seems it to the shippers benefit to not care very much. Obviously, it's cheaper to pay you a meagre compensation than to actually locate the package. The fact that it may be hard or impossible to replace doesn't mean anything.

Unfortunately, the law generally is not in the favour of the parties shipping and receiving.

[Fraser]

Mr Scram,

Indeed. I was very upset about losing the complete Lowe HF-150 rack as it was very rare. A complete set of Lowe HF-150 HF receiver units in mint condition with all options and accessories. Worth around $1000 at the time. I was sad and angry for many reasons. I hated the fact that the buyer was let down, I hated the fact that some toad had my mint HF-150 system and did not deserve it and I hated the fact that a courier just could not care less. I am a person of principle and a perfectionist..... not good character trates for low stress levels in our modern world I find.

The really sad thing was the back story to the purchase. The chap in the USA was a lovely fellow. He had always wanted the complete and mint Lowe HF-150 receiver rack (stack) set that I had in my collection. I decided to sell it and we agreed a wallet friendly price for him. During later discussions I found out that the poor guy had very recently lost his teenage son to suicide. It was unexpected and traumatic in the extreme, as you can imagine. Then my parcel to him containing his most desired HF receiver set gets stolen. This is nothing compared to losing his son but it is yet another of this worlds unfair events against an individual.

I felt so sorry for the man. If I had owned another complete HF-150 rack set in my collection I would have given it to him. There was absolutely nothing I could do except refund his money. At that point I had a lot of stored venom for whoever stole the parcel. I suspect they read 'HF Receiver' on the customs declaration and knew it was worth money. I never saw it advertised on eBay but it likely got sold privately. I just hope the thief gets his just deserts and Karma hits him hard. My view of such people is that they are pond life !

Fraser

[Mr. Scram]

Mr Scram,

Indeed. I was very upset about losing the complete Lowe HF-150 rack as it was very rare. A complete set of Lowe HF-150 HF receiver units in mint condition with all options and accessories. Worth around $1000 at the time. I was sad and angry for many reasons. I hated the fact that the buyer was let down, I hated the fact that some toad had my mint HF-150 system and did not deserve it and I hated the fact that a courier just could not care less. I am a person of principle and a perfectionist..... not good character trates for low stress levels in our modern world I find.

The really sad thing was the back story to the purchase. The chap in the USA was a lovely fellow. He had always wanted the complete and mint Lowe HF-150 receiver rack (stack) set that I had in my collection. I decided to sell it and we agreed a wallet friendly price for him. During later discussions I found out that the poor guy had very recently lost his teenage son to suicide. It was unexpected and traumatic in the extreme, as you can imagine. Then my parcel to him containing his most desired HF receiver set gets stolen. This is nothing compared to losing his son but it is yet another of this worlds unfair events against an individual.

I felt so sorry for the man. If I had owned another complete HF-150 rack set in my collection I would have given it to him. There was absolutely nothing I could do except refund his money. At that point I had a lot of stored venom for whoever stole the parcel. I suspect they read 'HF Receiver' on the customs declaration and knew it was worth money. I never saw it advertised on eBay but it likely got sold privately. I just hope the thief gets his just deserts and Karma hits him hard. My view of such people is that they are pond life !

Fraser

Yes, that sucks. Even without a dramatic back story, you generally have found something for a good price. Even if they repay you in full, you generally still won't be able to just buy another one for the same money. Not to mention the time spent searching.

If you really value something, I guess you'll have to courier it. Even though I know they have their flaws too.

[Fraser]

My consignment was couriered with comprehensive tracking. Tracking showed it entering US customs warehouse and never leaving Courier claimed it was lost whilst in the Bond warehouse, out of their control. I was insured but as you say, the poor buyer of the unit was left without his much sought after kit

Fraser

[glarsson]

Was it lost due to theft or because US customs destroyed it (a radio transmitter not certified for use in the US)?

[Mr. Scram]

Was it lost due to theft or because US customs destroyed it (a radio transmitter not certified for use in the US)?

I assume destroyed items don't just disappear during shipping. You'll have to be notified.

[Fraser]

No, it was a receiver and is legal in the USA. There was no record of the Customs check or clearance.

Fraser