[mofonyx]

Hello,

Long story here but I'll try to keep it short.

I placed an order for a Balanced CKK III a long time ago (12 months exactly, if I'm not mistaken Dec 07) and it hasn't reached me. Well there were a lot of problems with the construction and the builder. He was busy, the board fried, required reconstruction and everything.

So eventually it went out to post mid-May 2008. That was 2 weeks after my Balanced b22 shipped from Iraq (Naaman). To my despair, neither amp reached on time. I found out later that the b22 failed to arrive at my Bristol address and was returned to sender sometime later (2 - 3 months, i.e. June, July). So I reckon my address was faulty (although I did receive regular mails) and concluded that the CKK III must've made it all the way back to the sender.

It's bad enough that the post was returned, so I contacted the sender to look out for it. He tells me that he has moved out of his address and changed his mobile number. This means that the postal service has no way of contacting him for returned parcels.

Realistically speaking, the parcel is lost, and so is $500 I sent for the amp. I have contacted the sender/builder regarding this matter, writing up a complaint of missing parcel and everything.

The money is indeed gone, isn't it? I can't demand for my money back because it wasn't his fault, it was sent. It was undervalued to get through customs easy, so I doubt anything can be recovered from insurance. There's nothing I can do, is there?

oh, and Merry Christmas Head-Fi. Thanks for listening.

 

[digger945]

Wow, I would like to hear a balanced CK, or for that matter at least hear your opinion/review of it.

I don't know what I would do if I were in your shoes, probably try and contact someone in the postal chain to see if I could locate the package.
Maybe if you share the parcel delivery service used, someone here may be able to help you further, or could help with some good advice/experience.

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mofonyx /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's bad enough that the post was returned, so I contacted the sender to look out for it. He tells me that he has moved out of his address and changed his mobile number. This means that the postal service has no way of contacting him for returned parcels.

If it was returned to the US then sadly undelivered valuables are auctioned off I think they are "dead" if not claimed in 3 months.

 

[Uncle Erik]

It should have been redelivered to the sender. You might also want to contact the US Postal Service and ask them to trace the package. They will, but it takes some time. If you paid with a credit card, you might be able to file a claim.

Since you are interested in DIY amps and custom work, have you thought about trying your hand at building your own? You'd get all the free advice and help you'd need in the DIY Forum. It's not that difficult, either, and you can source from local suppliers.

Still, am very sorry to hear about the losses. I hope your holidays are wonderful.

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif It should have been redelivered to the sender. You might also want to contact the US Postal Service and ask them to trace the package.

After a while undeliverable items are "dead" and auctioned off, the OP's item has most likely been declared dead. Claims to USPS have to be made within 180 days (apart from Armed Forces ).


Quote:

If you paid with a credit card, you might be able to file a claim.

For a transaction over a year old ?, I think 90 days is pretty much the limit for credit cards.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I believe the USPS returns packages to the sender when undeliverable. If there isn't a return address or the return is somehow undeliverable, the package will go to the Dead Letter Office. Dead Letters is authorized to open packages to see if the contents will help them find it's owner. That can take some time, but they don't auction goods until they've made that effort.

You never know about credit cards, either. Terms depend on the contract you have with the issuer - read it. The time to file for a loss may start running from when the product was shipped, not necessarily when the order was placed. It depends, and Nick could be right, but it would be worth checking.

 

[mrarroyo]

I have read many posts here where the seller has the responsibility to get the amp to you. If he does not he is responsible for refunding the money.

In this case the twist is that it was undervalue and under-insure to pay less taxes. However the seller is still responsible for at least the amount of the insured amount.

If he fails or does not want to refund it then leave negative feedback. My statement is based on the information provided, if the seller has totally different take then he should post here.

 

[mofonyx]

He has totally gone off the grid (i.e. all active forums, IM), but still reachable by email. This wasn't sent from the states. I think it would be best not to disclose where it was sent from because it would reveal who the builder was.

This was nobody's fault but the postal service.

I paid by PayPal, and there's no way to lodge a complaint there. I think I've come to terms with the money being gone for good.

 

[omegaman]

Try the post office of the country of origin, they could have something similar to the "Dead letter office".

 

[Audio-Omega]

Could it have been lost during transit ? Parcels get lost all the time.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Could it have been lost during transit ? Parcels get lost all the time.

I think at this rate, anything is possible.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mofonyx /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... This was nobody's fault but the postal service ...

Wrong! The seller is responsible until the unit gets to you. He owes you the unit or a refund in the amount you paid to have the unit insured for w/ the shipping company.

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wrong! The seller is responsible until the unit gets to you. He owes you the unit or a refund in the amount you paid to have the unit insured for w/ the shipping company.

I hate shipping high value items , even if you have tracking and you have confirmed delivery someone can always nick the item from the porch or the buyer can claim they did not get it.

Shipping between countries is a nightmare, each country's PO can blame the other one for damage or loss. I have had stuff sent to Canada (Notebook PC) vanish for ever and stuff from the US to the UK never materialise.

If the item was purposely under-declared at the buyers request then the amount paid for insurance will be negligible.

 

[MrSlim]

I agree with mrarroyo, its the sellers responsibility until the buyer has it in his hands. Hindsight of course, but I would always ask for shipping insurance on a higher value item and have it shipped by some tracked method. Unfortunately you asked for the unit to be "undervalued" for duty purposes, so you would only get what the "undervalued" amount was. Sorry, but if you try to "do it to the man", then you are going to have to suck it up and accept the consequences when something goes wrong, ala damage or disappearance. Any HiFi items I have sold on ebay have always had the full value insurance. its my protection if the delivery company *****'s up..