Filing a damage claim with Canada Post

[travis7s]

Does anyone have any experience or advice for filing a damage claim?

Never had an issue before, but in this case it was a Tracked Packet USA via Shippo that I packed in a pretty standard shipping box. The buyer sent good photos of both the damaged toy car and the crushed box. The value would be $30 + $21 shipping charge.

[retroman_studios]

I could be totally off base but as far as I recall, Canada Post does not insure for damage, only loss.

[femmefan1946]

Damage may be covered.

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/kb/details.page?article=what_to_do_if_your_p&cattype=kb&cat=receivi...

We are committed to the safe handling of all mail and parcels. You can file a claim to recoup the postage and the insured value if:

• You sent the parcel through one of our trackable services with insurance coverage. These services include: Priority™, Xpresspost™, Expedited Parcel™ and Regular Parcel (insurance coverage is available for a fee).
• You are the sender. If you are the receiver, please contact the sender to initiate the claim.
• You mailed your item within the last 90 days.

[momcqueen]

May we see a photo of the damage?

[travis7s]

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Just an FYI for future reference. Any time you are packing something similar it would be an idea to add corner sections to each corner along with a piece of either ridged cardboard or Corrugated Plastic cut to size ( available at some dollar stores) for added protection. Do not crush labels may have also helped for your package. When the post office employees load a container they should know to put lighter items towards the top of the cages but that is not always the case. You have to take into consideration they really don't know what's in each box and they are loading quickly as possible to keep the freight moving. Another thing to take into consideration is packages may be on belts, conveyors or slide down chutes causing the potential for crushing. What was used as packing material for this package? If it happened to be paper material it will crush if anything heavy gets placed on top. Styrofoam ships are not environmentally friendly but still provide the best form of protection for fragile items. Also, it is a good idea to keep an assortment of labels on hand. Fragile, Do Not Drop, Do Not Crush, Orientation Arrows on minimum 2 sides in cases where the box doesn't have already. Your package should include the insurance. With photos they should process your claim relatively quickly. You can always build in a bit extra to cover the packaging materials when warranted. Preventing damage is always better than having to file a claim.

-Lotz

PS. In a pinch you can also use 2 pieces of cardboard cut to the height of the box with slots cut into them, reversed and interlocked. Similar to what they use in liquor boxes as dividers to protect from crushing.

[momcqueen]

Interesting.

Who sold you the box and void fill; it seems like it really didn’t do its job.

[retroman_studios]

I would have bubble wrapped the car inside the case and then wrapped at least two inches of bubble wrap around the case, (that is if the car could be, I would definitely put bubble wrap in there to help stabilize things) but three to four inches would be best.

Packages should be ready to withstand a 3-4 feet drop.

http://www.kensclockclinic.com/docs/how-to-pack-a-clock-or-clock-movement-for-shipping/

Although it doesn't mention your situation, they give some very good advice. Worth a read.

[momcqueen]

Two sizes of bubblewrap: large to line the box and small to coat the item plus air pillows packed into the empty space. Or at least that's what I do as a seller when I'm dealing with a collector's item even if it is just a toy car. As a buyer, I've had corners crushed on my collectible packages by items sliding around within the box even if it withstood a crush-test along the way.

Collectibles is like shipping raw eggs. You can take no chances. 

[momcqueen]

Anyway, getting back to your original question, yes, you're covered for damages incurred during transit by purchasing a trackable item with insurance included. (For most items, some things are not insurable at all.) However, Canada Post may give you a hard time to prove you packed your item adequately before they will honour your claim. I've not had to make one for damages, as I overprotect my items in shipment, but if the process is anything like an Item Lost in Transit claim, the investigators/adjusters will make you jump through hoops to meet their criteria for applying for coverage on an incident.  

[momcqueen]

And since we're heaping on the salt into your open wound....

Never re-use cardboard boxes for shipping anything of value or integrity. The cardboard bends once and it has been compromised. It may be fine to ship a can of beans or fitted sheets, but a re-used box is off-limits for anything where condition is paramount to a satisfied customer. Like a diecast car in a collector's display case. 

This is one of those teachable moments.

If you're very lucky, Canada Post will fund that teachable moment for you. 

[travis7s]

I find the damage to be suspicious, to be honest. These cars are physically screwed to the bottom of the stand with the wheels not touching, and the cover is very hard shell. (also the cars comes in its own plain box) The only way for the wheels to buckle like shown would be if that clear case completely failed or shattered and force was applied directly to the car. The packaging is not shown but I don't skimp on it, this was packed with 3 wraps of large bubble and air pillows filling the rest of the voids. Reusing boxes is a sin I commit, but I only choose pristine boxes for that and if I don't have the right size of ebay branded box.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

What could go wrong with air pillows along with a discussion on the dot com board on the topic.

I received a parcel from Germany to Chile. The contents were severely bruised due to a lack of packaging material. On second inspection I found a bunch of deflated air pads.

It was a personal shipment, the air pads were used and potentially not in pristine condition, but there were several brands of them, a manufacturing defect can be ruled out. It seems most of them burst, while at least one still had some air remaining and just had a leak that required a bit of pressure to release more air. Surprisingly there was very little air remaining, maybe 20% of the maximum volume.

The contents were light, I doubt they could have damaged a pad at all, let alone destroy them all. Could this phenomena be caused by a pressure difference between the air inside the packs and the cargo plane's hold? It seems a bad explanation considering the popularity of the packaging material.

I did check for needles and dead chicken. 😉

4

Simple answer: yes, air travel can deflate or pop air pillows.

Longer answer: Cargo holds are at the same pressure as the rest of the airplane, it's part of the pressure vessel. Generally airplanes are pressured to about 8000ft, so the air is a lot thinner and therefore there will be a higher pressure differential between the air in the pads and the air in the hold. Thin plastic is somewhat porous and will leak some air, the rate this happens will be faster when there's a higher pressure differential. This differential is known to pop these air pillows to the point many will not use them when shipping by air. Styrofoam, cellulose pops, or crumpled paper are the preferred method.

You can see these forces at work next time you fly yourself by taking an empty disposable plastic water bottle on board. Seal it with the cap at airport altitude before departure. After takeoff as the airplane climbs the plastic will bulge as the cabin pressure drops, and when you uncap it you will probably hear a hiss. Seal it back up and then during descent the bottle will crumple as the air pressure increases.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Home-Garden/Air-Pillows-in-packing-collapsed/td-p/23293939?nob...

-Lotz

[momcqueen]

Interesting! And a good argument for the double-layer of bubblewrap as well.

[momcqueen]

So you suspect Returms fraud? The plot thickens. Hmm. It would not be the first time this type of endeavor was employed on eBay.

[travis7s]

The buyer was polite and friendly about it, and the dollar value is too low to really make a fuss about, but you get a little suspicious when you've sent our a few hundred items and this is the first time you've seen  damage occur.

The air pillow failure is an interesting thought but I thinkt its a pretty rare occurance. I also receive a lot of packages with them and can't really recall noting any failures.

At any rate, I've filled out the basic claim form for Canada Post so we'll see how that goes. They didn't ask/theres no spot to upload photos.

[triber]

Last time I asked for a refund on a damaged package, I was asked if I double boxed it, I hadn't, and didn't get the refund. The trouble with double boxing is the extra size and weight really increase the shipping cost.

I try to find sheets of Styrofoam to line boxes on china especially, some stores that sell pictures, mirrors etc will have it.

[momcqueen]

I sincerely wish you the best of luck with this. Please let us know how it turns out.

[travis7s]

Canada Post approved my claim including postage charge, wait ~10 days for cheque in the mail.

[momcqueen]

That’s a relief. Good to hear you’re not on the hook.