The latest UPS horror story from John Farnam.

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. –
Henry David Thoreau –

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29 Oct 04

Beware of UPS Stores!

Recently, I attempted to ship a broken gun via a UPS Store in a large, metro
area in the Midwest. Part were dissembled, and the weapons itself was
broken. In fact, I was shipping it back to the manufacturer for repair. I’ve
done this same thing many times.

Unknown to me, the local PD has instituted a “turn in your neighbor”
policy, where UPS Store employees are instructed to pilfer any package they
consider “suspicious.” Such pilfering is done out of sight of the shipper and
without his knowledge or consent. It is clearly illegal, but nobody seems to
care. I got caught in the trap, and my package ended up with the local PD. I
was never notified by UPS or the UPS Store, and, when I called them, they
played dumb and claimed to know nothing about it. I called a number they gave
me, and it turned out to be the number of the PD. This bureau seems intent on
manufacturing criminals where there are none, and they look upon all gun
owners as outlaws.

In any event, I got my package back, but it took six weeks. The UPS Store
did fully refund all shipping and packaging charges. My letter and calls to
the PD all went unanswered for weeks. Only when I retained a local lawyer and
had him write a pointed letter did they suddenly learn how to use a
telephone! The fact that I am also a police officer did not seem to do anything in
my favor.

When one tries to ship a gun, and he tells the shipper it is a gun, the gun
will routinely be stolen. I’ve always chosen to go low profile. I am still
persuaded that is the best way to go. However, UPS and UPS Stores are
particularly vehement gun haters, and this city has a gun-hating,
gun-owner-harassing agenda, which is enforced as if it were law.

All is well that ends well, but there are some important lessons:

>Never ship anything important via UPS. FedEx is much friendlier, and they
seem happier to have your business.

>Don’t use UPS Stores. There are plenty of other places that are more
agreeable and don’t ask questions.

>Whatever shipping place you use, always pay with a credit card. Knowing
you can later contest a charge makes employees less likely to mess up a sale.

>Always insure the package. Again, they don’t like to mess up a done deal.

>Never leave a shipping place without a receipt, and a tracking number.
Again, once the package is in the system, they tend to leave it alone. Don’t
just drop it off and believe them when they say, “We’ll take care of it.”

>Have the package wrapped at one place, and than take it to another for
actual shipping. Don’t perform both functions at the same place.

>Don’t ship from any big, metro area. The local PD may be bored!

>Don’t have anything on the package marking or label that suggest it
contains a gun. Words like “gunsmithing,” “arms,” “gunworks,” etc are all an
invitation to pilferage.

>If store employees start asking nosy questions, don’t answer them. Take
your package and leave immediately.

It won’t get better. We warriors have to find, as always, ways to work
around whatever barriers are erected.

/John