Guns came by mail … and left by theft #2

Re: Guns came by mail ... and left by theft & Postal contractor charged after guns go missing.

The continuing saga of the missing guns in Oshawa continues courtesy of our friends at Canada Post and Durham Regional Police.

Here is the article from today's Toronto Star with my comments filling in the "unofficial" details of what really happen. I provide the comments as I am quite well versed in tracking packages with Canada Post using their "customer service" centre (the reason for the quotes around the "customer service" words in this sentence will become evident further on...I promise! ):

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A former contractor working for Canada Post has been charged with the theft of two firearms that were supposed to have been delivered to an Oshawa home last March.

The guns, a Remington Super Mag Combo 12-gauge shotgun and a Ruger Deluxe .22-calibre rifle, were shipped fully assembled from a Calgary sporting goods store, in the original manufacturer's boxes and wrapped in brown paper, Durham police said. There was no label on the package identifying the parcel as containing firearms. The shipper is not required to do so unless the guns are crossing the border.

Canada Post said at the time that its couriers will drop off a parcel even if there is no one home, but only on instructions from the receiver. The store shipping the guns had advised Canada Post to obtain a signature on delivery, but that was not done in this case, police said.

He finally went to police after Canada Post notified him that its records indicated the guns had arrived at the Oshawa depot on March 17 and were delivered to his home that afternoon. But according to police, the guns, along with ammunition assembling equipment, were never delivered. 

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Hmmm.....the guns were not delivered in March, the person complained in April, the original newspaper article (in the Toronto Star) appeared in May. So why did it take so long to complete the investigation once the customer complained?

Well lets see, when I call the Canada Post "customer service centre" I run the gauntlet of trying to get an answer on where my package is via the automated phone system. After mashing several numbers on my phone and totally confusing the posties automated phone hell system, I am put on hold until an operator is able to take my call. Sometimes I wait for five minutes in order to speak to an actual operator.

This operator tells me I should hear back in five days from an searching agent. Hmmm....ok...wouldn't it be easier if a search agent were to engage a search for the missing package right away? Wouldn't there be a better chance of the package being found the sooner the search be done? Might the delivery person who dropped the package off at the wrong address be able to remember a little better the sooner he/she is inquired to as to where the package is? With Fedex I seem to have had two packages saved from miss delivery because the driver was contacted within a day in order to ensure proper delivery to the right address. But I guess with Canada Post that makes to much sense.

After five days, and not hearing back from Canada Post, I call the "customer service centre" again and go through the same automated phone system hell as mentioned in the paragraph directly above. This time I speak to a manager who says I need to wait fifteen days before a search agent to be done. Please note, I am now taking notes of who I spoke with, date and time, length of time I spent on hold in order to speak to a live human person, and what each person said. Why do I do this? So the person who answers the phone know what I go through and what the instances I have run into.

After ten days, and not not hearing back from Canada Post, I call the "customer service centre" again and go through the same automated phone system hell as mentioned in the paragraph above and explaining what I have been through in the above two paragraphs (using my extensive notes described above). This time I am told by the customer service representative that fifteen days is when I should hear back. I inquired with this poor sap how a customer service manager could be wrong about the days required to hear from a search. I then ask about the Canada Post Ombudsman's phone number.

He said the Ombudsman wouldn't be able to help several times before this Canada Post "customer service centre representative" gives me the number. So with this in mind, lets finish up the newspaper story....

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 He finally went to police after Canada Post notified him that its records indicated the guns had arrived at the Oshawa depot on March 17 and were delivered to his home that afternoon. But according to police, the guns, along with ammunition assembling equipment, were never delivered. 

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So let me fill in the missing information that the newspaper reporter left out using my example from above as a guideline:

It only took about a month for Canada Post to figure this one out and probably several phone calls through the automate phone system hell by police to the Canada Post "customer service centre representative" who pulls a number of days as to when the police detective might be able to receive a phone call back as to the whereabouts of the guns and what went wrong.

The cops finally probably threatened to go to the Canada Post Ombudsman. However, the police probably got the run around with by the Canada Post "customer service reps" by refusing to give the Canada Post Ombudsman's phone number. The police probably had to threaten charges against the reps in order to extricate that number. The rep then handed the over the phone number to the police.

The Canada Post "customer service representative" probably hit the alarm bell that the Ombudsman's phone number had been requested. This alarm bell probably finally got the attention of the Canada Post search department to start an investigation into this package. Then this happens.... 

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 John Ryan Margach, 24, of Oshawa is charged with theft of mail, theft of mail containers and theft under $5,000. He no longer works for Canada Post. The guns have not been recovered. 

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Hmmmm....so Canada Post dilly dallies in giving an answer as to the whereabouts of the guns (based on my experience above) and charges are laid. However, in this case (as in the case of my own packages that have gone missing on more than 6 times since January) the original package goes missing for good never to be found again. Considering the contents of the package in the newspaper article, I would be very worried.

The question is, why is Canada Post so incompetent at trying to find these packages? What takes so long to even begin to find the packages that have gone missing in both the case of the guns and in my own experience? I am still trying to find this answer out from Canada Post.

If anyone finds out...PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

Works Cited

Brazao, Dale. "Postal contractor charged after guns go missing." Toronto Star. 14 June 2006: A14.

Suddard, Michael. "May 2006: Guns came by mail...and left by theft." Michael Suddard's Homepage. On-line. Internet. 12 December 2010 Available: https://www.michaelsuddard.com/2006/05/guns-came-by-mailand-left-by-theft.html