Question On Customs

[DSMITH]

Can anyone tell me how you file a complaint against customs for damaging an Item I ordered that came in from Bulgaria

I recently ordered a coil for a Golden Mask 7 metal detector and customs literally destroyed the coil by drilling 5 holes through the top of the coil and through the windings of the coil and then re packaged it, have no clue what they thought they were doing by what they did, they could have ran this coil through their ex ray machines and most likely seen that it contained no drugs or any other illegal things, in my opinion this is blatant miss handling of a product that came in from an outside country, I see this as vandalism of property, and just someone up to no good, luckily I had also ordered a 13x11 coil that escaped customs scrutiny, and mischievous behavior, I believe this was done after it arrived to the U.S also in either New York or Cincinnati Ohio, which is the route it took before coming to Tucson

I have contacted Golden Mask and awaiting a response but with it being the week end I most likely will not receive a reply back until next week 

Also this post is for a heads up of what could take place when ordering something from another country like coils and things like that  

[Steve Herschbach]

If it was me I'd contact customs and ask how to file a complaint. Or Google and find the online complaint page:

https://help.cbp.gov/s/complaints?language=en_US

 

[GotAU?]

Wow, someone must’ve gotten some sort of a red flag on coil shipments, but testing an item destructively that way and not reporting the damage to you was ridiculous.

Submit a form 95 claim to customs for destruction of property- this explains it on their website:

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-178?language=en_US

Was the shipment insured?  One issue I can think of happening is maybe that they will try to blame the Bulgarian customs office on it if they inspected it before it was exported. You may need proof that that didn’t happen either.

[DSMITH]

19 hours ago, GotAU? said:

Wow, someone must’ve gotten some sort of a red flag on coil shipments, but testing an item destructively that way and not reporting the damage to you was ridiculous.

Submit a form 95 claim to customs for destruction of property- this explains it on their website:

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-178?language=en_US

Was the shipment insured?  One issue I can think of happening is maybe that they will try to blame the Bulgarian customs office on it if they inspected it before it was exported. You may need proof that that didn’t happen either.

yeah this was nothing but pure vandalism by one of the Customs agents in my opinion, I will be filing a complaint and trying to get satisfaction on this, there was no need for what they did to that coil, I believe they could have ran it through their ex-ray machines and seen that there was no drugs or anything else illegal inside that coil. I could not believe it when I opened the box and seen what they had done to this coil, one 3/8 inch hole would have been bad enough but to literally drill 5- 3/8 inch holes through the windings inside the coil that is ridiculous to say the least. 

[phrunt]

I don't think the export customs do the screening of stuff like the import customs do, at least here, as if I post something internationally it arrives at the mail centre and passes right through straight away to waiting on a flight and is normally off on its way a few hours after arriving, whereas importing stuff sits in customs for a couple of days where it goes through screening.

I would think if they were sampling the coil by drilling it like that, it would be done at import customs in the US not export in Bulgaria.

[phrunt]

I don't think the export customs do the screening of stuff like the import customs do, at least here, as if I post something internationally it arrives at the mail centre and passes right through straight away to waiting on a flight and is normally off on its way a few hours after arriving, whereas importing stuff sits in customs for a couple of days where it goes through screening.

I would think if they were sampling the coil by drilling it like that, it would be done at import customs in the US not export in Bulgaria.

[Steve Herschbach]

You don't actually know what happened or where so best bet is to just go through the process and try and get it resolved. Good luck - that sucks.  From  https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-178?language=en_US

Tort Claims - Claim for property damage or loss, or personal injury, or death

If you would like to make a claim for property damage or loss, or personal injury, or death resulting from the negligent or wrongful acts or omissions of an employee of  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), you must file an administrative tort claim against the agency. CBP processes administrative tort claims in accordance with the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 2671, et seq.

Claimants who wish to file an administrative tort claim against CBP should complete a Standard Form 95, Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death and submit it, along with the required supporting documentation, to the CBP port of entry, Border Patrol station, CBP pre-clearance location, or other CBP facility nearest the geographic location where the incident is alleged to have occurred. 

If the alleged incident occurred at an International Mail Branch facility, please submit the SF-95 and supporting documentation to your nearest CBP port of entry or Border Patrol station.

To obtain a mailing address for CBP ports of entry, click here.

To view a list of mailing addresses for Border Patrol Stations, click here.

Claimants filing an administrative tort claim against CBP should thoroughly read and comply with the instructions listed on the back side or second page of the SF-95.  It is the claimant’s responsibility to provide documentation supporting the allegations made in the submitted claim.  

Supporting documentation includes, but is not limited to: witness statements, police reports, and evidence substantiating the dollar amount claimed (e.g., estimates, quotes, invoices, and/or receipts).  Failure to submit evidence substantiating the allegations may result in delay or denial of the claim.

Once a completed administrative tort claim and its supporting documentation have been submitted, CBP will investigate the facts presented and examine the legal basis for the claim.  Any claim for $10,000 or less will be investigated and reviewed by CBP’s Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, Indianapolis.  Any claim exceeding $10,000 will be investigated and reviewed by CBP’s legal counsel office nearest the geographic location where the incident is alleged to have occurred.

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 2671 U.S. Customs and Border Protection has six months to investigate, review and adjudicate a claim. All decisions will be forwarded to the claimant by mail.

From https://www.justice.gov/civil/documents-and-forms-0

Standard Form 95. Standard Form 95 is used to present claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for property damage, personal injury, or death allegedly caused by a federal employee's negligence or wrongful act or omission occurring within the scope of the employee's federal employment. These claims must be presented to the Federal agency whose employee conduct gave rise to the injury.

Standard Form 95 is not required to present a claim under the FTCA, but it is a convenient format for supplying the information necessary to bring an FTCA claim. Please note that a completed form must state a claim for money damages in a “sum certain” amount (that is, a specific amount) claimed for personal injury, death, or injury to or loss of property. In addition, if a sum certain is not specified in Standard Form 95 block 12d, or in accompanying information, a submission cannot be considered a valid presentation of a claim. The completed Standard Form 95 must be presented to the appropriate federal agency within two years after the claim accrues.

Download Standard Form 95 Here

[GotAU?]

I hope someone wasn’t expecting something to be shipped in it, then when they couldn’t find it they went on to the next one. That would’ve been pretty bad!

[DSMITH]

1 hour ago, GotAU? said:

I hope someone wasn’t expecting something to be shipped in it, then when they couldn’t find it they went on to the next one. That would’ve been pretty bad!

Nothing would surprise me anymore, what is odd is they never touched the 13x11 just that 18 inch coil.

[mn90403]

Did Golden Mask say if it happened to their products before?