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EuroSprinter, Correos, Poste and the odyssey with the black hole of Milan Roserio
Hello everyone,
On November 15, 2021, I bought a scale N model electric locomotive, a EuroSprinter by Arnold, for the bargain price of €65 from a Spanish seller in Barcelona, a great deal.
The next day, November 16, the package is duly handed over to Spanish Correos with tracking number RV242690681ES.
On November 17, the package duly leaves Spain. From there I switch from Correos tracking to Poste tracking.
On November 26, having received no updates, I check the Correos tracking, which gives me a lovely welcome with a full-screen red warning:
Missing shipment contents declaration form to complete the import procedure (CN22/23)
In other words, the paperwork is incomplete and the package cannot clear customs.
I contact the seller immediately, and he, as stunned as I am, assures me that all his packages rightly have complete and correct documentation.
My friends and I figure the package may have mistakenly ended up in the “Non-EU” section when leaving Spain or upon arrival in Italy.
On December 5 I contact 800 083 083 for information, and after 15 minutes with the virtual assistant and a full 30 minutes of waiting I finally manage to speak to a human being. I am told that if the package comes from Barcelona there should be no problems and everything should be resolved in the following weeks.
That evening they manually update the tracking: 05/12/2022 issues reported during verification for release of the shipment. declaration required for release missing.
I wait two weeks.
On December 22 I contact 800 083 083 to ask for information. I am told that to clear customs on the package, I need to fill out the "customs clearance request form" and send it to the customs email address, which they dictate to me over the phone. That same day I send all the necessary documents.
The next day, December 23, I get a reply from Poste: Shipments starting with L, R, U are not handled by this office; we recommend that you contact the toll-free number 800 083 083.
I try to reply with: Hello, it was the operator at 800 083 083 who gave me your email.
And since apparently kindness is plentiful, I get this reply: Shipments starting with L, R, U are not handled by this office; we recommend that you contact the toll-free number 800 083 083.
I am told that once Poste receives the documents, they have 10 days to clear the package. That same day I send the necessary documents to the "correct" email address.
As a precaution, counting Christmas and New Year's, I let two weeks pass.
On January 9, having heard nothing, I call 800 083 083 again and am told that there is no point sending the documents if customs does not request them, because they are simply thrown in the trash. Instead, he advises me to try filing a complaint. I file a complaint immediately that same day.
Two days later, on January 11, I get the reply: we invite you to contact directly the toll-free number for customs assistance 800.083.083.
Well, thanks a lot.
I now have all the details to request a refund from the seller, but personally I don't feel like doing it, since he was perfectly fair and kind to me, and rightly bears no blame in this mess.
I would like to contact those idiots in Milano Roserio and talk to them properly, but, as one of the Poste call center operators told me, with the resigned tone of someone who has already tried again and again, "those people don't even answer the phone for us..."
I want my package to arrive, sooner or later. It doesn't matter whether it's sooner or later. It's absolutely not a valuable item, but I want it to arrive.
At this point I'd be happy if they sent it back to the sender, so he could resend it to me with a decent express courier, and I'd gladly pay even double the shipping!
But in reality, there is nothing I can do.
Tomorrow I'll contact 800 083 083 again, and almost certainly I'll have to contact them again, and again, and again. But there's nothing else I can do.
Send and have your items sent with DHL, FedEx, UPS, SDA, Bartolini, TNT - anything is fine. Tape the packages to goats if necessary.
But for God's sake, don't ship with the post office.
