Dan & Betty's straneded package - Unconfirmed Safari

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Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

Dan and Betty have always been giving people. It was fortunate that they got an email from Mrs. Alma and Mr. Valentine, who works for the UN in Ghana helping orphaned children. No surprise that Dan and Betty wanted to help!

It took a few weeks, but they got a parcel put together containing 6 MacBook Computers and 18 Apple iPhones. They also surprised Mrs. Alma with a surprise gift of $5,000, carefully concealed within the package.

It's been a few weeks, but Mr. Valentine is finally getting impatient. The parcel is close.. so close.. he emails GPS for an update:

Quote:

Hello,

I have a parcel with the code Y0OWEL3QXAN8XXXX which is supposed to be delivered in Ghana. It has been in Madrid for a few days according to the tracking.

Please when do I expect it in Ghana and how can I receive it?

Regards

Valentine

Customer care is prompt with their response:

Quote:

Hello sir thank you for message, we have done latest track on your parcel
it currently show depart Madrid Spain and arrival in Casablanca Morocco. Expected delivery at West Africa GPS Sort Facility expected delivery in 3 - 7
days from todays date. You will receive email notification and SMS notification to contact provided by shipper. Good day Customer Care

Valentine patiently waits, and sends a follow up message a few days later..

Quote:

Hello again,
Thanks for the response. However, I would like to know if your company GPS offers door to door delivery. (he wishes! Very Happy

)
Also what is the procedure for receiving parcel sent via your company.

I will be looking forward to your response.

Regards, Valentine

GPS sends an update. The package is ready to be picked up.. one minor problem. It is once country over in Cote d'Ivoire.

Quote:

Hello sir, your message is well receive your parcel is currently at our Bouake Cote d'Ivoire facility which is nearest facility to you there in Ghana. You will need to come to Bouake facility to collect parcel as we do not have GPS shipping service in Ghana. Please see attach image to see current location. We will forward your contact to Regional Manager to provide additional information on office location. Thank you for using GPS.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Valentine responds to this information.

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 1:45 am

Elite Baiter Joined: 28 Mar 2015 Posts: 1916

Glad to hear that Betty has recovered from her indisposition of some while ago. LOL

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 9:35 pm

Oh no, not Bouake!! I tried to find that depot once to collect my Gillette Ladyshave. 6 weeks riding around on an ass and all I got was a sore arse and very hairy legs. Mark my words, this won't end well Very Happy

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:09 pm

I hope Dan and Betty were given a good loyalty discount by GPS (especially with their track record)!

Fingers crossed

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 12:36 pm

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 12:43 pm

Mr. Labowski wrote:

...No surprise that Dan and Betty wanted to help!...

I am 100% convinced that things will go right! Laughing

Elite Baiter Joined: 17 Jun 2015 Posts: 1738

I am glad Betty is back to full health, I get the feeling this lad might be feeling sick soon though. Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

Mrs. Alma writes to Dan, letting him know that there is a problem:

Quote:

Hello Dan,

How are you doing? I hope your weekend was a great one. I would like to bring to your notice the Email response we received from the shipping company when we made contact regarding the status of the package.

Apparently the package has arrived a sort facility in Bouake, Cote d'Ivoire. The response also indicated that the receipient should visit Bouake Cote d'Ivoire which is another country in West Africa making it nearly impossible since (St. Saviour's Trust Charity) the Organization receiving the gift items is registered in Ghana not Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

Kindly contact the shipping company from your end to inquire on the update and why the parcel was shipped to Ivory Coast instead of Ghana being the official delivery address. I will apprecaite if they will be able to correct this and have the parcel shipped to the right country and address.

I await your urgent response and positive feedback. Have a blessed week.

Dan is on the case!

Quote:

Hello Mrs Almas,

I am not certain that I understand. When I shipped the package they told me that they had many offices in Africa, they did not say there would be any problem with delivery? I do not like this.

I will go into the GPS office tomorrow and ask to speak to the manager regarding this. How far away is this Bouake Cote place? Would it be possible to travel there to receive the package? It concerns me that the package would just be sitting for a long time without moving. Betty was very hopeful that the children would be getting their electronics this week. I will travel to the GPS office and will see what I can find out tomorrow.

Regards, Dan

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:27 am

Quote:

Betty was very hopeful that the children would be getting their electronics this week.

Fat chance of that Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Mr. Labowski wrote:

Betty was very hopeful

Hope in one hand, shit in the other. Great bait!

Elite Baiter Joined: 28 Mar 2015 Posts: 1916

^^ Hope springs eternal. Hehe.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

Quote:

Hello Dan,

Thanks for your quick response. Firstly yes the distance is far and secondly, St Saviors Charity is registered in Ghana and will face a lot of challenges retrieving the package from another country which will involve custom charges and all.

Please update me when you have feedback on this. There are always challenges with things like this which was why I suggested DHL because of the worldwide coverage in parcel delivery.

We were also hoping to put smiles on Betty’s face as well. Hopefully we will do when the situation is resolved.

Have a nice day.

No luck today. It is Independence Day!

Quote:

Hello Mrs Alma,

We drove down to the GPS office today but we were not thinking that today is July 4th, Independence Day here in the United States and the offices were not open. We will drive down again tomorrow and I will have words with the manager to find out why the package has not gotten to you. I am hopeful they will have a good resolution. I will ask them what to do.

Please send the children our blessing on this holy day of Independence Day.

Regards, Dan

Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2018 9:30 pm

Quote:

We were also hoping to put smiles on Betty's face as well

Oh I'm sure Betty will be smiling soon. Nothing like a safari to cheer her up Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

Quote:

Hello Dan,

Thank you for the Email again. I hope you had a great day yesterday the 4th.

I will await the outcome of your visit to the shipping company office today.

Dan talked to the manager...

Quote:

Hello Mrs Alma,

We just returned from the GPS office here and tried to get an explanation for what is going on. I spoke to a very nice man who was the Manager and he was able to track the package. It was like you said, it is in the town named Bouake. He looked it up and said that they do not have any GPS offices at all located in the country of Ghana! I asked him why they did not tell me such things when I was shipping it out to you but he was not certain. He said that someone should have notified me that the closest office they have near you is that one in Bouake.

He informed me that he would contact the GPS Manager in Bouake and have him contact you to see if there is a resolution to this. I don't really know what to do, he said that they don't have an office in Ghana so I'm not sure but hopefully there will be some resolution. I do not like that the package is just sitting there and Betty is starting to get upset. Please let me know as soon as you have heard from the manager.

Regards, Dan

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 8:44 pm

^^^ LOL! Very well done, I will try to remember some of your "replicas". clapping

Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 10:49 pm

GPS manager Roger Bartlett reaches out to the lad:

Quote:

Mr name is Roger Bartlett, and I am the regional manager of the Bouake office at GPS. I understand that you were to have a package delivered to a Barrister Valentine at the Saint Savior Charity in Ghana, is that correct? Your case has come to my attention, and I will help you resolve the issue.

I apologize for the confusion, but unfortunately our company does not have facilities or logistics networks in Ghana, and therefore we do not have the ability to deliver the package to its final destination. I don't know how the sender was allowed to send the package to an invalid destination in the first place, but it happened. In any case, the package is now being held in our long-term storage facility in Bouake.

Your best options are to either come to Bouake to pick up the package yourself, or to have the sender recall the package and send it by a different company. However, I must warn you that we automatically place a 60-day hold on returned shipments, so if this is a matter of some urgency, than claiming the package yourself is probably better. Please let me know what you would like to do.

The lad asks Roger to ship it with a different company:

Quote:

Thank you for your Email. I forwarded your Email to our representatives in Ghana Barrister Valentine and Mr David Duah and I have just received a response.

It is quite unfortunate that the package did not arrive Ghana like it was supposed to. However it is the incompetence of the sending office that they failed to inform the sender about this.

From the information I have gathered so far, I would like to suggest if you could send the package to Ghana via Inter City Transport company (ICT) to help facilitate the delivery. Also could you provide a phone number so our representative could contact you via phone call.

Looking forward to your response

No dice:

Quote:

Unfortunately that is not possible. Our company policy does not allow us to reship any packages by other carriers, due to security and custody concerns.

As I said previously, your best option will be to send a representative to our Bouake office to collect the package. I apologize that I cannot be of more assistance than that.

The lad wants a phone number for Roger:

Quote:

One of your representatives earlier indicated that a text message will be sent to the phone number(s) provided by the shipper but no sms has been received yet.

Please send a phone number with which your company can be contacted.

He sent that after close of business in Cote D'Ivoire, so Roger has not responded yet. I'll have to think of a way to get around the request for a phone number.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

Obviously since the package never made it to its final location, he did not receive the SMS notification. And since Roger is often filling in on deliveries he can be hard to reach on the phone. Best if he give you his number.

Mrs. Alma writes to Dan:

Quote:

Hello Dan,

I received an email from the regional manager in Bouake indicating that there are only two options.

1) We send representatives to Bouake to get the package.
2) We can inform you to recall the package and resend it with another shipping company. Which may take a lot of time.

We are making arrangements to assign an agent to try and get the package but we cannot tell the financial cost of that. Hopefully it will be considerate.

I will keep you updated with the progress.

Dan reminds him that the cash in the package will more than cover any travel expense:

Quote:

Hello Mrs. Alma,

Thank you so much for updating me on this. I still do not like that I was not informed by an agent at the GPS about the lack of shipping to Ghana. That is not a proper way to do business and I do not intend to use them again unfortunately.

I am so happy to read that you are making arrangements to go and collect the package. Betty and I are very certain that you will be able to collect it safely. In regards to cost, please remember that we have concealed a large amount of cash in the parcel. I placed it in an envelope within one of the computer boxes. Although we had intended for that money to be used on the children, considering the circumstance I think it would be agreeable if you used some of that money to reimburse any travel expenses. Betty and I have discussed it and we agree that would be alright. Please keep us updated on your progress and plans to go receive the parcel.

Regards, Dan

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 5:20 am

Big X wrote:

...I'll have to think of a way to get around the request for a phone number.

I have pretended that the shipping company's rules do not allow telephone conversations with clients, so there will be no problems with the misunderstanding of terms and conditions.
All discussions are only emailed, which is kept archived for further complaints.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

Mrs. Alma has not updated Dan on the current status:

Quote:

Hello Mrs. Alma, have you received any update from the company. Do you know when you will be receiving the package. Betty is starting to get very stressed about the current situation. I do hop you are able to find a resolution soon?

Regards, Dan

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2018 11:31 pm

Quote:

Hopefully it will be considerable <strike>ate</strike>

More great baiting. Dan and Betty are such caring people. GPS never fails to satisfy!

Funny, the strike shows in "preview" but not on the forum if I'm not logged in...

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 3:01 am

Roger explains why he can't be reached by phone:

Quote:

I apologize for the delay in my response, but I was unavailable this weekend because I was accompanying the long haul packages on the Asian route and could not access my email. I am back in my office now.

The reason you did not receive an SMS message is because the package was never delivered to its final destination. Our system only generates that message once the package has been marked as delivered by the driver on the local route.

I am frequently out of my office due to the fact that I need to fill in on delivery runs, and it is hard to reach me by phone then, especially if I am out of the country. Maybe if you provide a phone number I can make sure to get in contact with you?

The lad provides a phone number:

Quote:

Thanks for getting back to me. We are making arrangements to send a representative to get the package but so far we have little or no information about your company which has made it impossible for us to proceed with our plans.

I need an address and an office phone number to enable us reach you. I can understand that you are always busy which is why I need an office phone number or someone else to reach for directions.

Here is the phone number to reach Barrister Valentine on +233576xxxxxx

Looking forward to your response.

Roger agrees to pass on the information to his office manager:

Quote:

Yes, I see what you mean. I don’t want to cause any more delays for you claiming your package, so here is what I will do.

I will pass your contact information along to my office manager, who can get in contact with you to arrange a time when you can pick up your package. But be rest assured that this matter will still have my full attention.

The lad asks again for Roger's number:

Quote:

Kindly send me the address to your office and a phone number. I don't understand why this is proving to be difficult for you sir. Barrister Valentine is making plans to send DHL representatives to your office with authorization to collect the package and take it to him there in Ghana.

Your assitance will be highly appreciated.

I'm not sure how serious he is about the DHL reps. Roger will tell him that he needs to pick up the package himself.

Mr L, are you planning to call the lad with a spoofed CdI number, or do I need to come up with another excuse for why the company doesn't have a number?

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

I'll give him a call tonight. I think it will help encourage them to travel.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 4:36 am

You'll probably also need to come up with an excuse with why he can't reach you by phone, since that was a major red flag for Archie before he twigged

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Sep 2013 Posts: 2205

I haven't had a chance to call yet.

Quote:

Hello Dan,

How are you today? I write to update you on the current situation regarding the package.

I have written a couple of emails to the shipping company requesting that they give me the address to their office and a phone number so our representatives could speak to someone and get directions to the office at Bouake but they keep coming up with clumsy excuses while ignoring the request. Till this moment they have not given out the directions to their office given account that there has been more than 5 responses from the regional manager. I suspect something is not right.

This has made it virtually impossible to make proper plans to pick up the package.

I will suggest you recall the package and resend through a more credible shipping company like DHL or FedEx. This way there will be less stress in getting it to us.

Have a blessed week and my regards to Betty.

Thank

Dan will try to help him figure it out..

Quote:

Hello Mrs Almas,

This is very concerning to me! I do not like this at all and I am worried to have the package sitting for so long at the shipper! Why have they not given you their address that does not seem right they should provide you with the address to that you can go and collect the package! I will be going down to our local GPS office here and demanding that they give me the address for the Boake town where the package is located. It is unacceptable that they have not given it to you yet. I am starting to be concerned for Betty she is feeling a lot of stress about all of this and she is worried that the children are not going to get their electronics.

Regards, Dan

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