EMS shipping...anyone else had a bad experience?

It was opened in Portugal, which is a country of origin, so they (CTT EXPRESSO) cancelled the exportation, announced "return to sender" but do not seem to move it in the past month requiring to pick it up at a DHL warehouse location in Lisbon which is 2000 km away from where I am (too expensive, to fly). Now they said it is no longer in a DHL warehouse (true or not?) and is in a CTT warehouse (if it is not a lie or incorrect info given to me). It was declared as documents in order to avoid inside thieves, who these days have mobile phones and can easily look up who is selling what and what package is worth stealing. The weight was so light, just a dozens pieces of old collectable labels. I was not avoiding customs duties since Portugal and the country of destination (not disclosed for privacy reasons) which both are members of the EU simply have no customs. Illegality or not allowedness of the items is also false since they are not in the list (long story, very specific detail) unless falls under their "other manufactured items" where they can confiscate just about anything mailed. Regarding me being blamed for not insuring the ites again I asked them whether insurance with EMS is MANDATORY. Their response is silence and that is not good.

Regarding declared value and invoice it was enclosed in the shipment and CTT EXPRESSO - EMS - DHL did not give me any chance to fix the docs so to speak, or to pay any duty (if it exists within the EU?) or insure the items, if insurance is mandatory... Where am I wrong and where are they right?

Exactly. And even if it is NOT money, it can not be exchanged as money, they decided it is still money and that I am guilty of not insuring it, while I doubt that insurance with EMS is mandatory? Yet they continue holding on to it and told me they are seizing and will destroy it. Although talking by the phone they told me will try to send it to a CTT shop near me, but that never happens. One guy on the phone told me if I wait long enough t will come back to me and another one said that "they usually return via a boat"... and that is EXPRESS mail service. Yet the tracking says: "Delivery failure Unclaimed, Returned to sender"... then weeks later... "OTHER SITUATIONS... Retained by security reasons... Export Cancelled.... Retido por motivos de segurança área Irregularidades nos requisitos aduaneiros". So there are all kinds of "excuses" or "reasons" and they can not decide which one they like most... OK, so declared €10 for items that cost about €20 but invoice was made and enclosed inside for several hundred, because it was agreed with the customer".

This is not a first time they open my package coming from or going to a different E.U. member country. Once they opened an EMS envelope sent to Sweden, damaged the contents, mishandled it, resealed in an unprofessional way, then despite having provided a phone number did not deliver to the recipient and some weeks later returned it to me causing me a loss of €30 for shipping charge. It took over a year to get it back from them by a claim.

When I sent EMS envelope to Thailand, it disappeared for 2 months and I thought it was stolen... Talking EXPRESS SERVICE! But then when I submitted a claim and made some good noise about it, "they" suddenly "found" it and delivered it to the recipient, but they never refunded or discounted the shipping charge. S delivery in 2 months and paid close to €70 for that, while I could send by Air Mail for €2! Never use EMS.

I already submitted a claim on this one (CTT EXPRESSO + EMS + DHL combination) that is still being held captive by them. They don't say it is in Customs. They say it is in their or in DHL warehouse. It was DHL warehouse address then it moved to another warehouse of EMS CTT whatever. They tell me to come and get it (fly 2000 km from the ilhas).

They don't say they want to keep and sell it, but that seems like the case? They can not charge me duties since I mailed within the EU, but as you can see EU in real life does not work and government or large corporations love to ignore laws just to play games with citizens. And that's why UK is leaving.

I owe money on that one and can't really recover so far, which makes even buying food difficult. Try living on €20 a week. I will never forget this and will never use EMS or DHL. Many others I spoke to speak the same of EMS and DHL.

When it comes to DHL they always ask to open the envelope to show what is inside, ever since XX century, so I never ever used DHL, and their website was unreasonable, dysfunctional, but now I ordered weed-eater parts for $9 and without being informed suddenly DHL sends me several "scary" emails that I need to fill out Customs forms on a $9 order from USA! Ausweiss kontroll! I was not given a choice and not disclosed that I was paying DHL against my will.

Then I remember in the USA, I went to a big city post office, in the city center, asked to mail an envelope via EMS. The lady took forever then told me "Go to FedEx nearby" and refused to accept my envelope! Seriously. I was mad on "EMS Cooperative" and did not use it for years. They seem to be lawless and invincible.

And regarding USPS it's been taken over by criminals since 2009 and look up the new 2009 rule to treat inbound foreign registered mail as mainstream first class mail. How many registered mails were suddenly "lost" ever since 2009 inbound into the US? And USPS customer service went down the drain, became a corrupt hole just like all of Africa's postal services (perhaps except Egypt's). One time a Priority Azul letter inbound into the US was "lost" and tracking was made to show it went beyond the point of delivery in NJ, then went a few other places and disappeared without a trace, later a week later was removed by someone at a www.usps.com from the entire system! Just 2 months into tracking it disappears from the USPS.con website tracking system. I have more than enough proof that postal and courier services around the world are being taken by criminals and incompetents.

And now I see EMS adverts across the walls in the post office advertising parcels to Angola... So desperate to get what they lost in public trust.... Hmm, those parcels must be filled with cash sent back home to Angola that can be opened and kept as well.

They told me clearly in English (by phone) that since their "not allowed "money" card" did not work for them, they now blame me for not insuring the shipment with its full value. This is two of their emails in Portuguese:

"Em resposta à situação apresentada por V. Exa. no Livro de reclamações on-line com a referência nº ROR00000000000xxxxxxxxx que nos mereceu particular atenção, informamos que procedemos às necessárias averiguações de forma a apurar a existência de alguma anomalia relativamente ao objeto EExxxxxxxxxPT.

Após verificação fisica, constatámos que efetivamente o objeto é considerável interdito na nossa rede postal, uma vez que se tratam de valores realizáveis sem ter sido expedido como valor declarado ou com seguro extra.

Face ao exposto, o objeto encontra-se retido nas nossas instalações, pelo que o mesmo aguarda levantamento diretamente nas instalações do nosso Centro Operacional Loures: OLX- MARL .......................... "

================

"Em resposta à situação apresentada por V. Exa no Portal da Queixa nº ................., sobre o objeto EExxxxxxxxxPT, informamos que procedemos às devidas averiguações,de forma, a verificar o exposto.

Esclarecemos que o objeto não seguiu para o país de destino, pois foi detetado conteúdo proíbido para a circulação na rede postal, sendo que a DHL apenas se trata de um parceiro postal dos nossos serviços.

O objeto encontra-se retido nas nossas instalações, pelo que o mesmo aguarda levantamento diretamente nas instalações do nosso Centro Operacional Loures: OLX- MARL.................................."

So they "physically verified" it and realized that "the white flour is indeed cocaine" (printed fantasy prints for collectors legally and clearly marked as appropriate to remain within law is now exchangeable money which they have never tried to cash cause the bank clerks would be ROTFLMFAO on them). And as they write I did not get EXTRA INSURANCE for it and under-declared the value since they "KNOW BETTER" what the real value is. The only "right" thing they got is that it was "under-declared" since you can't insure prints or printed matter anyway, so it must go as documents since it is printed documents anyway and a lawyer would prove me right. The recipient to make an impressive invoice since it was for a birthday present.

For €50 paid to them they can not even return it to sender? And it's a light envelope of not more than 100 grams. And now since they want to GET PAID SOMEHOW, but they got no idea HOW to get paid, because insurance is not mandatory and there are no duties among EU members. Wasn't enough that I paid €50 whopping to send the little envelope from A to B in the EU....

Also regarding "VALORES REALIZAVEIS" UK has already got rid of the stupid rule to not allow sending money in the mail. Mine wasn't money despite they ignoring the legal fact that it is NOT MONEY!

"Contenham notas de banco e outros títulos representativos de valores realizáveis"

You can not bring to the bank a piece of paper designed to be "funny money-like souvenirs" also known as "fantasy, novelty collectables" with "bank" names such as "Bank of Nowhere" or similar and clearly marked as "NO VALUE, souvenir, essay" and here is the link to it (see #7 there):

And look what was mailed...Photo attached. Bank of Vatican, OMG, the richest place on earth, so it must be real money.... the brain-free EMS CTT DHL "verified physically" but how? By chewing on it? Oh yes, it is made from paper, so it must be money! Call Vatican or Italy Central Bank and verify instead of (CTT EMS DHL) lying.

Here's another one.... 50 Francs, so it must be money! Right!

This one must be money, too! Portuguese CTT EMS and DHL came together with PHYSICAL VERIFICKATION!

Can you read warnings on the notes? CAMPIONE SENZA VALORE, ESSAY SPECIMEN NO VALUE. Those are 100% legal.

If someone sends soda powder or flour, they can "construe it as narcotics", right? And then what? And to the medieval witch-hunters the latter item is also porn as well?

I understand, but in legal terms it is legal. They can not confiscate it. A lawyer told me that. The only hook they can tell me to pay the under declared value difference yet the stuff is in free circulation around the EU and is made in the EU so there can not be duty on itand the insurance is not mandatory. A lawyer explained this to me. Internet is full of this stuff, openly. Ebay does not ban it. It is allowed everywhere. Hobbies and livelihoods are built on it. If they try to ban it it won't end up well for the ruling elite, who in fact collects this stuff as well. Work against the people and the rest of the EU will become history soon, the way of Brexit. Then they will be able to stuff their throats with duties from all directions. "They" created this onto themselves: globalisation, internet, duty-free, geoengineering and now they got not enough revenue. So they witch hunt again. Can't satisfy from both opposite holes at once or can they. Did you know that replica guns are legal? Can't carry them onto a plane or in public places (questionably) or in front of cops, but why can't mail FUNNY NOVELTY NOTES in disguised envelopes and quietly collect them. One thing is to ATTEMPT TO CASH such a note and another one is to KEEP COLLECTING it. This is insane, retarded and illegal to stop this hobby.

There's also stuff like that, which acts as real local complementary currency and it is legal as well:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_currency