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Call Kurtis: USPS Claims Blank Space Is Signature Confirmation, Customer Says

LINCOLN (CBS13) -- Diane Jay thought she had taken every precaution.

"I did everything that they recommend," the mother of seven said.

Jay bought signature confirmation and insurance on the $1300 MacBook Pro she sold on eBay to a buyer in Berkeley.

But the buyer never got it, she said, and PayPal refunded the buyer in Berkeley his money, leaving Jay without her money or her laptop.

The signature delivery receipt doesn't appear to show any signature on it, so Jay thought she'd get her insurance claim right away.

"I understand mistakes happen," she said. "And that's why I buy insurance."

But the Postal Service denied her claim, saying the package was "delivered as addressed" -- indicating the blank space on her receipt was in fact a signature.

"That's clearly blank," she said. "Quite honestly I kind of feel like I'm being robbed by the Post Office."

"It's ridiculous," said consumer attorney Stuart Talley of Sacramento-based Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff.

The Postal Service may be breaking the terms of its own insurance agreement with the customer, Talley said.

"They can't give people the runaround," he said. "They have to give people the benefit of the doubt."

"I paid for insurance -- I paid for a signature," Jay said.

A Call Kurtis producer asked USPS about Jay's claim. Where did her laptop go?

"We don't know for sure what happened," spokesman Gus Ruiz said, adding, "We are not investigating."

But Ruiz and spokesman Ralph Petty admitted Jay's claim should not have been denied in the first place -- or on the following two appeals she filed.

USPS agreed to send Jay a check for the full amount of her insurance claim.

"It may have taken a while, but at least they did follow through and do the right thing," she said.

Jay and her eBay buyer filed a police report with the Berkeley Police Department for this laptop, but she is not aware of any possible leads.

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