Stolen sword : Your help is required !

[Tohagi]

Good evening to all the community of the Nihonto Board,

 

It's heavy hearted that I open this topic.

After passing Custom and paying custom fees, the Kiyomitsu tanto I was waiting for is declared "Lost" by the French Post.

Considering the value of this sword, it seems to have been stolen.

 

I am begging for your help if you see something like this in any web market "ebay", "Le bon coin", etc... please spot it !

It had realy a fantastic hada, unfotunatly I have just these 2 pictures of the Koshirae and the NBTHK, it comes in shirasaya :

 

Many thanks to every one for your vigilance and integrity !

 

Best regards,

 

Eric VD

[Lewis B]

So sorry to hear this. Daimyo family history with early registration from 1951 too. Can we get a few more details like who the carrier was? I assume EMS. Were there any scans after it left Customs such as the local delivery office? It's situations like this that makes me think it's safer to ship papers separately. At least then you have some documentation in hand in case ownership has to be proved. Another suggestion is to pay the customs fees at the time of handover. For Fedex this can be paid in cash at the destination address or the local hub where a debit card is acceptable. 

 

 

[Benjamin]

lots of "3" in the token number, easy to recall if anyone see it.

[Tohagi]

Hello Lewis,

 

The carrier, french side, was La Poste. It pass the customs' process just before Christmast, The last register point is the logistics' plateform of Montereau-sur-le-Jard 77950 FRANCE, it was the 26 dec 2024 at 16h08, after that it"vanished"...

 

I feel so ashamed for the French post service ! I'm part of the French high administration and allways trying to defend it's values.

I am desapointed and very angry!

This beautifull piece of art could be lost or destroyed forever...

 

Thank you so much for your kind words and support.

 

Friendly,

 

Eric

[Ed]

Sorry to hear this. Many of us are victims of theft worldwide.

 

It is a problem which seems to be getting worse opposed to better.

[Lewis B]

Many advocate including an airtag in packages to assist with tracking. They aren't very expensive but could prove really good for pinpointing the movements of the box and the last person to have control.

[Tohagi]

Yes, you are right, this could have helped, unfortunatly the seller in Japan (a perfect gentlemen by the way) didn't inclued a tag in the pack.

 

By the way, French Post Service is very little helping in this case. They consider they only have obligations towards the sender despite they made me pay customs fees and service fees to take the custom process done... No way to ask further investigations or research.

 

You can not trust Post agents anymore, it's really a shame !

 

Best regards,

 

Eric

[Lewis B]

Yes, sad fact of life and we can only protect ourselves the best we can. I don't think anyone on the NMB has indicated that they include an airtag in the box but its becoming more common in general when travelling with suitcases and for high value shipments as an extra layer of security. If you can trace the location you could get the authorities involved.

 

Hopefully the tanto was fully insured. You should also be able to claim back the customs duty if the package is lost in transit. And you're right, the only obligation the carrier has is to the contracted person ie the sender in this case, unless you paid the carrier directly. Has the shipper in Japan opened up a claim? Some retailers allow you to pay with a credit card (most don't it seems) so that could be another avenue to pursue, if applicable.

 

Was a signature required upon delivery? If yes and there is no signature then the finger has to point at a specific person in the French Postal Service.

 

Good luck and I hope it eventually materializes.

[kissakai]

Lewis beat me to it

They consider they only have obligations towards the sender 

I have had similar problem selling so I have raised the questions. Luckily they have been found

I always ask for papers to be sent separately as there is only a little cost involved and it doesn't go through customs

Nobody will usually steal an envelope

Good luck with your search and you never know it may magically turn up. Most I've waited is three months but I know others have waited longer

 

 

 

[Bruno]

5 hours ago, Tohagi said:

French Post Service

Chronopost or Colissimo international?

 

 

[Ed]

Air tags do add a bit more security. I have sent a few and had a few sent to me with an included envelope with paid post to return the tag. 

[PNSSHOGUN]

The best thing to do is raise absolute hell: police reports, contacting the postmaster general, local MP's etc etc. This seems to have worked wonders for other members in the past when things have gone missing. 

[Brian]

Agree with John. The more inconvenient you make it for them, the more chance it will be magically found.
Post bad reviews everywhere about the postal service on social media...email everyone in a high up position you can find (searching internet usually turns up some managerial emails) talking about the loss of a culturally important object, opening a police case and forwarding them the case number....just keep harassing them. I have found in the past that this really does sometimes help, and there is a chance it is found suddenly. Good luck and don't give up.

[KungFooey]

Here you are Eric. @Tohagi

 

Philippe Wahl

Chairman and CEO, Le Groupe La Poste

 

Direct email:

philippe.wahl@laposte.fr

 

Bon chance!

Dee

[Tohagi]

Thank you all for your support : this really helps !

 

@ Dee, thank you so much for the contact I'll write right now.

@Bruno, it was La Poste Colissimo

 

Thanks to you, I'm taking courage to fight back !

 

I'll remember this,

 

Best regards,

 

Eric

[Lewis B]

5 minutes ago, Tohagi said:

Thank you all for your support : this really helps !

 

@ Dee, thank you so much for the contact I'll write right now.

@Bruno, it was La Poste Colissimo

 

Thanks to you, I'm taking courage to fight back !

 

I'll remember this,

 

Best regards,

 

Eric

Thats the spirit. Never say die.

I assume you have seen this webpage. File a complaint, phone customer service, write to as many emails as you can find. Someone knows something. Its just a matter of shaking the tree. ......

https://aide.laposte...-or-file-a-complaint

[Shugyosha]

Bon courage Eric!

[KungFooey]

37 minutes ago, Tohagi said:

Thank you all for your support : this really helps !

 

@ Dee, thank you so much for the contact I'll write right now.

@Bruno, it was La Poste Colissimo

 

Thanks to you, I'm taking courage to fight back !

 

I'll remember this,

 

Best regards,

 

Eric

Hi Eric,

 

Don't be afraid to complain very strongly to Monsieur Wahl.

 

A good friend of mine once taught me you don't mess around with complaint departments - you go straight to the very top. They absolutely hate being bothered by customers and will do anything to make them go away.

This approach has worked for me on numerous occasions; the CEO of an international bank, Jeff Bezos at Amazon and even an ambassador. The trick is to be extremely formal, polite and cold in your wording - it's far more effective than anger.

 

Go for it!

Dee

[Brian]

Bombard them with emails. Find their Facebook page, and post the story there and be angry but polite! Warn people against using their service.
Find them on Twitter...post about it, and tag them.
Spend time online and find employee emails, and send one email to everyone in disgust.
All of the above I have successfully used when dealing with companies, and usually come right eventually.

A few emails I would try, cc all of them. Many may ignore you, or they bounce back. But those who don't bounce back, you know they were delivered to someone, and you keep those emails in the communication.

instance-recours.laposte@laposte.fr

colissimo.ewe@laposte.fr

Florian.Leclercq@laposte.fr
jgras@laposte.fr

Gregory.Proust@laposte.fr

info@laposte.fr

martine.varieras@laposte.fr

caio.inbox@laposte.net

Romain.Lefebvre@laposte.fr

berengere.brochenin@laposte.fr
angela.alcindor@laposte.fr
nicole.abenhaim@laposte.fr
sophie.durieux@laposte.fr
catherine.fournaise@laposte.fr
juliette.lenci@laposte.fr
sophie.gonzalez@laposte.fr
ali.bouarnane@laposte.fr
morgane.quentel@laposte.fr
alexandra.mauraisin@laposte.fr
olivier.bombe@laposte.fr
frederic.crocq@laposte.fr
gwenna.mottais@laposte.fr
sylvain.quelo@laposte.fr
philippe.pacom@laposte.fr
yvan.serrano@laposte.fr
jerome.batailler@laposte.fr
nathalie.joly@laposte.fr
didier.dulac@laposte.fr
severine.paris@laposte.fr

 

 

[KungFooey]

26 minutes ago, Brian said:

Bombard them with emails. Find their Facebook page, and post the story there and be angry but polite! Warn people against using their service.
Find them on Twitter...post about it, and tag them.
Spend time online and find employee emails, and send one email to everyone in disgust.
All of the above I have successfully used when dealing with companies, and usually come right eventually.

A few emails I would try, cc all of them. Many may ignore you, or they bounce back. But those who don't bounce back, you know they were delivered to someone, and you keep those emails in the communication.

instance-recours.laposte@laposte.fr

colissimo.ewe@laposte.fr

Florian.Leclercq@laposte.fr
jgras@laposte.fr

Gregory.Proust@laposte.fr

info@laposte.fr

martine.varieras@laposte.fr

caio.inbox@laposte.net

Romain.Lefebvre@laposte.fr

berengere.brochenin@laposte.fr
angela.alcindor@laposte.fr
nicole.abenhaim@laposte.fr
sophie.durieux@laposte.fr
catherine.fournaise@laposte.fr
juliette.lenci@laposte.fr
sophie.gonzalez@laposte.fr
ali.bouarnane@laposte.fr
morgane.quentel@laposte.fr
alexandra.mauraisin@laposte.fr
olivier.bombe@laposte.fr
frederic.crocq@laposte.fr
gwenna.mottais@laposte.fr
sylvain.quelo@laposte.fr
philippe.pacom@laposte.fr
yvan.serrano@laposte.fr
jerome.batailler@laposte.fr
nathalie.joly@laposte.fr
didier.dulac@laposte.fr
severine.paris@laposte.fr

 

 

Hey Brian!

Is there anyone at La Poste that you haven't included? 🤣

(I'm pretty sure the thief has to be somewhere among that bunch!)

[Brian]

There's about 2100 emails I wasn't able to harvest....and many of them would be in divisions unrelated to this case...so I have no idea if it will reach anyone relevant, but worth a try. If 1 or 2 are real people with influence, it can start some progress. The idea is to make it inconvenient for them, enough to have someone actually investigate.
Most times parcels are just misplaced or lose their tracking info, rather than actual theft.

[Tohagi]

Hi Brian,

 

Remind me never mess with you!

I wrote a very formal and factual mail to M Wahl, I also wrote a quite a snap paper letter to the La Post directors.

 

I will gradualy try many of the mail adresses you found and probably go to police soon.

 

I will alors call and go every day to the post office until they call the security...

Maybe it could do something. 

 

Thank you Dee, thank you Brian, thank you all of you for the energy.

 

Eric 

 

[Lewis B]

Go to the Post Office everyday?    Thats my definition of masochism. Only a lost Masamune would make me do that.

[Tohagi]

First time I had this tanto in hand, after examining many good blades (I was about to buy a beautyfull Takada Katana in exquisite Hito Koshirae), my all body begun shivering.

My wife never saw me so touched.

 

In a way, it's my masamune...

I can't explain this feeling.

 

[dimitri]

I'm sorry for you Eric.

The postal service is a big problem in France.

If you're not too far from the warehouse, I'd tell you to try to go there.

[raynor]

On 1/7/2025 at 2:56 PM, Lewis B said:

Many advocate including an airtag in packages to assist with tracking. They aren't very expensive but could prove really good for pinpointing the movements of the box and the last person to have control.

This. Airtags absolutely terrific in locating "lost" valuable shipments. It is still a fairly new thing for most people to consider but in a hobby like nihonto where you have relatively small items with potentially very high value these are now a must have in my opinion.

I have unfortunately no experience with the French postal system but do recognize exciting looking shipments getting "lost" when I lived in Miami, once after they "misplaced" one of my wife's shipments I emailed and called the local postmaster a handful of times and after a few days the lost package turned up, taped shut and with some opened articles inside, and we never hand and problems the remaining time I lived there. Complaining to the bosses as already people have suggested definitively increase your chances!