COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — They say every cloud has a silver lining, but one Columbus man is still looking for his. Gil Brano is missing more than $1,000 worth of silver somewhere in the United States Postal Service system, and after getting nowhere in trying to track it down, he decided, he better call Jackson.
“I am far from the only person that has come across this,” Gil Brano said. He was hoping to cross his palm with some silver last year by turning in a solid silver brick he owned into some liquid cash.
“I was hoping to use that money for a vacation,” Brano said.
Brano went through American Precious Metals Exchange based in Oklahoma City. The company was going to pay him about $1,472 in exchange for his silver.
“I was going to mail it insured from the post office because that is what the company told me to do,” Brano said.
Brano bought insurance with the USPS and sent the package on its way, but the silver never arrived.
“I thought I would get my money back because I had insured it,” Brano said.
Brano turned to USPS and they approved his insurance claim. However, they later told him in a letter that, the maximum indemnity for negotiable items, like currency, is $15, except for registered .ail
“They sent me a check for $15,” Brano said.
Better Call Jackson reached out to USPS for answers.
“The postal service recommends, customers mail cash, check or other negotiable items using Registered Mail. Other items can be shipped using insured mail for a value up to $5,000,” Susan W. Wright with the USPS said via email.
This means customers mailing money should send the negotiable item through registered mail and with insurance.
“Why buy insurance? It’s a scam,” Brano said of his experience. He is left angry at American Precious Metals Exchange for he says not telling him how to send the silver properly.
“Nowhere did they tell me that beforehand,” Brano said.
He is also not happy with the USPS for selling him insurance that was anything but a sure thing,
“It is disappointing. It is the federal government; you would think it would be a little different,” Brano said.
He hopes his story will prevent things like this, from happening to someone else.
Better Call Jackson reached out to American Precious Metals Exchange and was told they offer an insured mailing service, but it is partnered through the United Parcel Service, not the United States Postal Service.
