Update – 3 July 2025
Timeline
• 24 Apr 2025 – Full reimbursement (USD 5,922) “approved”, return requested.
• 20 Jun – the person in charge of this matter writes: “I have gone back to our insurance and requested an urgent reply to your email requests. I will not answer on their behalf; I’m waiting for their reply before sending the return label.”
• 23 Jun – Follow-up mail: “Still awaiting a response from our insurance agency… the agency is based in France and manages claims on a global scale.”
• 1 Jul – Packengers sends a UPS return label but no pro-forma invoice, no hold-harmless letter, no policy document, no confirmation from the insurer ‘Alcar’.
What is still missing (since April)
Pro-forma invoice + damage waiver – mandatory for export customs & tax drawback
Open questions to The Packengers
• Is the continued absence of these basic documents a company policy, or the decision of a single employee?
• If ‘Alcar’ is a legitimate insurer, why has no one from that company contacted me or provided the policy?
• Why was a return label issued without the documents required to satisfy both customs and the insurer’s own conditions?
Next steps
I have set 4 July 2025 as the final deadline. If the documents are still missing, I will file a formal complaint with DGCCRF (France), escalate to Lloyd’s for verification of the insurer’s existence, and update my review accordingly.
I genuinely hope Packengers will treat this as a company-level issue and resolve it, rather than leaving one employee to manage an impossible situation.
– 25 June 2025
In March 2024, I purchased a ceramic artwork through Doyle New York. ThePackengers handled the international shipment, but the item arrived fully destroyed.
The insurer confirmed a total loss on April 24, and ThePackengers offered a full refund if I returned the item. I accepted this condition and requested the necessary documents for return to Japan — including export confirmation and a damage waiver.
As of late June, they have still not provided the required documents, despite multiple reminders. Their responses are vague, delayed, or simply non-existent. I cannot return the item without these papers, as doing so would cause further legal and tax losses.
They refunded the shipping fee after two months of silence, but that is irrelevant to the unresolved insurance payment.
This experience shows a complete lack of professionalism and responsibility. If you are dealing with insured artworks or international claims, I strongly advise avoiding this company.
