I have an update. It's a happy resolution...so stick with it until the end.
I received a call from one of the senior leaders at SGC on Monday. They explained that this was being taken very seriously and explained that it took time for them to retrieve the video footage and review it. He had been through the footage and they just couldn't see the missing card. He was able to describe how I packed the cards exactly so it was clear that they hadn't been tampered with in transit.
I was puzzled because I was sure it was there. I asked to see the footage and he agreed but it was going to take a couple of days to get it to me.
In talking it over with my wife, I went over and over how I packed the card...
I bundled the cards together in card savers, placed cardboard on the top and bottom of the cards and wrapped the SGC invoice around it. And then I remembered that I'd placed the Sanella Ruth under the cardboard on the bottom (actually between 2 pieces of cardboard on the bottom of the stack). This was because the Sanella is a bigger card then the others and I didn't want to risk it getting bent with smaller cards on top of it.
I contacted SGC again the same day (e.g. Monday) and explained this and asked them to check my package again. Well, I got a call from SGC today. Based on the information from my voice message, they had a look at the video footage again and they could see a glimpse of my card saver under the stack of cards. They agreed that the card was there but unfortunately by that time the packaging had been discarded and the card was no more.
But they acknowledged the mistake and explained that it was a very rare occurrence. They were very apologetic. They committed to make me whole and weren't going to quibble. They've already refunded my grading fees (including shipping costs) for my whole submission and they're sending me a check for the declared value.
Mistakes happen. To me, the mark of a great company isn't that they deliver perfection 100% of the time cause that's just not going to happen. To me the mark of a great company is how they handle issues when they arise. Other than leaving me 4 days without communication at the start, SGC has been excellent. They've taken this seriously, properly investigated and then stepped up.
I asked whether there's anything I could do to minimize the chance of this happening in the future and they said that the way I packed it was fine. 99.99% of the time it won't be an issue. But they did suggest that if I have a single card between cardboard again - I could add a note telling them to look for the card in the cardboard. It's a fair point and I'll definitely do that in the future.
My wife asked me "what if you were submitting one of those really expensive cards?" I explained that if bought a bulk lot of cards and found a six figure card in there, I'd be buying a plane ticket to Boca Raton and dropping it off in person.
I'm not sure if it made any difference but I was careful to be polite with them at every step. I'm sure they have their share of people ranting at them and I didn't want to be another. (I'll rest my arm now...no need to pat myself on the back too much.
) But if this was a 1916 M104-4, I'm not sure if I'd have been quite so calm.
I'd preferred to have the card but I'll be able t buy myself another Type 1 Sanella. They're not impossible to find.
Full credit to SGC.