[NA] UPS fail [NA]

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Dave Taylor
I bought a $400 weedeater as a gift, wrapped it up in the factory packaging (which Stihl uses to ship them all over the country via UPS) and sent it to Idaho. Brand new, no gas or oil.

When it arrived there, the steel shaft was bent at a hilarious 30° (this is actually an outer steel shaft followed by an inner steel housing and then the driveshaft) and there were tire marks on the box. The packaging looked like it was hit by a bomb compared to when it left here.

UPS wrote to say the packaging did not meet their standards and any claim would be denied. This was confirmed by telephone last week. They said at first they could not examine the packaging despite multiple efforts to contact sender/recip. (bogus), now they say they examined and could not see the required edge crush psi. (also bogus, the box is 2 hours from their last delivery point)
I said "I cannot imagine any cardboard box that can withstand being driven over by a 4000lb truck and I am sure the box had the required strength".
So I went to the Stihl dealer and got another of the exact same box from them and took it to the UPS store and showed them the label 'Edge Crush Test 42in-lbs"' The person examining it said 'whoa, 42 is pretty darned good' but also said he can do nothing to help me. He asked if I'd purchased insurance on it and I started to say "No, because..." and he interrupted me with "...because they are so poor at paying claims." :( (well yes, but I thought they'd gotten better at their driving skills)
UPS packaging guidelines

So they provide 100$ coverage even if you don't pay for insurance, except they are denying that.
And it cost $86 to ship it, and they haven't the slightest interest in reducing.

Suck it up?
Dispute with credit card co?
Persist with UPS?

I have quotes from Stihl to repair, best case scenario is $165, if clutch and gear drive are boogered, we are getting close to a price for new - $365
 
Small claims court?
 
Well, you can dispute the shipping charges with your CC company, but not the purchase. I agree with the above, either suck it up or small claims court.
 
Small claims... (at least in my state) all they have to do is demand a jury trial and it gets bumped to municipal court. And then in municipal court they can agree to just have a judge rule. It's a game. How much do you want to spend on attorney fees/gamble?
 
You'd be better off contacting UPS Corporate directly. If they do not help you start a social media campaign on every outlet you can. (Twitter, Facebook, any tool forums) That seems to be one of the things that corporate schmoe's seem to respond to anymore. Make sure to post pictures too!
 
Maybe report them to the FTC for falsely representing their service as including insurance?

Or if bogus denial of claims is SOP for them, maybe there's a law firm somewhere that would like to bring a class action against them.

Is there any radio call-in show in your area that focuses on consumer protection issues?
 
I think I will mail a $400 check and have them go buy it local. Sounds like you are really getting the shaft.
 
Do a YouTube and post it. If it goes viral you'll not only get your money back, but maybe sell the book rights and be in demand for speaking engagements. :cool:

 
I have them package it,when I have to ship something.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I bought a $400 weedeater as a gift, wrapped it up in the factory packaging (which Stihl uses to ship them all over the country via UPS) and sent it to Idaho. Brand new, no gas or oil.

When it arrived there, the steel shaft was bent at a hilarious 30° (this is actually an outer steel shaft followed by an inner steel housing and then the driveshaft) and there were tire marks on the box. The packaging looked like it was hit by a bomb compared to when it left here.

UPS wrote to say the packaging did not meet their standards and any claim would be denied. This was confirmed by telephone last week. They said at first they could not examine the packaging despite multiple efforts to contact sender/recip. (bogus), now they say they examined and could not see the required edge crush psi. (also bogus, the box is 2 hours from their last delivery point)
I said "I cannot imagine any cardboard box that can withstand being driven over by a 4000lb truck and I am sure the box had the required strength".
So I went to the Stihl dealer and got another of the exact same box from them and took it to the UPS store and showed them the label 'Edge Crush Test 42in-lbs"' The person examining it said 'whoa, 42 is pretty darned good' but also said he can do nothing to help me. He asked if I'd purchased insurance on it and I started to say "No, because..." and he interrupted me with "...because they are so poor at paying claims." :( (well yes, but I thought they'd gotten better at their driving skills)
UPS packaging guidelines

So they provide 100$ coverage even if you don't pay for insurance, except they are denying that.
And it cost $86 to ship it, and they haven't the slightest interest in reducing.

Suck it up?
Dispute with credit card co?
Persist with UPS?

I have quotes from Stihl to repair, best case scenario is $165, if clutch and gear drive are boogered, we are getting close to a price for new - $365
Click to expand...
I had the same thing happen to me. Tire tracks on the package and UPS said it was not package correctly!!
 
It's not like Dave can drop it off at the local UPS Store!

Ornery me, I'd file a Small Claims action; even if they wanted to appeal it, it would still be heard in town. It would be (to me) especially interesting to see UPS try to hire a lawyer in town (or close) to represent them against Dave. They'd spend more in the first hour than it would take to reconcile the claim.
 
Not a lawyer, but I believe the shipping company is the shipper's agent, which is you, so small claims in the place you shipped it from? Yeah, I'd contest the shipping charge with the CC company, too. I've had better luck with FedEx, but that doesn't prove much.
 
I quit using UPS in 1997. I won't even order something even if they pay shipping but use UPS.
 
Shopshirt said:
You'd be better off contacting UPS Corporate directly. If they do not help you start a social media campaign on every outlet you can. (Twitter, Facebook, any tool forums) That seems to be one of the things that corporate schmoe's seem to respond to anymore. Make sure to post pictures too!
Click to expand...

This is absolutely true...complaining on Social Media especially if you have a good number of followers gets immediate attention, if you Tweet make sure to also tag @HissingKitty it's a complaints website.
 
Public shaming seems to be more powerful nowadays than any small claims courts. (where you are at the mercy of the judge and his/her personal beliefs)

I've had same bad luck with UPS when they broke a drop-shipped 8ft antenna and actually .. yes .. drop-shipped it ... or ship-dropped it ... whichever. I got very lucky that the package was still in their possession when it was damaged so I refused it plain and simple. They sent it back to the manufacturer who sent a new one. After speaking with the manufacturer, I found out that he ate the cost. Sucks.
I had a similar bad experience with FedEx as well.
We gotta realize that the companies are NOT here for us but that we are the cash cows here for them. And they act that way. They won't make billion-dollar profits if they just hand out money for sh*t they break. *shrug*

Got a big enough TV station around? Care to call Attorney General?
But I agree, at least dispute the shipping charge.
And let us know how the small claims court turns out (you have 50/50 chance, depending on whether the judge ever lost a package with UPS :D ).
Good luck!
 
My bad UPS experience was with some paint I purchased from Summit Racing. It was a gallon of automotive paint, packaged inside a box inside a box. UPS broke the seal on the can at some point, then instead of following the "this end up" directions, left the package laying on its side on my terra cotta tile front porch. So I got a good dose of automotive Acrylic Urethane, spilled, then dried on my porch. A dozen phone calls later, each with the promise of "A manager will call you today", I've received exactly one call. That person was going to pass the case to their insurance company, which I haven't heard from since the call several weeks ago.

Apparently, the business model is to provide such bad after-service support that you just give up.
 
I think their plan is to make us accustomed to them not having any responsibility regarding their work, so that as time passes, everyone will eventually come to accept it.
However, I still struggle with concept that they drove a vehicle over my package and it is my fault.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I think their plan is to make us accustomed to them not having any responsibility regarding their work, so that as time passes, everyone will eventually come to accept it.
However, I still struggle with concept that they drove a vehicle over my package and it is my fault.
Click to expand...

They tried to tell us once that the hole through the crate made by a forklift tine, that contained about a $350,000 Cisco switch, happened after they dropped it off in our lobby and blocked the receptionist's view of it, walked in, smiled and asked for a signature, and ran back to the truck.

I wouldn't take it personally. They'll lie anytime they can because they attack their own employees instead of incentivizing employees to do the right thing.

That thing left the main distribution center with that forklift tine rammed through it there and at least two if not three UPS employees were so scared of their own company and losing their jobs, they conspired to finish the delivery and get a signature to get out of it.

Tells you an awful lot about the culture there.

I keep fighting with them, personally. They're also measured on how much time they waste talking to you and they'll get in trouble for that, too. Waste their time.
 
The way UPS looks at it - once it leaves their possession, it isn't their problem anymore even if they drive over it on the way out of the neighborhood. About the only chance you have is if you are right there to sign for it when it's delivered, and very few people can do that. I'd take it up the chain, this is a lot of beer money.
 
I almost forgot about the time I bought an engine block and had it shipped via a freight company (not UPS or FedEx).
When I arrived at the company's local dock to pick it up, the kid driving the fork lift slammed on his brakes too hard and the block, surprisingly not tied down too well, rolled off the palette and hit the ground.
I immediately took a picture and since nobody was in the "office", I had to call their 800 number. I feared denial of responsibility. But they actually admitted fault and were nice enough to pay for the damages (not much $$). I wonder if it was due to my having photographic evidence of their screw-up on their property.

Good luck with your UPS fight. You will need a big sword for such big wind mills.
 
I live on an airpark out in the sticks. Our UPS driver is a saint. He has had me open packages that showed external damage in his presence in case the contents were damaged.

Paul
Salome, AZ
 
pmanton said:
I live on an airpark out in the sticks. Our UPS driver is a saint. He has had me open packages that showed external damage in his presence in case the contents were damaged.

Paul
Salome, AZ
Click to expand...

Ours out here in the boonies is a dude with a pony tail to his butt and is always driving with his earbuds in. He can't even hear ya say hello from the garage if he doesn't see you.

He happily tossed this on my doorstep.

497a024e1cb9f7d03bbcd318c6acf6a8.jpg


It ain't the first time either. And the thing inside didn't appear to be damaged but doesn't work three days after install so it's going back to Amazon on their dime.
 
Talk to the store or company that has the UPS account you shipped with to get in touch with their UPS rep, they should be able to do something. Their general customer service says no to everything but the account reps have more pull.
 
This is similar to...

Truckers turning into a brand new parking lot making a delivery and dragging their trailer thru my new landscape areas.

They always blow it off by saying "there wasn't enough room to turn, it ain't my problem."

I wonder how they'd react if I slit their tires while they were there. "Your truck was on my lot, it ain't my problem."

I hate truckers. (Most anyway)
 
for the win:
(entire amount claimed)
For a modest fee, I will reveal my methods!
 

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timwinters said:
This is similar to...

Truckers turning into a brand new parking lot making a delivery and dragging their trailer thru my new landscape areas.

They always blow it off by saying "there wasn't enough room to turn, it ain't my problem."

I wonder how they'd react if I slit their tires while they were there. "Your truck was on my lot, it ain't my problem."

I hate truckers. (Most anyway)
Click to expand...

Could just plan appropriately and build a proper truck entrance, knowing that damned near everything eventually travels by truck...
 
With millions of packages being shipped, there's bound to be some problems. Did I tell you all about the TSA damaging my company's borescope and losing about $25k worth of equipment, mostly measurement capable tips. TSA reviewed their video and said that's how the equipment came to them... and the airline involved said they never opened the equipment... that was one expensive road trip.
 
Zeldman said:
I gotta know..!!!!! How didcha do it..??????
Click to expand...

-excellent documentation (copy of shipping manifest and payment, copy of original item invoice, photos of box and contents, signed repair estimate from dealer)
-evidence that the packaging met the standards shown on the UPS website
-a seemingly convincing (factual but unemotional) letter explaining why I was making the claim
-that there were tire tracks visible on the box did not hurt my claim!
 
Like others have stated, I avoid UPS at all costs. Fragile means one extra bounce?

Wonder why Amazon wants to do their own deliveries? Look no further than UPS' inflated prices and damaged goods.

Write a personal note to the President of the company. He will dispatch one of his cronies on it and you will get satisfaction.
 
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