CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Phil Smith · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 7717

A customer shipped a defective ebay item back to me for a refund. FedEx supposedly left it on my porch, but I never saw it. I live in a decent neighborhood, and shipments are left on my front porch all the time. I've never had a problem until this.

FedEx is denying the insurance claim, saying it was delivered. I see it their decision to leave the package on my porch. No one instructed them to do so. I certainly had no control nor say so in that decision. So if it was stolen, it was a situation they created. Frankly, I'm not convinced it was ever delivered.

Now the buyer wants me to refund his money anyway ($175), and I really don't blame him.

I've had a package stolen off of a customer's porch, and UPS paid for it. They told me it's up to the driver to decide if it's safe to leave a package or not, and that it's UPS's responsibility if it gets stolen.

I was a FedEx customer for about a month, until they broke a brand new guitar and refused to pay for it. After months of arguing with them they finally paid for half of it.

So this is twice I've had a bad experience with FedEx. In fact, I've only had two problems total with them. I'm batting 0 for 2 with FedEx. I don't understand why so many people think they're so much better than UPS. I've had a LOT less trouble with UPS. When there's a problem, they take care of it.

Moose · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 788 Location: Minnesota

Yeah, I prefer UPS over all shipping companies, at least for shipments within the US. I had a similar problem many years ago when I ordered an expensive pre-amp directly from the manufacturer. It was delivered to a house across the street (the driver admitted) and then - magically! - disappeared. After contacting the manufacturer, they shipped me another one and then duked it out with UPS. The driver, who had not been long on the job, was absolutely panicked when he visited me at work to gather information. UPS, he believed, was going to deduct the loss from his paycheck, a total of about $2600. This was almost twenty years ago so that was an even larger chunk of money back then.

Perhaps it was delivered to the wrong address?

Didn't Fed Ex once require a signature? I know I signed a signature waiver form many years ago so that they could deliver packages without it.

nuttall_chris · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:47 am Post subject:

I've never had a problem with Fedex. On one occasion they also supposedly left a package at my doorstep. When I got home it wasn't there. I called up Fedex, they took a statment and said they would contact the shipper. The next day the shipper called me to see if I wanted a refund or a replacement product sent out.

Chris.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:04 am Post subject:

They are all crap. UPS did the same thing to me, left a $400 Chief bracket on a customer's doorstep 'at their discretion', but it never got there. Customer was home all day, he's retired. Or so he says. I tried and tried to get a refund, no dice. I gave up, customer was pissed.

The one I'm fighting now is a damaged Marquee 9500 Ultra, boxed (poorly) by a UPS store. I am assuming that UPS shoiuld automatically take responsibility for the 200lb+ weight dropped on the projector as they packed it, right? (broken GT17 lens, both side panels cracked, top covers a writeoff. I filed for $1000 damage.

I NEVER lose it on the phone, but a couple of UPS customer service reps took my heat as they told me that as the receiver, they cannot tell me what the status of the claim is. Seller says UPS still has to get back from them, UPS says the case is closed. No idea if it's paid out or rejected.

JBosch · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:42 am Post subject:

Ironically I had almost the same thing happen to me this week. Mine did turn out ok in the end however. I bought a Moome card off eBay and the guy ships it Fed Ex. I wait about a week before contacting him for a tracking number. I look up the tracking number and it shows that it was delivered yesterday. My wife is home all day with the baby so I had serious doubts of that. I thought it had been stolen right off my porch the second he threw it there. These clowns never even knock when they deliver. It turned out that they delivered it to another house. I get the package a couple of days later with a bit of rain damage to the outside. Luckily the shipper packaged it fairly well and it had another box on the inside and was wrapped in an anti static bag. So it all worked out in the end, but I will never use Fed Ex for my own shipments. I won't say that any one is particularly better, Fed Ex is just the one I have had bad experience with as of yet.

Phil Smith · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 7717

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5237 Location: Osceola, Indiana

I think is all their policies to automatically decline a claim the first time. Probably cuts their loss rate by 20%. Kind of like dealing with a heath insurance company.

Mike

Moose · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 788 Location: Minnesota

Has anyone tried to take up their claim with their homeowners or renters insurance company? Loss by theft? The downside is the deductible.

Heywood Jablome · Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 1548

Brooklyn · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 494 Location: Morgan Hill, CA

Have any of you guys tried DHL? I have gotten some packages from them, and they seem to give great service.

voodoo7869 · Joined: 19 Oct 2007 Posts: 193 Location: Chicago, IL USA

I used to be a fedex courier. The bigest problem is that we are independant contractors. so when you file a claim it comes out of the drivers pocket not fedex. we own routs. and yes fedex requires a signiture for all ground packages. home delivery has a different set of rules but close to the same. the driver is supposed to leave a door tag that you can sign to allow the driver to leave it on the porch etc. if they do not have a door tag signed the driver is responsiable for it. the door tag is the waiver. just thought you should know. Ups is unnion employees. that is a different ball of wax

budk · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 52 Location: Pittsburgh, PA

I'll be able to report on Fedex's insurance claims very soon. I had a small package delivered last week on a day where the winds were gusting to 50mph. The driver decided to not leave the package at the door closest to the driveway (where they and UPS always leave them) but instead, to walk around to the front of the house and leave the package between the storm door and the exterior door. Of course, the package was too big to allow the storm door to close and latch. I came home to find the package sitting where they left it but the storm door was pulled out and bent back to where it broke the entry lights beside the door.

They told me to get estimates and send them the bill...... we shall see.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:25 pm Post subject:

JustGreg · Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 3098 Location: Kenosha, WI

voodoo7869 · Joined: 19 Oct 2007 Posts: 193 Location: Chicago, IL USA

again dhl are contractor just like fedex they would have to pay someone out of pocket to have a helper for a package like that. the funny thing is that property damage claims outside of the packages are covered by fedex's insurance not the contractors. You should have no problem with that damage claim but look out if it was a package.

Phil Smith · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 7717