FedEx shipping claim

[Peter Serio]

Three months ago I sent a complete set of restored 65 GTO rally gauges to a customer. To make a long story short and get right to the point here; Fed Ex lost the gauges and now they say the parts were "antique" car parts and they will not honor the declared value insurance I paid for at
the time of shipping, they instead sent me a check for $500 on December 7th and tell me my claim is now closed.
I insured the gauges for just $800 because allthough my customer paid me a lot more for them
I did not expect them to disappear and they were very well packed (double boxed) as well!
My question is: have any other members here ever had to make an insurance claim against FedEx and what was the outcome? I have called FedEx 17 times on this and I keep getting put on hold and then hung up on, or one ploy they like to use is whomever I call they always say they cannot help me but they will gladly transfer me to the person who can. Whoever they try to switch me to is never there and I am always prompted to leave them a voice mail message which goes unreturned. They have never returned any of my calls and I am getting tired of calling them all the time!
I have contacted out biggest local TV station(channel 10) about doing a story on
fed ex, it seems to me they will let people pay for high values on insurance for any boxes sent, but in
the event of a total loss they do not want to pay out more than $500 on any single
claim(it's in their rulebook) I was directed to page 80 Vol. 1st June 2000, issue of their Service guide
and they have all the things listed there (10 paragraphs long), I might add; that they will not pay out on in the event of a total loss of the box or contents, in excess of their $500 limit, the 10 paragraphs pretty much covers
all the stuff anyone would ever ship, there are so many items listed they
will not pay on, and the descriptions in the booklet are so vague and broad, yet they will GLADLY take your declared value fees ALL DAY
LONG!!
Any advice and/or assistance, comments, whatever you can add to this here would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,


------------------
Peter Serio
Owner, Precision Pontiac

[Peter Serio]

Three months ago I sent a complete set of restored 65 GTO rally gauges to a customer. To make a long story short and get right to the point here; Fed Ex lost the gauges and now they say the parts were "antique" car parts and they will not honor the declared value insurance I paid for at
the time of shipping, they instead sent me a check for $500 on December 7th and tell me my claim is now closed.
I insured the gauges for just $800 because allthough my customer paid me a lot more for them
I did not expect them to disappear and they were very well packed (double boxed) as well!
My question is: have any other members here ever had to make an insurance claim against FedEx and what was the outcome? I have called FedEx 17 times on this and I keep getting put on hold and then hung up on, or one ploy they like to use is whomever I call they always say they cannot help me but they will gladly transfer me to the person who can. Whoever they try to switch me to is never there and I am always prompted to leave them a voice mail message which goes unreturned. They have never returned any of my calls and I am getting tired of calling them all the time!
I have contacted out biggest local TV station(channel 10) about doing a story on
fed ex, it seems to me they will let people pay for high values on insurance for any boxes sent, but in
the event of a total loss they do not want to pay out more than $500 on any single
claim(it's in their rulebook) I was directed to page 80 Vol. 1st June 2000, issue of their Service guide
and they have all the things listed there (10 paragraphs long), I might add; that they will not pay out on in the event of a total loss of the box or contents, in excess of their $500 limit, the 10 paragraphs pretty much covers
all the stuff anyone would ever ship, there are so many items listed they
will not pay on, and the descriptions in the booklet are so vague and broad, yet they will GLADLY take your declared value fees ALL DAY
LONG!!
Any advice and/or assistance, comments, whatever you can add to this here would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,


------------------
Peter Serio
Owner, Precision Pontiac

[carbking]

Peter, I can relate to your problem. When we did our shipping survey several years ago, this was the issue which eliminated Fedex from further consideration by us. Jon.

------------------
Good carburetion is fuelish hot air.

[Peter Serio]

Funny thing was, the whole time, they were doing their "search" and they were looking for my gauges and I was
real patience and all, and they were telling me if they can't be found then
I have to make a claim, no problem. They would take care of it, then all of a sudden without ever seeing the parts or anything they say my gauges are antiques, and
they don't bother to ever ask me, they just send me a short check and close
the claim. I am now asking them (by fax) to re-open my claim and for them to pay me the other $300.
Pete

[Half-Inch Stud]

Stick with it. Ask for badge numbers, and the customer service manager. Reminds me of Gateway computer purchases and returns. Seems to be no where out.

Keep your stick on the ice. We're pulling for you.

[Blackcat]

i had a good one with Ups a couple of years ago! Sent the best 66 4-speed console to a person in South Carolina. The package arived damaged and Ups wouldn't do anything. So he repackaged it and returned it and I refunded the money. the packare arrived back again damaged at my home! Called UPS and explained my case. They went round for several weeks. Finally an inspector showed up and we finished unpacking the console. I never thought that anyone could twist a console! but the plastic was broken in several places and the metal was twisted! My Package said Fragile load on top all over it. the person agreed to pay my claim. After several months of calling they seemed to forget the whole thing! I called for months and months! Nothing! I finally contacted the Texas attorney General. They did something and gave me a phone # to call. It turned out to be one of the Senior VP's of UPS! He was not happy and within a day I had my money! It's sad that one has to go this far to get your money.

------------------
So, Blacky, what's your biggest turn on? Is it that Big Blue Ball that the Tiger is holding? Rash

[MitchGM]

UPS just screwed me over. I sent a perfect trunk lid for a 67-69 Firebird, to a winning bidder on EBay. I packed it to death and insured it. He got it with a ding on the edge. UPS won't pay the claim. I already returned the persons money to him, because I thought that the insurance would pay for it. I was totally off on that one.

[BOB VIDAN]

PETER, GO TO CLARKHOWARD.COM AND SEE IF HE HAS ANY ADVICE. HE IS ON OUR/YOUR SIDE FROM DAY ONE. DO NOT GIVE UP. IF YOU HAVE THE DOCS, AND I KNOW YOU DO, STAY WITH IT AND LISTEN TO HIM. HE VERY RARELY LOSES. BOB...PS FOUND A BETTER 64 CONSOLE COLOR MATCH.

[Peter Serio]

I have called them on this claim now more than 16 or 17 times now(I have lost track). I think at this point they are just trying to wear me down.
The gauges where either stolen or smashed, I told them many times I wanted
them back even if they were damaged, whatever they can find; I wanted them back, they did their little search and they can't find anything at all!
I just want people here to know what is going on at FedEx, if you pay for anything more than $500 worth of declared value shipping with FedEx basically your just wasting your money. A lot of these GTO parts people ship all the time, either sold off of ebay or just from people selling them to other people on this BB even, there are lots of different parts that sell for more lately, a lot more than $500.
I have not had any claim with UPS in a long time so I can't really say how they
compare. I have heard from friens in the business that on a partial damage claim, it's hard to collect though.
Pete

[Txbobcat]

Dont know what your laws are in different states but I would throw in $50 more and take them to small claims court. They dont want the advertisement in a newspaper and they dont want to waste an executives time so they will usually pay before court and if they dont state your case in court. You will even get your $50 back. In Texas if they dont pay up you can put a lein on their business which will get their attention real quick Good luck

[Batman]

Peter-
Try sending a polite, detailed letter to:

Frederick W. Smith, CEO
FEDEX Corporation
942 South Shady Grove Road
Memphis, TN 38120

In addition to the details of the missing shipment I would include mention of your business account (if any) and the reasons why you chose to do business with FEDEX and how your perspective has changed following the incident.

I used to work for Airborne Express, and trust me, we used to hate complaints routed to the CEO because he read every one and responded! I imagine FEDEX has a similar system, although this is not the fastest way to resolve an issue and should be a last resort. I also think paying a visit to your local FEDEX station and speaking to the manager is worth the effort if it is close by. Get a direct phone number and follow up.

You are stuck with call centers if you use the 800 #'s. The local manager will be aware of your account and will be more willing to assist- the call center could care less and in fact would probably like nothing more than for you to go away mad and not call back.

[Peter Serio]

Thanks for all the good advice, guys.
According to their "claims department" I spoke to yesterday afternoon they have a standing guideline, it is: they
will not pay out more than $500 per a single package complete loss claim. BUT I WAS TOLD, their couner people will GLADLY ACCEPT your insurance
premium(it's .50 per $100 BTW) for any amount of $ high value you will tell them at the counter and keep the
money, BUT IN A CLAIM with them the maximum you would ever get by going thru the process is $500.
This looks to like it's just selling under false pretenses, and looks to me like they have been conducting their business this way for quite some time, in the FedEx guidebook it reads that you can state a maximum value per package of "up to" $50,000 I wonder if anybody, EVER has been able to get paid for anywhere near that amount on a claim for a total lost box? I am going to pressure them to reopen my
claim, as now I am told they consider the matter "closed". I am going to try and see how far I can get them to go on this,
after all what have I got to loose at this point??

Just be aware people who ship high dollar stuff; they do not even call it "insurance", anymore. It's called "declared
value" and I was told 2 weeks ago by Bernice Washington at 1-901-395-4726 the declared value HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO
WITH what amount of any check they would cut you if you suffer a total
loss!!!!!!
Pete

['ol Pinion head]

Pete,
I feel for you. Give them HELL!!! About to ship a flawless '70 RA4 distributor up northeast. $500 would in no way replace this piece. Fed Ex will not be the shipper.

OOPs...I'm a meticulous packer on delicate parts & have gone round & round with UPS in the past & do not like their damage claim service either. Fortunately the parts they have damaged were not that expensive.

Thanks for calling this to our attention...Fed Ex will get NO more of my direct business.

[Wade Congdon]

I shipped a 303 RAV head to Dick Duclow a few years back through the US Post Office and they lost it. I had bought it from DIck and was returning it to him becuase it was cracked. He was good to his word and was going to refund my money. I normally ship UPS but it was during the UPS strike. Didn't think twice about the value because it was basically junk (cracked). When it disappeared I then realized that I was out the full purchase price! When I relayed my story to Dick he was gracious enough to split the difference with me. Dick is a class act.

------------------
Wade Congdon
BOP Engineering
Hi-Performance Specialty Parts for Buick, Olds, and Pontiac
www.bopengineering.com (http://www.bopengineering.com)

[Half-Inch Stud]

We used to hand-cuff an engineer to a suitcase and put him on a plane to Calif..then we got smart:

I had $250,000 hardware for spacecraft shipped via UPS 2-day Ground....about 100 times. No problems.

My Business Partner shipped GaAs and InP EPI wafers routinely, without insurance, with no problems for about 10 years.

To skirt some weight issues, I shipped #16 Heads in old 50's Samsonite Suitcases for packaging on Greyhound Bus, to Michigan. Did the same with a 389 crossdrilled ArmaSteel Crank in a suit case. Just makes their weight limit.

Skid-shipped the OHC6 to Canada via a trunk depot: no problems.

After all this, I'm still don't like FEDEX or UPS for simple, personal boxed goods! However, Business letters are fine.

WHINE: I've got to ship a Q-Jet, and a Manual Steering Box, and am dragging my feet for whose knows what reason.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Am I boring....

[Bud Lyons]

Yes

[Rashionality]

Without a doubt...you coming this year Bud?

------------------
People like you are the reason people like me need medication...

[Half-Inch Stud]

I'll be there. And bringing my cue.

[JLHarper]

Peter,
This is a very tricky area which Fed Ex has no doubt mastered over the years of not paying out claims. The back of their airbills point the shipper to their Service Guide which I have but not in front of me. In this they have lists of their exclusions. Fed Ex is probably using the definition of "Antique" being 30 years old or more which would apply to your 65 parts. Sorry you had to get into this with them. I have shipped rare human blood plasma around the world for the last 13 years and had 4 lost over the years. They paid one (based on COST only) and weaseled out of three. When you get into a situation where they dont know where the box is, you will be transfered to 30 different people in a matter of days. If the box dosent scan, and gets out of the system your dead in the water. Ask for a "specialist in Memphis" to open a lost tracking report and go back to that person only. Ever time you call you have to tell the person in customer service the same story and wait while they read the computer screen. By pass these, and ask for the person in Memphis. I will have to say that compared to some of the others, based upon what I am shipping, Fed Ex is still the best as far as on time deliveries. I have used two of the others and they dont come close to the service and ontime schedule like Fed Ex. BUT when Fed Ex screws up its a BIG screw up and you usally wind up super PO at them. Thats my experience after shipping thousands of heavy boxes around the world on dry ice. I dont think this will matter to you as you no doubt be using them again, but wanted to pass on my experiences.

[Peter Serio]

JL, thank you for your insight, Basically that is what has been going on,
whenever I call they now tell me the file on this case is 25 computer
screens deep now! I failed to completely read through the shipping booklet
but I now have the pages here, and if anybody wants to see their "rules" EM
me your fax # and I will be more than happy to fax them to you right away.
Basically FedEx redefines the English language with what suits them and
takes words like antique and changes what they mean when it comes to paying
a claim. They say parts for a 65 GTO are antiques, even though they have
never even seen the parts, I have about 10 receipts for plating, paint, a
new tachometer movement from R&C tach shop a bill from the speedo
calibration shop. New lenses, wiring, light bulbs, etc. ALL DATED 2001 and
they are still saying NO PAY cause it was an "antique" car part. I have even
sent the pics of the gauges but nothing will convince them otherwise, I
think I'll call the attorney general of the state of Ohio tomorrow and see
what they say. BUT I JUST WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO KNOW What's going on with
them.
Pete :mad:

[tempest455]

Find out who the CEO/President is and send a letter. I once had a problem with my mortgage company. I went round and around with numerous customer service reps, supervisors and managers and didn?t get anywhere. I sent a letter to the CEO certified mail. I got a call from his secretary within a week apologizing and the problem was resolved immediately.

[ January 08, 2002: Message edited by: Eric Douthitt ]</p>

[Txbobcat]

Going to the top is the only way to get things handled. American express took a payment from me and applied it to the wifes account and then shut my card off. Everyone I talked to over 30 days or more said well yes your wifes account is overpaid by $206.18 and yes that is the exact amount that you owe us but we will have to investigate your claim over 10 to 14 days(my acct # was written on the cancelled check that I faxed to them front and back) but they still had to investigate. Finally the 10th person that I talked to p ssed me off when she said Tell me what you need to charge and I may authorize it while this problem is being investigated. I told her Lady I dont need to charge a g*d d*mn thing and I dont need you to do me any favors.After that I called for the CEO and told the receptionist that if she gave me to a peon I was going to fly up there and kick ass on the first man I saw in a suit. Well the ceo wasnt there but she gave me the CFO. I gave him a brief rundown on my financial status told him I was fixin to sue the hell out of them and then told him the problem. 15 seconds later he said OK I see the problem you are fixed now. I chewed on his ass some more for all the time I spent on the phone ETC ETC ETC. His response was to give me his direct phone# if I ever had a problem again. Its been about 4 years now and no problems since so skip the peons and go for the top

[Peter Serio]

Hi, I finally got paid, They wanted me to Fax them letter written by another Pontiac parts vendor(they said it had to be an unrelated person, unrelated to the claim) stating that they are familiar with pontiac parts in general and what they sell for. And that they had seen the gauges I restore and state that they were worth at least as much or more what I had insured them for originally. I got Ron From Potomac Pontiac to fax them them in a letter on his "offical" company letterhead and lo and behold about a week later I got a check.
Finally after 27 calls, 9 letters and almost 4 months, FedEx will not get anymore of my business.

[Glenn]

Peter
I admire your persistence. Most would have given up months ago. Those SOB's figured that they would wear you down and you would just go away. I won't use FEDEX again. I'm surprised some large law firm doesn't file a "class-action" lawsuit for this kind of crap. If they did it to you they are doing it to others. It probably "company policy".

[Heybuck]

I'm not trying support Fedex's actions in this matter but I think we need to also give Fedex some benefit of the doubt here.

They are probably sujected to a huge number of fraudulent claims as part of their on-going business so they would just have to be very cagey on immeadiately agreeing to a claim and paying out.

You can imagine that they probably have no way of knowing the true values of most items they uplift so to be presented with a claim for $800.00 for instruments which they would have no check list of values against, I think they would be understandably doubtful.

Many of us know, and I know from personal experiance that Peter Serio is an honest and straight up guy. It's just a pity that he has had to suffer because of too many shady shippers claiming exhorbitant values for "missing" or "broken" items.

The point is, Peter DID get paid out after pushing them. If we are all honest and deal in a straightforward way, I think generally most claims are eventually settled fairly.

Just my opinion. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[ January 14, 2002: Message edited by: Heybuck ]</p>

[Glenn]

Heybuck
That's the tallest pile of "Bull Sh*t" that I've heard in a long time. FEDEX accepted payment for insuring a particlar item for a particlar amount. FEDEX loss the shipment. If FEDEX was not comfortable with the amount that the customer insured for, the agent at the time of purchase of the insurance should have refused it. After the fact is not acceptable.

Insurance adjusters job is only one thing; try to settle a claim at the lowest possible cost, thus saving the company money. I other words...try to cheat the insured.

[Glenn]

[ January 14, 2002: Message edited by: Glenn ]</p>

[Heybuck]

Your liver playing up again Glenn?? You really need to take it a bit easier!!

I was merely trying to point out that there are often more reasons than may appear to be obvious when claims like Peter's are made.

Again. I say that Peter was paid out - not as fast as he would have liked to have been and with a lot more aggravation than he thought he should have suffered - BUT he was paid out.

And frankly, I think he was paid out because he took a persistant and fair attitude when dealing with them.

[Glenn]

Heyday
My liver seems to be doing quite well, thank you. It's the pain in my ass that I have when I see a company like FEDEX trying to screw the little guy.

My point is that FEDEX tried to do everything it could do to not pay its contractual obligation. Here in the US when a insurance company attempts to cheat its policyholder, it's called "bad faith" and juries tend to punish such behavior with very large judgements...and rightfully so.

Even though, FEDEX is not an insurance company, they do offer insurance.

[Heybuck]

Glenn, doesn't matter who you are or where you are, dealing with anything related to the term "Insurance" is indeed a pain in the arse.

But I try and look objectively at the situation and I can sympathise with insurance companies taking a hard line on claims.

The prime reason we are all suffering steep increases in insurance costs is because of insurance fraud.

Believe me, there's nothing I like about any of them. In fact I can see the writing on the wall that my own business is constantly contracting because of escallating Workers Cover Insurance. I simply can't afford it. I've reduced my staff levels from 11 down to 7 over 5 years and one of the signifigant reasons is insurance for these (non) workers is compounded on the actual number of employees.

Tell me that's good for the economy... :mad: