Do Not Ship Via FEDEX!!!!!

I have just spent 3 months trying to get FEDEX to reimberse me for damages inflicted on a kit that I sold on the Bay. Their gorillas busted up the cowl and fuse. Fedex refueses to honor the insurance that I paid for and claim that they do not cover damages to model airplane kits. Warning, do not ship your models via FEDEX, they do not honor insurance claims for model airplanes that they damage during shipping. Please pass this on to your fellow fliers.

Then I would be asking why they excepted the payment for the insurance coverage in the 1st place. That's not right. Hope it works out in the end for you.

We seem to be getting more than our share of, "Don't do this!" posts.

I have had superb results shipping all manner of goods via FedEx.

Maybe the message more properly should be to specifically ask about coverage on model airplane kits.

At any rate, I have lost all patience with those who slime Pay-Pal and FedEx and others in some misguided effort to "get even" with them by using me in their machinations.

I have to say I have not had a problem with FedEx and was pleased with them when I used their services. UPS is an entirely different story and I use the Post Office if I can before I ever use UPS.

Jake

Louis,

They are messing with your head. Demand that they show where it is writen that they don't cover " model Kits " heck they'll cover diamonds up to $50,000 I think!!!! They are telling you they can't make good on a model kit...give me a break.. better yet I am the shipping manager where I work. I don't ship anything Fedex because they are slower and copy UPS rates. But I'll read through my paperwork and give my Fedex rep a call and see what the deal is. You paid for a service like you said. Did you take it to one of those Mail Boxs R' US type place? Did you have it listed as a model kit on the paper work? If so if they shipped it they have to cover you being it was shipped by them with full knowledge of contents. If they told you they would not cover any damage and you ship at your own risk that's a different story. If Fedex said that it was not packed right then again the shipping joint is at fault.

Louis,

Was it shipped ground or express? I work for them and I'll call a friend in customer service in the morning to find out if there is a policy on shipping models. I've never heard of it.

I hope to get out to Millington this spring and see if you guys will let me join your club. I still need some flying lessons.

LAST EDITED ON Mar-10-04 AT 11:28 AM (CDT)
 
Dan,

Take a chill pill!!

For the rest,

Just trying to pass on my experience in an effort to help some of you avoid the the same situation. Avoid FEDEX ground at all cost!!!!!

Now I understand, FedEx GROUND.. FedEx bought a shipping company (can't remember the name) that was the worst shipping company on the planet. They tried to compete with UPS and failed so FedEx bought them. The problem is the company is still the worst shipping company even under the FedEx name.

You are right never ship "FedEx Ground" You have a better chance with the post office.

Just as an aside, most of the time when Brodak ships kits (at least to me) they use Fed-Ex ground. I would like to find out what those in the know will find out about shipping and insurance policies, but I would think that if there were a real problem here, Brodak wouldn't be using them. Oh, and they are the only ones who will ship dope. UPS refuses to ship it from Brodak, even in quarts and smaller containers and I can't even get them to take it from my end any more.

Oh, and don't even try to ship dope or other "hazardous materials" by the Post Office.

Maybe because they don't know the regulations because it is a small post office but I just shipped out some.

Don't tell anybody but I have recently received dope from Brodak and Windy shipped via the post office.

They ask if the package contains any hazardous material every time I ship something.. I wouldn't consider dope hazardous so would say no and it would be on it's way

>I have just spent 3 months trying to get FEDEX to reimberse
>me for damages inflicted on a kit that I sold on the Bay.
>Their gorillas busted up the cowl and fuse. Fedex refueses
>to honor the insurance that I paid for and claim that they
>do not cover damages to model airplane kits. Warning, do not
>ship your models via FEDEX, they do not honor insurance
>claims for model airplanes that they damage during shipping.
>Please pass this on to your fellow fliers.

As an aside... There are a number of e-bay scamers trying to take advantage of shipper: one scam is to buy an item on e-bay to replace a broken one you already have. Then, when they receive the "new" one they take the "old" one and claim the shipper broke it in shipping. On the other hand, I've tried several times unsuccessfully to collect on shipping insurance on items that were damaged by shippers. The insurance companies are just as bad as the scammers.

Well, my general opinion of insurance is that it is legalized racketeering and should as a matter of course fall under Rico Laws, but that's just me. UPS lost a PA61 I was shipping back to Randy Smith for repairs. Took about 4 months to get re-imbursed, but they did do it...eventually...with a lot of moaning and complaining.

I was just on the phone with a friend in FedEx CS. She pointed me to the following policy:

http://www.fedex.com/us/services/ground/termsandconditions/liabilitylimits.html

4a and 4c could be applied to model kits. Was the declared value over $100? Also, note that FedEx Ground does not itself offer insurance.

>Well, my general opinion of insurance is that it is
>legalized racketeering and should as a matter of course fall
>under Rico Laws, but that's just me. UPS lost a PA61 I was
>shipping back to Randy Smith for repairs. Took about 4
>months to get re-imbursed, but they did do
>it...eventually...with a lot of moaning and complaining.
>
>

Randy Powell

In my experience paying for shipping damage insurance is usually a waste of money. You're better off to give the money to the shipping originator for better packing. Loss of a package is slightly easier to force the shipper to pay. (but not always: I have one experience where they claimed they left a package, got my signature. But in fact the package turned up in another city in the shipper's lost/undelivered item storage. They never came clean about their claim that they had my signature...). I have had to get a laywer on a couple of ocasions to to force the issue and it has always taken many months and much frustration. And I haven't always been successful at getting the insurance to pay for lost items. I sent an engine to Leonard for conversion to stunt, it got lost in shipping and UPS just stopped responding to my queries and attempts to get reimbursed. A laywer would have cost much more than the package and they knew it. Sadly there is more than one flavor of scammer out there. Some of them are big companies...

Ron,

Yep, they claimed they had Randy Smith's signature on the receipt. At least they did till I said to produce it. Which of coulse they couldn't since he never signed it.

I have never had a problem receiving stuff via Fedex, however the "Unprotected Package Smashers" company has delivered many bent , broken and lost packages to me here. The classic was the one where they claimed to have delivered it at 2:00 pm and left it on my porch. My wife and I were home at 2:00 pm and we don't have a porch. It ended up in Huntsville, Texas, not Huntsville, Alabama. The two ladies at the desk in the office are just plain rude and nosy. They will make you open a package in such a way as to be calling you a liar. I dealt with UPS in St Louis for 5 1/2 years on a weekly basis at minimum and never, never, ever any problems. Fine folks there. Here, if they ring the door bell and you hear they guy running to his truck, the package is broken!! Three times it has happened and they did pay up once. The other two, I just glued the parts together and they don't get my business. (Like I'm sure they care ha!)

Ty,

>>however the "Unprotected Package Smashers" company has delivered many bent , broken and lost packages to me here.<<

Huh? I assume you don't mean that they delivered lost packages. Then they wouldn't be lost, would they?

OK, cheap shot. It just struck me as funny.

>Ty,
>
>>>however the "Unprotected Package Smashers" company has delivered many bent , broken and lost packages to me here.<<
>
>Huh? I assume you don't mean that they delivered lost
>packages. Then they wouldn't be lost, would they?
>
>OK, cheap shot. It just struck me as funny.
>
>

Randy Powell

They could have delivered somebody else's lost package.

I will say that both UPS and Fed-Ex have done a good job for me here with the packages they delivered. I did have one left at the back door once (which could have been interesting because it rained that night--after we found it and brought it in). They normally leave stuff in an enclosed front porch--out of the weather, and out of prying eyes.

LAST EDITED ON Mar-10-04 AT 05:55 PM (CDT)
 
Didn't I hear something in the news last week about Fed-ex paying for some scholarships because they lost the scholarship applications after they picked them up at the school?

nevermind, here's the first paragraph from a newspaper clipping I found in a google search:

"Federal Express and UC Berkeley announced Friday that they will be splitting the cost of providing Fulbright-Hays fellowships for the 30 UC Berkeley graduate students whose late applications were rejected after the delivery company did not pick them up on time. "

not lost, just late.

I get the biggest kick out of complaints about Fedex and UPS. For the past 8 years I have shipped hundreds and hundreds of control line items via the US Postal service, usually Priority Mail with 2 day delivery from this out of the way tiny town in the Western part of the State of WA to just about every State with NO PROBLEMS!!! I add the Conformation delivery slip for a few pennies more and can track each item. I HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM and the Post Office provides free boxes and packaging tape.
This past Fri. my wife had a shipment of insulin delivered with the wrong ammount. When she called the person at the source said they would send the replacement overnight via UPS...It arrived 2:30 today (Wed)
In our rural area UPS and Dedex only deliver 2 days a week.
I also noted that my last order from Brodak took 8 days from shipment to delivery, and there was an additional $5 cost because of our zip code being in a low population area.
So, keep complaining..I will continue to use the great service provided by the US PO. Oh, forgot, Fedex ships US PO stuff over night, but it is the local PO offices that do the quick stuff once the package arrives in a major area.

Right about the "lost" packages. Three times in one month I got packages that belonged to others. I guess 304 looks just like 302 or 309. I could see the numbers clearly. Maybe reading and knowing numbers is not a prerequisite to driving the brown trucks?? You know, most of the problems with UPS started after the big strike they went through in 1995 or 96. Mostly temps since then and you get what you pay for. I NEVER have any problems with the USPS, and my mail lady makes sure I get my packages. She is a "good ole girl', a true "GRITS" (girl raised in the South) and I make sure she gets a nice Christmas present every Christmas.

package insurance is only useful if the item is something expensive and sturdy that the shipping company might lose and you would have a hard time replacing. The USPS generally pays up on insurance, once you comply with their paperwork and wait. UPS generally hides behind their packaging requirements- 4 in. of foam packing all around the item!! They won't pay for driving a fork lift through it unless it penetrates that 4 in. of foam!!

can't speak for FedEx because I don't use them. I would expect they have similar rules to UPS.

When I have things like this happen to me I like to call G. Gordon Liddy and use a few minutes of Nation Wide Radio to give someone a BAD report. Call 1-800-GGLiddy any week day Mon. to Fri. between 9am and 12 noon central time.

I ran into the same problem a few years ago with UPS. I had an OLD computer board for an industrial machine available only from McClean Anderson Corp. for $4800.00. I sold it for $1500.00 and insured it for $1500.00. It was damaged by UPS and UPS refused to pay. UPS claimed sence it was an old obsolute computer system it was worthless. The buyer had 3 choices, buy from me $1500.00, Buy from McClean Anderson $4800.00, buy a new machine $500,000.00. Naturally they choose the cheapest way out. I had to give the buyer a $1500.00 refund and got nothing out of the deal. The buyer probably ended up spending $4800.00 for a computer board from McClean Anderson. So what good is insurance?

Well, I work for one of those freight forwarding companies. We are the order of the freight dogs of the sleepless knights. Having been in this work for the last fifteen years I can say I have seen my share of poor shipping practices. Boxes that don't hold up, labels that are torn off and no other labels on the inside of the box to help the shipper to figure out where the shipment should go. A shipping box must be able to withstand a few hundred pounds piled on top of it. Most of our containers weigh in around 400# to 600#, a few will top out at the limit of 1100#. That's a lot of boxes folks. So,if your box ends up on the bottom, so be it. These boxes are handled several times during their movement in a day. When you drop off your package it's thrown into a hamper of some type, then reloaded onto an A container or in my compaies case a C conatiner, then put on a plane to be unloaded again at the hub and then to be thrown on a belt to be sorted, handled by several dozen people in a time space of four hours. Then loaded again on the plane to go to its destination. Unloaded from the plane. to be put on a truck to get to you. Now crank in some bad weather along the way, it's a wonder anything gets where it's to go.
Labels, labels, labels. The label must be able to withstand, rain, dropped in puddels, sitting outside in the rain and the big one abrasion. The label has to be able to resist being scrapped off. If that does happen, hopefully there will be a label on the inside of the box. No matter what shipper you use they are all driven by zip codes. So the zip code must be legiable. I have seen a few miss-routes due to not being able to read the zip code. I too have heard the horror stories of waiting for your package, check the tracking number only to find out it's going from New York to Georgia via Fargo, North Dakota. Once was on the belt loader in LAX waiting to get on the plane for the trip back home. The belt stops. A package that has the shape of a picture frame with an address for Manhatten Beach, is going to Wilmington, Ohio to be sorted, put back on a plane to fly across the country a second time to LAX to be delivered up the road to Manhatten Beach. I brought this up to my managers. They were aware of the problem. The company built a regional sort system to handel such shipments. Took a couple of years.
Our company handels, on average, 5 million pounds of freight a day. Your shipment has to be able to survive that gauntlet. We do a good job of getting it done. But that last 2% is what causes most headaches.

Erich

The one time I don't add the insurance I loose my package. Sent a ST46 to Tom Lay thru the USPS never to be seen again. Not sure what I did wrong, but sure would like to see it again.

LAST EDITED ON Mar-12-04 AT 05:49 AM (CDT)
 
I must admit, I was a real big user (and abuser ^_^;; ) of USPS's Priority Mail. Shipped (and received) video tapes by the dozen, and the last year or so, I was really active on e-bay selling stuff. Not a one went missing. I liked the tracking service (never actually had to use it) and I LOVED the fact that all the packaging boxes and envelopes you needed were on hand at the post office. You could get 36" long triangular mailing tubes for plans and balsa (I shipped a lot of Estes rocket tubes), big boxes, small boxes, Tyvek envelopes, even sticky tape embossed with the USPS Priority Mail logo. If the local post office didn't have it, you could order it online from www.usps.com. Sure, the boxes came in dozens if you ordered them, but you could drop off the ones you didn't use at the post office lobby. Not to mention the rates were really, really cheap compared to sending stuff by UPS or Fedex.. not to mention that to send something by UPS, I'd have to drive across town.

http://shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsbv/postal_store_non_ssl/display_products/productCategory.jsp?cat=Business+Use&prodCat=/Shipping+Supplies/Business+Use/2.+Priority+Mail

Now the abuse part.. ^_^;;

I often used Priority Mail boxes assembled inside out to send stuff via regular Parcel Post.. The same with those Tyvek mailers. Though most of the ones I "abused" in this way were actually used ones, that I'd received from other people, so I felt less guilty about it. The mailing labels, you could cut off the top part and use them for regular parcel post, too. I also, once or twice, scruched up two or three tyvek envelopes for padding inside a box (I actually saw a post office worker do this, which is how I got the idea..). When I was moving, I ran short of packing tape for my boxes, so a roll of USPS tape got pressed into service... I'll bet the stuff is good for repairing Combat planes, too - it's a lot tougher and seems to be lighter than the clear packing tape you buy at Wal-Mart. The Tyvek mailers might make good hinge material, too, perhaps (I did use it once for that).

I really miss Priority Mail.

This is one of those cases of not knowing how good we've got it here in the U.S.

I used to (mildly) complain about U.S.P.S., UPS, and so on. Then I began doing business in what was at the time the Soviet Union.

Have not registered even a mild complaint since. Some of you guys are real weenies and need to just get over it.