UPS or should I Say Oooops

ericbee, ewe are mistaken - ups *will* make payment for damaged goods - even if they were poorly packed, or were damaged prior to shipment. i was the buyer in two such incidents, & ups paid both times, w/no hassles - once to a dishonest seller, the other time to an incompetent seller. w/the dishonest seller, i even told the ups claims person, when they came over to inspect the goods, that i thought it was damaged prior to packing. go figure...

ymmv, doug s.

Hackee,

while I agree that MBE is a method to pack and ship, in fact the UPS supervisor suggested I use them, I refuse to be extorted by their pricing. An example, I had to ship a 35lb DAC. I went to MBE to help pack it, they charged me $10. They offered to ship it via UPS or USPS. The buyer wanted overnight delivery. MBE rates were $189, UPS $160. I walked over to USPS one block away and it cost me $72. I had an idea what the USPS cost would be when I brought it to them direct, and asked the MBE owner what it would cost me if I dropped off the package to USPS myself and he replied, "im not sure, I only have access to the rates UPS and USPS offers me". Something tells me, he knew exactly what it would cost me if I did it myself.

I am pleasantly surprised at the number of people who have had luck with claims w/o orig pacakging. My dilema at the time was that UPS wouldnt let me ship the package w/o the orig packaging.

FYI, the loophole is to set up a "one time pick up" by driver who will not and does not have the time to inspect the contents or the method which a package is boxed and skip the cusotmer counter.

I had one claim against UPS paid very promptly. However, it was for an item I that they lost (or was stolen while in their possession).

KRELL says, "never ship UPS."

From the minute the inspector started looking at the speakers that UPS damaged in transit, it was clear that the she had no intention of filing a report that said anything but "packaging insufficient." When I showed her the crushed styrofoam padding inside, she said, "No. That impact was from the INSIDE"--as if the speaker spontaneously accelerated from within. UPS promptly denied the claim and has ignored further inquiries.

I don't doubt that in some cases in some locales, UPS pays promptly. But with a company that size, it's inevitable that there are variations from place to place. The actual route taken by the packages probably also affects the damage rate, since apparently there are UPS shipping centers where conveyor belts drop packages from unreasonable heights.

In other words, as an individual, you are at the mercy of UPS unless you threaten legal action. You may be lucky and receive a quick and fair settlement to your claim. You may be unlucky. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the odds are not in your favor.