Another UPS Horror Story


I bought an Allnic T1500 amp here earlier this month. It was shipped in the original packaging by a UPS store from NJ to Seattle, fully insured. It arrived with a hole in the bottom corner and substantial damage to the amp (subchassis bent). I contacted the seller who refused my refund request and I processed a UPS claim.

UPS picked it up and did an inspection at their customer service center. They found no damage to the box (I have photos of the 6" hole in the bottom), did not look inside and have now sent it back to the NJ. Once again the seller has refused to refund my payment claiming he doesn't have the money to refund.

At this point the shipper will have my original payment plus the damaged unit, which might be repairable. Can a UPS claim be appealed? Can a UPS Store be sued in small claims?

I know I should never have given this back to UPS for "inspection". My best hope is that once it gets back to NJ they will ship it to the Allnic recommended repair shop in Pennsylvania and it can be fixed.
jarrett
Yes, often times less expensive than ups or fedex. I hope folks are reading this and benefit from what is being said here regarding the use of trucking companies instead of FedEx etc....
Actually, I do think that the seller sent me a working amplifier. Before I bought the amp I contacted Sunil at Care Audio, where the amp was originally bought and asked about the seller:

"I cannot tell you what to do but Steve has come to my place a couple of times and I have gone to his place once."

Also, the damage to the amp is indicative of a long drop onto one corner of the box, which given it's 60 pound weight, would not be something done by the owner, just the shipper.

This ups story goes back a few years but I sold through eBay a beautiful pair of Focal Electras to a guy in Maine. He refused the shipment because of damage to the boxes (original factory). I was sitting in my living room and heard this loud thump outside of the garage and saw one of the boxes laying on its side with the ups driver wheeling the other from the truck. They were so badly damaged that only a portion of the cardboard and no internal packing remained on one. The corner of the other was crushed so badly that one of the drivers was bent. One of the woofers was completely smashed in and it's frame was even bent, etc, etc, etc. Ups inspected them and verified that, indeed, a claim was warranted but, because it was considered a "freight" shipment I was entitled to only half of the declared value and I wasn't even allowed to keep what remained of the speakers or any of the un damaged parts. They were impossible to deal with and the process took over 2 months to resolve. They also destroyed an underwater camera housing about a year later and claimed that it was damaged before packaging. They finally paid but only after another battle. I will no longer use them myself and request those from whom I'm buying not to use them.
When I sold my TRL Samsons, I use YRC Freight. Both amps ship in one wooden crate. I arranged pickup from my home and the price was very reasonable.

I got quotes from Pilot, FedEx Freight, Craters & Freighters ... and YRC had the best package deal. Excellent service, online tracking and arrived on time. Will definitely use them again if necessary.
Still no UPS inspection so I called them. They told me there will be no more inspections, they are finished.

So, now I need to wait out all of my consumer complaints and small claims cases. May just have to write this off. I also recommend you stay away from Care Audio in NJ as I contacted them before I bought the amp and they vouched for the seller then and still feel he is a "stand up guy."