insurance and shipping with UPS


I recently shipped a Levinson 432 amplifier with UPS.I brought it to UPS and requested that they box it. It was insured. During transit UPS dropped the amplifier and pretty much destroyed it. I offered to pay for repairs, however the buyer had no interest in purchasing the item. UPS inspected the damaged amplifier and denied my claim, insisting  the  amplifier was not properly packaged. Corporate denied responsibility and said the issue was between myself and the UPS franchise that shipped it. I've been dealing with the franchise for a month and they are fighting with corporate in an attempt to adjudicate the issue. Meanwhile, I've repaid the buyer and have had  no relief from UPS. The UPS website clearly states that if a franchise boxed the item they are responsible. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to resolve this issue, other than hiring an attorney? UPS seems to be somewhat of a scam operation. I did not realize that all UPS offices were franchises and am wondering why anyone would ship anything of value with them.
catsally1
Unfortunately I have also learned the hard way that UPS, when it comes to claims for damages are not to be trusted in any way whatsoever and will actually tamper with evidence and alter the facts to avoid paying out in any way they can.
Heady claims you say, I agree but it happened to me too.
I shipped a pair of speakers from Florida to Arizona in the original speaker boxes but then also inside a pair of heavy duty bought from the UPS store golf club boxes ( these are great cheap options for shipping speakers if you do not have boxes btw!).
Now I plastered these boxes with signs I printed out and taped on along the lines of , FRAGILE, DO NOT BEND, ELECTRONICS, THIS WAY UP etc.
Now my local UPS driver is a very nice guy and when he came to pick these up from my house I asked if I could take a picture of them loaded in his truck standing up with all the packaging labels showing which he had no problem with at all.
Needless to say they arrived at the buyers looking like they had been run over by an 18 wheeler and both speakers completely wasted.Buyer sent me lots of photos and what was very interesting was that ALL of my labels were gone from both boxes, every single one.
dealing with ups claims the lady tried to insist they were not in speaker boxes despite the original speaker boxes and packaging were INSIDE the ups golf club boxes and there was NO indication of goods or fragility, seriously. I demanded to speak to a supervisor who I eventually got after 30 minutes wait and we went through it all again, at this juncture I asked for her email so I could send her the pictures of these speakers loaded onto the ups truck at my house. She asked why and as soon as I said that they showed the boxes covered with warning labels and that after destroying the boxes in transit a ups employee must have removed all labels and tried to cover their backsides she agreed to receive the pictures.
To her credit she called me back in 10 minutes, apologised and said ups will cover the full cost of the speakers insured value and refund the shipping charges.
Trust them no further than you can throw them! Get all the evidence you can, I take pictures of all my major items shipping and have done for years.
@catsally1, thanks for the update. I'm glad when all is said and done you will be properly compensated :-)!
FedEx isn't perfect, but I stop using UPS 10 years ago after a problem with one of their stores. I've developed a very good relationship with my local FedEx employees. They consistently go out if their way to assist me. 
Most damage is caused by poor packing. For large heavy items, double boxing is important, but it’s just as important to use the proper materials. Boxes and packing materials have specifications for the intended purpose. Even double boxing with light duty supplies for a heavy item is risky. Proper packing with proper supplies should make it difficult for damage even with some rough handling. Please understand I’m not talking about something absurd like driving a forklift through the box.

As far as the "trained experts", I’m sure some do an excellent job, while others are no better than a 6 year old doing it. Just like everything else, some are professional and take pride in what they do, while others just go through the motions because they are required to do so.

Also, I think it's a bad idea to mark fragile, etc. Sure, some will try to comply with the message, but idiots are everywhere and this prompts them to do just the opposite.

Lemme tell ya few thingies about UPS shipping.
There were 3 instances of them shipping credenza to my mom's home with UPS with original manufacturer packaging:

1st instance almost all panels damaged and box had visible puncture and drop damage -- requested replacement.

2nd instance -- replacement came-in with several panels damaged especially the base one -- requested replacement.

3rd instance very similar to 1st.

After all from 3 boxes I was able to put together one credenza.

No matter how GOOD you pack unless you pack it onto the gigantic bubble wrapped ball, the odds of successful delivery with UPS are quite low.