niceice
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2003
- Messages
- 1,792
We are initiating a public press campaign against Fed Ex Ground in an effort to enlighten the public regarding a policy of Fed Ex Ground that we feel is intentional Consumer Fraud and Insurance Fraud. Our experience in this matter concerns a package that we shipped via Fed Ex Ground on January 05, 2005 with a declared insured value of $50,000.00 the contents of which being electronic equipment that was subsequently crushed by Fed Ex during their handling of the package.
We filed a claim with Fed Ex Ground (claim #045807254586891) for the declared value of $50,000.00 with the understanding that the equipment may be repairable and thus the total damage may or may not meet the declared value of the package. Fed Ex promptly denied payment of the claim based upon the review of a "neutral third party inspection company" selected solely at their discretion. Fed Ex provided us with a written copy of the report stating the reasons for the recommendation to deny the claim as being (1) there was no way to verify that the equipment was not damaged prior to shipment (2) that we did not use a brand new box to ship the package and (3) that we used bubble wrap instead of styrofoam to protect the contents. The "report" contained no contact information for the inspection company and our request to be provided with that information was denied.
Our written request for Fed Ex to leave the claim open pending investigation and review by another agency was denied in writing... Subsequent telephone calls to the claim representative for Fed Ex Ground were not returned... We contacted David Westrick, the contact for Fed Ex Ground as declared on their web site at (412) 859-5435 "regarding concern for a package that we had shipped Fed Ex Ground" and promptly received a return phone call from his assistant who managed to get us in direct contact with the Larraine Crute (412) 262-6738 who is the Administrator for Fed Ex Ground Claims. Here is where things get interesting and this is what we want people to "realize"... Larraine Crute told us that we did not purchase insurance because Fed Ex does not sell insurance. Apparently when we responded to the question posed by the Fed Ex Agent at the Fed Ex counter "would you like to insure this package" and declared the value of the contents as being $50,000.00 we did not purchase insurance... Nevermind the fact that we paid an additional $200.00 dollars to ship the package becuase we declared the value as being $50,000.00 "we did not purchase insurance"... No, instead we merely declared the value of the contents "for consideration by Fed Ex Ground Claims in the event that the contents were lost or damaged during transport."
We filed a claim with the Oregon Dept. of Insurance and a very cooperative agent informed us that they unfortunately do not have jurisdiction over this matter because Fed Ex is not an insurance company... Nevermind the fact that their counter people offer insurance to unsuspecting consumers every day with the apparent knowledge that Fed Ex has no intention of paying the claim, but that the declaration of value is merely an indication of value for Fed Ex claims agents to "consider in the event of loss". Just out of curiosity, can anybody here on PS imagine making this statement to another person while keeping a straight face? According to the Fed Ex Ground freight cost estimator on-line, it would only have cost us $31.05 to ship the package had we not declared a value... According to Fed Ex, if they did decide to acknowledge the claim, their maximum liability as declared in their Tariff would be $25,000.00 which would have cost us $130.65 to ship... But the person at the Fed Ex counter, the authorized Agent of Fed Ex, accepted the package with a declared value of $50,000.00 and accepted payment in the amount of $230.65 based upon the declared value of the contents.
According to the very large sign posted above the Fed Ex counter at our local station, Fed Ex has the right to open a package and inspect the contents at their sole discretion. The authorized agent of Fed Ex who accepted the package did not elect to inspect the contents of our package valued at $50K nor did the station manager on duty at the time. At no time did the authorized Fed Ex Agent notify us that we were not purchasing insurance for the contents, nor did she declare that Fed Ex assumed no liability with regards to the contents of the package although the contents of the package were clearly described on the bill of lading.
Regarding the "used box"... It was in new condition, it had been used to ship once before and was crisp at the time of shipment - if Fed Ex was concerned about the condition of the box, we suppose that their authorized agent should have mentioned that at the time she received the package for transport and accepted our money for the freight and insurance. Apparently Fed Ex has never heard of "recycling" and does not support the global cause of recycling and wants us to destroy our environment by using a new box every time we ship, this should be of great relief to those people who support the burning and destruction of our rain forests. Chalk one up for Fed Ex Corporate.
We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Fed Ex DVX which is the security division of Fed Ex designated for use by the diamond industry and to be honest, they are a bit stunned by how Fed Ex Ground is handling our claim... Oh yea, the first claims agent that we experienced kept repeating "you insured this package for an awful lot of money..." in an accusatory tone... Apparently she was unaware that we ship high value packages every day and have a zero loss rating with Fed Ex DVX. Anybody here on PS who has tried to open one of our packages can attest to the fact that we know how to pack securely, however we have little control over the Fed Ex staff who apparently dropped this box off of a shipping truck or platform.
We don''t expect anybody here on PS to be able to do anything about this situation, we merely want people to be aware of the fact that Fed Ex apparently does not sell insurance... Apparently when a value is declared on the bill of lading and additional money is collected by Fed Ex based upon the value declared on their airbill, you are merely indicating a value for Fed Ex Ground to consider when they evaluate your claim for damage or loss. No goverment agency appears to have jurisdiction over Fed Ex claims, not our Oregon State Dept. of Insurance, not the Federal Dept. of Insurance, not the Federal Trade Commission, not the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, nobody. Needless to say, we have filed a claim with our business insurance company who provides third party coverage for our shipping activities, they will fight Fed Ex on our behalf. But who would fight for you if you experienced this type of loss at the hands of a trusted shipping company like Fed Ex or UPS? That''s right folks, the format of their tariff''s are written quite similar, so we''re assuming that they operate in a similar fashion. Be sure that your homeowner''s insurance provides covererage for your valuable items before you ship them and in our opinion, you should save the additional money you would be charged for declaring a value since you''re apparently not buying insurance anyway - just consideration in the event of loss. It seems unfair for Fed Ex to allow trusting consumers to self insure their valuables while being transported in their care, if they have no intention of paying a valid claim in the event that they damage a package during transit.
We filed a claim with Fed Ex Ground (claim #045807254586891) for the declared value of $50,000.00 with the understanding that the equipment may be repairable and thus the total damage may or may not meet the declared value of the package. Fed Ex promptly denied payment of the claim based upon the review of a "neutral third party inspection company" selected solely at their discretion. Fed Ex provided us with a written copy of the report stating the reasons for the recommendation to deny the claim as being (1) there was no way to verify that the equipment was not damaged prior to shipment (2) that we did not use a brand new box to ship the package and (3) that we used bubble wrap instead of styrofoam to protect the contents. The "report" contained no contact information for the inspection company and our request to be provided with that information was denied.
Our written request for Fed Ex to leave the claim open pending investigation and review by another agency was denied in writing... Subsequent telephone calls to the claim representative for Fed Ex Ground were not returned... We contacted David Westrick, the contact for Fed Ex Ground as declared on their web site at (412) 859-5435 "regarding concern for a package that we had shipped Fed Ex Ground" and promptly received a return phone call from his assistant who managed to get us in direct contact with the Larraine Crute (412) 262-6738 who is the Administrator for Fed Ex Ground Claims. Here is where things get interesting and this is what we want people to "realize"... Larraine Crute told us that we did not purchase insurance because Fed Ex does not sell insurance. Apparently when we responded to the question posed by the Fed Ex Agent at the Fed Ex counter "would you like to insure this package" and declared the value of the contents as being $50,000.00 we did not purchase insurance... Nevermind the fact that we paid an additional $200.00 dollars to ship the package becuase we declared the value as being $50,000.00 "we did not purchase insurance"... No, instead we merely declared the value of the contents "for consideration by Fed Ex Ground Claims in the event that the contents were lost or damaged during transport."
We filed a claim with the Oregon Dept. of Insurance and a very cooperative agent informed us that they unfortunately do not have jurisdiction over this matter because Fed Ex is not an insurance company... Nevermind the fact that their counter people offer insurance to unsuspecting consumers every day with the apparent knowledge that Fed Ex has no intention of paying the claim, but that the declaration of value is merely an indication of value for Fed Ex claims agents to "consider in the event of loss". Just out of curiosity, can anybody here on PS imagine making this statement to another person while keeping a straight face? According to the Fed Ex Ground freight cost estimator on-line, it would only have cost us $31.05 to ship the package had we not declared a value... According to Fed Ex, if they did decide to acknowledge the claim, their maximum liability as declared in their Tariff would be $25,000.00 which would have cost us $130.65 to ship... But the person at the Fed Ex counter, the authorized Agent of Fed Ex, accepted the package with a declared value of $50,000.00 and accepted payment in the amount of $230.65 based upon the declared value of the contents.
According to the very large sign posted above the Fed Ex counter at our local station, Fed Ex has the right to open a package and inspect the contents at their sole discretion. The authorized agent of Fed Ex who accepted the package did not elect to inspect the contents of our package valued at $50K nor did the station manager on duty at the time. At no time did the authorized Fed Ex Agent notify us that we were not purchasing insurance for the contents, nor did she declare that Fed Ex assumed no liability with regards to the contents of the package although the contents of the package were clearly described on the bill of lading.
Regarding the "used box"... It was in new condition, it had been used to ship once before and was crisp at the time of shipment - if Fed Ex was concerned about the condition of the box, we suppose that their authorized agent should have mentioned that at the time she received the package for transport and accepted our money for the freight and insurance. Apparently Fed Ex has never heard of "recycling" and does not support the global cause of recycling and wants us to destroy our environment by using a new box every time we ship, this should be of great relief to those people who support the burning and destruction of our rain forests. Chalk one up for Fed Ex Corporate.
We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Fed Ex DVX which is the security division of Fed Ex designated for use by the diamond industry and to be honest, they are a bit stunned by how Fed Ex Ground is handling our claim... Oh yea, the first claims agent that we experienced kept repeating "you insured this package for an awful lot of money..." in an accusatory tone... Apparently she was unaware that we ship high value packages every day and have a zero loss rating with Fed Ex DVX. Anybody here on PS who has tried to open one of our packages can attest to the fact that we know how to pack securely, however we have little control over the Fed Ex staff who apparently dropped this box off of a shipping truck or platform.
We don''t expect anybody here on PS to be able to do anything about this situation, we merely want people to be aware of the fact that Fed Ex apparently does not sell insurance... Apparently when a value is declared on the bill of lading and additional money is collected by Fed Ex based upon the value declared on their airbill, you are merely indicating a value for Fed Ex Ground to consider when they evaluate your claim for damage or loss. No goverment agency appears to have jurisdiction over Fed Ex claims, not our Oregon State Dept. of Insurance, not the Federal Dept. of Insurance, not the Federal Trade Commission, not the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, nobody. Needless to say, we have filed a claim with our business insurance company who provides third party coverage for our shipping activities, they will fight Fed Ex on our behalf. But who would fight for you if you experienced this type of loss at the hands of a trusted shipping company like Fed Ex or UPS? That''s right folks, the format of their tariff''s are written quite similar, so we''re assuming that they operate in a similar fashion. Be sure that your homeowner''s insurance provides covererage for your valuable items before you ship them and in our opinion, you should save the additional money you would be charged for declaring a value since you''re apparently not buying insurance anyway - just consideration in the event of loss. It seems unfair for Fed Ex to allow trusting consumers to self insure their valuables while being transported in their care, if they have no intention of paying a valid claim in the event that they damage a package during transit.
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