UPS damages package and wont pay up...

[sunkistcamaro]

Hi guys,
I have a bit of a problem with UPS...
I sold my Holley Commander 950 MPFI on Ebay recently. Everything was going fine, I sold it, got paid and shipped.
I packed the hell out of this thing. I found a box that was big and strong enough to fit everything. I kept the throttle body bolted on the intake all wrapped in paper and bubble wrap. The wire harness and small odds and ends in another smaller box wedged along side of the intake. And a another box with the computer. I also had distributor in there wrapped in paper and bubble wrap.
I brought it to the UPS Store paid for shipping and $1500 worth of insurance. Enough to cover the price of the sale and shipping if lost.
In a few days the buyer calls me saying the distributor cap is busted and the linkage arm on the throttle is bent.
I called the UPS store to tell them what he told me. He started a claim real fast.

Long story short...
Three disputes later they are not going to pay for $750 worth of damage they caused. They say that I didnt have 2" of clearance worth of padding around the part . The UPS Store says they cant do anything else to help me.

What the hell can I do?? I worked it out with the buyer and told him I would split the cost of a used throttle body on Ebay ($300). Its not his fault this happened.
I want to get the buyer a new throttle body and distributor. Im not looking to make money on this. I just want to make everything right.

Has anyone had issues like this? Who do I need to call / write / email to get them to pay?

Thanks guys!!

[HotRodKush]

I would see if there's a district supervisor that you can contact. If nothing else works, go to the local news station and see if they can do a quick story on it - the UPS stores are usually locally-owned businesses (not like the post offices) and would hate to have a bad rep.

[sunkistcamaro]

I was thinking of that too, as a last resort. I was also told to write a letter to my attorney general for help too.

[sunkistcamaro]

How many people are hung out to dry by these people...?

[LateNight72]

It's no surprise that UPS doesn't pay up. They are notorious for denying nearly every claim for "insufficient packaging".

FedEx, unfortunately isn't much better. Next time you are shipping something worth a decent chunk, and it actually weighs a good bit (more than 40lbs), I'd consider making a wooden crate. Saving $40 on materials isn't worth it. I shipped a mint M-20 from Miami to New Hampshire in a wooden crate UPS, and fortunately no ears were broken. You can also buy large sheets of 2" thick styrofoam at Home Depot or Lowe's. It cover's UPS's 2" rule.

[Pro Stock]

UPS stores are private enterpises but they are working as agents for UPS, if they did their jobs correctly they would have asked the contents of and inspected the outside of the package for strength, if at that point they accepted the package it would be considered insured. Contact UPS directly and file a complaint, if that doesn't get any results contact a small time "inexpensive" lawyer to write them a letter or take them to small claims court.

Dale

[sunkistcamaro]

They are notorious for denying nearly every claim for "insufficient packaging".
You can also buy large sheets of 2" thick styrofoam at Home Depot or Lowe's. It cover's UPS's 2" rule.

This is what I have a BIG problem with, this 2" rule.
I have never seen nor heard of this rule till now. No sign, not even a mention of this till now...
I was always told to package everything tight, thats it...

[sunkistcamaro]

UPS stores are private enterpises but they are working as agents for UPS, if they did their jobs correctly they would have asked the contents of and inspected the outside of the package for strength, if at that point they accepted the package it would be considered insured.

Done... They looked at it while they were weighing it.
After I insured it for $1500 a manage even had to come over and type something into the computer. I found out later that he was the franchise owner.

[MonzaRacer]

Time for lawsuit, use a lawyer that will go for cost plus his fee, even if its just to get an actual resolution.
Bad thing is if you dont have pis before and after and after it was packed you may have a problem BUT you bought plenty of insurance, also if selling "insurance" call your states insurance licensing board/office, this might get the company in some hot water if you can show a denial of coverage WITH facts of management having to sign off on it, you might win and make the lawyer some cash too. But dont forget your time ,money, reputation etc, it can cost. Oh and paying THEM to pack and ship it removes your liability and you can actually take store to court next time

[sunkistcamaro]

Oh and paying THEM to pack and ship it removes your liability and you can actually take store to court next time

I wish I did...
Im so pissed because they are offering a service and not standing behind their guarantee.
I paid $23 to ship and over $30 in insurance!

[Takid455]

had this happen to a dash once and a shaker a different time. the first complaint is ALWAYS denied. A second call or letter results in refund of damaged part. just have to work their system. changes are you may get the part back and the buyer gets the money. I also had it where I got the parts back and the seller got the funds. he then sent the funds to me.

[Jim Nilsen]

You may have to go all the way up to the regional supervisor to get results. keep squeaking and climbing until they pay up.

Resistance is their game and annoying customers who won't go away get paid to go away. It' a pain but it has to be their pain too before they listen.

[1969CamaroRS]

Also something to keep in mind in the future is let UPS pack anything your are going to insure past the $100.00, this way they lose the ability to claim it was packaged wrong (this is what I do after a similar bad experience). You end up paying a bit more but have a much better chance of them paying up without having to do a dog and pony show to get them to do so.

[fordsbyjay]

Well you can prepare to take it up the ass because I have never heard of them paying out a claim. They screwed me when they broke the bellhousing and yoke on a T56 I bought. I paid the UPS store to pack it so it would meet their standards and they screwed me every way they could. Packing, insurance and smashed product. I have never shipped anything by United Parcel Smashers again. What needs to happen is a class action law suit to put them in their place.

[sunkistcamaro]

What needs to happen is a class action law suit to put them in their place.

I was wondering if anyone was going to say this. I was thinking that this may have some merit. Im in the process of writing a letter to the attorney general office to investigate.

[Van B]

UPS = U People Suck

[novaderrik]

not that i'm siding with UPS on this, but how is a bent throttle arm and busted distributor cap worth $750?

i know how crooked UPS is- last fall, a friend of mine sold a tv on ebay for $500. she packed it in the original box and took it to the UPS store to ship it to the buyer just outside of Boston, MA. she insured it for it's actual value of $1000 to cover the cost of the tv plus whatever else. UPS never delivered it- their online tracker showed it arriving at the Boston terminal and then it just disappeared. they denied her claim and said that it was somehow her fault. she fought it, and they sent her a check for $300, which she cashed in order to buy some groceries for her and her 5 year old daughter. she thought she was going to be able to get more out of them later, since the slimeball at UPS told her that she could still keep the claim open after cashing the check. i had to explain to her that by cashing the check, she was accepting that as their final offer. she didn't believe me until she called them a few days alter and they wouldn't even talk to her any more.
now she flips off every Brown truck she sees on the road..

[fordsbyjay]

I was wondering if anyone was going to say this. I was thinking that this may have some merit. Im in the process of writing a letter to the attorney general office to investigate.

Let me know how that turns out. It wouldn't take long to get a long list if you were to go a search on the www. UPS has been screwing people for years.

[Tony_SS]

UPS screwed me. I bought a printer, arrived broke and they basically said F-U. Wouldn't do a think for me or the seller who tried to work it out. File a BBB report, contact a small claims ct lawyer and give them hell. Basically the owner of that franchise is telling you to bite it. It's his claim and he's weaseling out of it.

Use UPS at your own risk!

Personally I ship everything through USPS. I figure they could use the business and I've never had an issue with their service.

[sunkistcamaro]

The $750 came about because the agent at UPS told the buyer NOT to take apart the distributor cap. He said that this would be considered tampering and they would deny the claim. He asked them how can he make sure nothing else was wrong? The agent said to get a quote for new items that were damaged.

This is what the buyer wrote for prices from Summit:
Throttle body $465.95
Distributor $ 271.95
Gasket $1.95
Shipping $12.95
total: $752.80