Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Small Miracles
My 100% positive rated eBayer got back to me. He has faxed the letter twice already and is going for a third time. I wonder what FedEx will try to do this time. Now I just need to contact the claims rep to determine if they actually received the fax and find out what the next step is. Sometimes things look up.
2 reasons not to ship FedEx
He saw it coming and FedEx still fought him every step of the way.
All these people are good illustrations that FedEx does not care about their customer service after a package has been "delivered." Whether the package is delivered in one piece, with contents inside, or to the right person does not really matter because it is always someone elses fault.
What I like best is when FedEx tells the recipient that they made a mistake and they actually received their package but did not realize it. I guess mistakes by FedEx are ineffable according to company policy.
All these people are good illustrations that FedEx does not care about their customer service after a package has been "delivered." Whether the package is delivered in one piece, with contents inside, or to the right person does not really matter because it is always someone elses fault.
What I like best is when FedEx tells the recipient that they made a mistake and they actually received their package but did not realize it. I guess mistakes by FedEx are ineffable according to company policy.
This is fun! (Phone Tag)
So Monday I call in and try to talk to my claims rep. I get her voicemail and leave a message. She returns my call bright and early the next day (yesterday) only to catch my voicemail. So I try to call back and what do I find but a very knowledgable CS rep.
He first asks whether I'm the recipient or the shipper. I tell him I am the recipient and he tells me my claim has been denied. I say "I know, it was denied because I need shipper authorization and I'm having trouble contacting the original shipper so I am trying to get ahold of my claims rep to find out what policies are in place when a situation like this arises." I can't be the only person to have this happen so FedEx has to have some policy in place to help people in my situation, don't they?
This CS rep tells me, flat out, that there is nothing I can do without getting the shippers authorization first. I tell him I understand but I'd like to speak with a claims rep to see what I can do in a situation like this. He says "Okay, thank you for calling FedEx." I say thank you thinking he's going to transfer me to her voicemail... Nope, he hangs up on me.
I call back and I get ahold of a nice woman who transfers me after a shorter less rude version of the conversation above, I get my claims rep's voicemail and leave a message. Stupidly I included in this message what the issue is (that I can't get ahold of the original shipper) and while her first reply was very prompt I have yet to hear back from her the next business day (today, Wednesday).
I'm about to the end of my good faith. It is becoming rather obvious that there are no reasonable means to resolve this conflict through the guidelines established by FedEx so I guess I only have one alternative.
He first asks whether I'm the recipient or the shipper. I tell him I am the recipient and he tells me my claim has been denied. I say "I know, it was denied because I need shipper authorization and I'm having trouble contacting the original shipper so I am trying to get ahold of my claims rep to find out what policies are in place when a situation like this arises." I can't be the only person to have this happen so FedEx has to have some policy in place to help people in my situation, don't they?
This CS rep tells me, flat out, that there is nothing I can do without getting the shippers authorization first. I tell him I understand but I'd like to speak with a claims rep to see what I can do in a situation like this. He says "Okay, thank you for calling FedEx." I say thank you thinking he's going to transfer me to her voicemail... Nope, he hangs up on me.
I call back and I get ahold of a nice woman who transfers me after a shorter less rude version of the conversation above, I get my claims rep's voicemail and leave a message. Stupidly I included in this message what the issue is (that I can't get ahold of the original shipper) and while her first reply was very prompt I have yet to hear back from her the next business day (today, Wednesday).
I'm about to the end of my good faith. It is becoming rather obvious that there are no reasonable means to resolve this conflict through the guidelines established by FedEx so I guess I only have one alternative.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Disclaimer (don't sue for libel)
Everything written here is opinion, my own, all statements made as fact pertaining to my experience with FedEx are either a first-hand account of contacts I have had with FedEx or attempts at interpreting the reasoning behind actions made on behalf of FedEx by it's employees. Any statement that can be construed as libelous is opinion and therefore not libel.
Almost burnt out
Physics, Linear Algebra, and English composition. Those are the three main focuses of my attention at the moment. I get off work at 10 pm, come home, and stumble my way through a lab report or a homework set. My brain has hit that state where it doesn't seem like I am absorbing information anymore it seems like nothing sinks in. It would be easy to give up and pay for the PSU and case out of pocket and pray that some day in the future they may deem it appropriate to give me the funds, but I don't have that type of money to throw at damaged parts so the computer sits powered down and unplugged in my living room.
I called FedEx a couple days ago to learn that no letter had been received and that my file states my claim was denied. I email the eBayer and he doesn't reply. So I send the email as a reply to one he sent me, thinking that my first one may have been caught in a spam filter, still no reply. Today I contact FedEx again and I tell the rep that I received a letter informing me that I cannot negotiate the claim because I am the receiving party, lo and behold he is completely aware of this fact and tells me about the letter of waiver.
[This implies to me that their script specifically tells them to avoid mentioning this to recipients who receive damaged goods until the recipient mentions it to the representative. Also note that the claims representative, knowing I was the recipient, sent me one letter that told me I had to submit documentation but did not mention that the shipper needs to submit a waiver...]
I ask this representative what to do if I can't contact the original shipper and he says that my claims rep would attempt to do so. I ask him what procedure is in place to remedy the situation if she can't. He tells me that I would need to call back on Monday and he would put me in contact with the claims rep as she would know how to resolve the situation.
So here we are. I'm over 2 months into my new computer purchase and regretting every minute of it. My capture cards are sitting on a table, still in their packaging, inert and unused. I wonder if they will see any use before the cable companies phase out analog signals completely...
I do not feel hopeful that I will receive any assistance from my claims representative on Monday, considering the nature of her letters it implies that FedEx just does not want to pay what they owe me for the damaged components of the computer. In the one online purchase I have made since this fiasco started I willingly suffered a delay of one day so that my package could be shipped via UPS instead of FedEx (the UPS pickup had already been made for the day). I am not certain that UPS has a better policy than that of FedEx but I do not want FedEx receiving any more money on my behalf if at all possible. I also recommend that everyone out there thinks long and hard when choosing a shipping company. I have had excellent experiences with DHL and UPS in the past.
I also learned an interesting fact from a friend. He apparently worked at the warehouse which handles all the packages shipped through FedEx for the local area. Packages travel down a conveyor belt and are pulled off at different spots depending on their final destination. For the city I live in the packages are pulled off at the very end of the belt. Frequently these packages fall off onto the cold cement beneath. I now wonder why they don't just place a matress at the end of the belt to save the falling packages. Most of the guys working in the warehouse, when he worked there, were between 18 and 24 getting paid decent money and did not care in the least about the safety of the packages they were handling because there was no incentive. Firings were frequent and there were very few long term employees that worked the night shifts in the warehouse. Makes me think that I am not alone.
I called FedEx a couple days ago to learn that no letter had been received and that my file states my claim was denied. I email the eBayer and he doesn't reply. So I send the email as a reply to one he sent me, thinking that my first one may have been caught in a spam filter, still no reply. Today I contact FedEx again and I tell the rep that I received a letter informing me that I cannot negotiate the claim because I am the receiving party, lo and behold he is completely aware of this fact and tells me about the letter of waiver.
[This implies to me that their script specifically tells them to avoid mentioning this to recipients who receive damaged goods until the recipient mentions it to the representative. Also note that the claims representative, knowing I was the recipient, sent me one letter that told me I had to submit documentation but did not mention that the shipper needs to submit a waiver...]
I ask this representative what to do if I can't contact the original shipper and he says that my claims rep would attempt to do so. I ask him what procedure is in place to remedy the situation if she can't. He tells me that I would need to call back on Monday and he would put me in contact with the claims rep as she would know how to resolve the situation.
So here we are. I'm over 2 months into my new computer purchase and regretting every minute of it. My capture cards are sitting on a table, still in their packaging, inert and unused. I wonder if they will see any use before the cable companies phase out analog signals completely...
I do not feel hopeful that I will receive any assistance from my claims representative on Monday, considering the nature of her letters it implies that FedEx just does not want to pay what they owe me for the damaged components of the computer. In the one online purchase I have made since this fiasco started I willingly suffered a delay of one day so that my package could be shipped via UPS instead of FedEx (the UPS pickup had already been made for the day). I am not certain that UPS has a better policy than that of FedEx but I do not want FedEx receiving any more money on my behalf if at all possible. I also recommend that everyone out there thinks long and hard when choosing a shipping company. I have had excellent experiences with DHL and UPS in the past.
I also learned an interesting fact from a friend. He apparently worked at the warehouse which handles all the packages shipped through FedEx for the local area. Packages travel down a conveyor belt and are pulled off at different spots depending on their final destination. For the city I live in the packages are pulled off at the very end of the belt. Frequently these packages fall off onto the cold cement beneath. I now wonder why they don't just place a matress at the end of the belt to save the falling packages. Most of the guys working in the warehouse, when he worked there, were between 18 and 24 getting paid decent money and did not care in the least about the safety of the packages they were handling because there was no incentive. Firings were frequent and there were very few long term employees that worked the night shifts in the warehouse. Makes me think that I am not alone.
A brief interlude, if you will
Point #1
I just want to take a moment to discuss this asinine policy that FedEx has. This guy had better luck than I did in getting his claim resolved but hit the same brick wall. Considering the fact that he was lied to blatantly by a representative of FedEx, there seems to be a pattern forming in the ethics department.
Lets look at this policy from a logical perspective. When a commercial customer of FedEx is involved it is completely rational. The receiving party would contact the people they bought the product from, inform them it was damaged in shipping, and they would receive a replacement and return the damaged goods. The commercial customer would then negotiate a claim with FedEx and get reimbursed for their damaged merchandise. All fine and dandy. But what about people that ship items they sold on eBay that don't carry inventories but use eBay as a garage sale?
When I paid for the computer I paid $250 plus actual shipping and handling charges. When the eBayer cashed my money order the computer no longer belonged to him and he was contractually obligated to ship it to me. A contract which he fulfilled. He is in no way obligated any further. But if he was a contracted agent of mine, paid and acting on my behalf, shipping goods that already belonged to me wouldn't that make me the original shipper since the ebayer was acting in proxy on my behalf?
I am no law expert but it strikes me that this policy does not make sense in the case of eBay sellers and similar consumer users of FedEx. The more I think about this infuriating policy the more it seems to be an unethical barrier to prevent legitamite claims from being processed.
Point #2
Now lets take a look at the package itself, it was dropped from such a great height that it literally tore the box open, got through several layers of packaging material, and continued on it's way to damage the front plastic facia. In the process creating such a jarring impact that the PSU was functionally destroyed.
Had there been no exterior damage or had the box not been retaped by a second party it could be said that a FedEx employee wasn't aware that there had been a potentially damaging fall. However a FedEx employee was obviously aware so it becomes a question of why they do not have a system in place to mark packages that have been knowingly damaged in transit? It would both expedite and validate legitimate claims not to mention make it seem as if FedEx actually cared about the quality of the service they provide. However this entire situation makes me feel as if FedEx intentionally avoids paying claims in this fashion in order to boost profit margins at the expense of their customers. It is common but it should not be acceptable. I think it is the type of behavior that can lead to punitive damages in civil litigation.
I just want to take a moment to discuss this asinine policy that FedEx has. This guy had better luck than I did in getting his claim resolved but hit the same brick wall. Considering the fact that he was lied to blatantly by a representative of FedEx, there seems to be a pattern forming in the ethics department.
Lets look at this policy from a logical perspective. When a commercial customer of FedEx is involved it is completely rational. The receiving party would contact the people they bought the product from, inform them it was damaged in shipping, and they would receive a replacement and return the damaged goods. The commercial customer would then negotiate a claim with FedEx and get reimbursed for their damaged merchandise. All fine and dandy. But what about people that ship items they sold on eBay that don't carry inventories but use eBay as a garage sale?
When I paid for the computer I paid $250 plus actual shipping and handling charges. When the eBayer cashed my money order the computer no longer belonged to him and he was contractually obligated to ship it to me. A contract which he fulfilled. He is in no way obligated any further. But if he was a contracted agent of mine, paid and acting on my behalf, shipping goods that already belonged to me wouldn't that make me the original shipper since the ebayer was acting in proxy on my behalf?
I am no law expert but it strikes me that this policy does not make sense in the case of eBay sellers and similar consumer users of FedEx. The more I think about this infuriating policy the more it seems to be an unethical barrier to prevent legitamite claims from being processed.
Point #2
Now lets take a look at the package itself, it was dropped from such a great height that it literally tore the box open, got through several layers of packaging material, and continued on it's way to damage the front plastic facia. In the process creating such a jarring impact that the PSU was functionally destroyed.
Had there been no exterior damage or had the box not been retaped by a second party it could be said that a FedEx employee wasn't aware that there had been a potentially damaging fall. However a FedEx employee was obviously aware so it becomes a question of why they do not have a system in place to mark packages that have been knowingly damaged in transit? It would both expedite and validate legitimate claims not to mention make it seem as if FedEx actually cared about the quality of the service they provide. However this entire situation makes me feel as if FedEx intentionally avoids paying claims in this fashion in order to boost profit margins at the expense of their customers. It is common but it should not be acceptable. I think it is the type of behavior that can lead to punitive damages in civil litigation.
The second letter
I receive the second letter on 3/15/07, 15 days after sending mine via certified mail. This new letter, in spite of my instructions, was again addressed to the old apartment. Thankfully the post office will forward mail for 6 months so I still have quite a bit of time left for them to send mail to the wrong address.
Everything sort of unravels here. Rarely do I feel like destroying something but after reading their reply I wished there was a punching bag available. It took me, all in all, 5 hours to calm completely. I was, in my naivete, anticipating vindication. What I received was pointless aggravation.
I understand FedEx making the claims process difficult otherwise there would be people out there making a business of abusing it. However when they create a policy that arbitrarily makes the recipients of their packages suffer I no longer understand it to be an effective deterrent.
What was it that so upset me? Why I'm sure you've notice the bold Lie #n:By omission interjected here and there. They, by policy, refuse to negotiate a claim with a recipient until the original shipper sends them a letter of waiver which also authorizes me, the recipient, to pursue the claim. So nearly 2 months after purchasing the computer I contact the original seller again and ask him to send off a letter to that effect to the claims rep that has been assigned to me.
He responds quickly that he shall do so the following day. I am still irritated but cooling down a bit. I still suffer under the delusion that this matter will be resolved neatly in as timely a fashion as is now possible. Of course I forget that people rarely do anything when money isn't involved, and it seems my 100% positive rated eBayer did not feel highly motivated to send the letter...
Everything sort of unravels here. Rarely do I feel like destroying something but after reading their reply I wished there was a punching bag available. It took me, all in all, 5 hours to calm completely. I was, in my naivete, anticipating vindication. What I received was pointless aggravation.
I understand FedEx making the claims process difficult otherwise there would be people out there making a business of abusing it. However when they create a policy that arbitrarily makes the recipients of their packages suffer I no longer understand it to be an effective deterrent.
What was it that so upset me? Why I'm sure you've notice the bold Lie #n:By omission interjected here and there. They, by policy, refuse to negotiate a claim with a recipient until the original shipper sends them a letter of waiver which also authorizes me, the recipient, to pursue the claim. So nearly 2 months after purchasing the computer I contact the original seller again and ask him to send off a letter to that effect to the claims rep that has been assigned to me.
He responds quickly that he shall do so the following day. I am still irritated but cooling down a bit. I still suffer under the delusion that this matter will be resolved neatly in as timely a fashion as is now possible. Of course I forget that people rarely do anything when money isn't involved, and it seems my 100% positive rated eBayer did not feel highly motivated to send the letter...
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