[Yaesu] Re: UPS abuse, FT990 Problems...

[Glen Zook]

At least in this area (Dallas, Texas) UPS has a sign
hanging in all of their company owned outlets which
says that all packages MUST be opened and inspected
for "proper" packaging.  By doing this UPS legally
accepts full responsibility for the package.  This was
reportedly done because of all of the insurance claims
that they had been receiving.

It is grounds for immediate dismissal of an employee
if they do not open the package and inspect it.  Of
course it is a practical impossibility for every
package to be opened and inspected.  However, no
employee is going to admit that he/she did not open
and inspect the package.

The last time that I shipped a package by UPS it
arrived at the destination in shambles.  Now UPS
originally lost the package and after I filed the
first insurance claim they found it at their version
of the "dead letter office".  Their bar code label had
come off although my label was still fine.  I guess
that UPS employees can no longer read English! 
Anyway, they opened the package and contacted me as to
whether or not the item was correct.  Then they
repackaged the box and sent it on.  When they repacked
the item it was still OK.

When the box arrived the person said that it looked
like the box had been used as a basketball.  By the
way, this shipment was going to northwest Louisiana,
about 200 miles away.

I filed a damage claim and, of course, UPS denied the
claim due to "improper packing".  Then I "reminded"
the national UPS claim clerk of the UPS policy of
opening and inspecting every package for "proper"
packing.  The representative got VERY quiet.  Then she
said that the claim would have to be handled by their
regional office in Fort Worth.  Within 15 minutes I
received a telephone call from Fort Worth telling me
that the "proper" forms were already in the mail to
handle my claim.

I received the forms, filled them out, and returned
them to Fort Worth.  About a month later I got another
telephone call telling me that the claim had been
approved and that I would be receiving a cheque for
$100.  I then informed UPS that the item had been
insured for considerably more than $100.  Again,
silence!  The representative then put me on "hold"
while he "checked".  Finally, he came back and said
that UPS had made a "mistake" and that I would be
receiving a cheque for the full amount of the
insurance.  After about 2 weeks I did receive a cheque
for the full amount of the insurance plus the shipping
charges.

Prior to that the only problem that I had with UPS was
when they ran a forklift "tong" through a box.  Even
then they tried the "improper packing" thing and
denied the claim.  A quick call to their executive
office took care of that particular problem.

Anything that goes through the UPS Dallas area "hub"
is shaken so badly that hardware often comes loose,
components damaged, and so forth even if the box is
not damaged.  I have even had wooden crated items
damaged so bad that the crate was in shambles.  The
result was that I stopped using UPS (which I had used
for well over 30 years) and went to FedEx Ground. 
FedEx Ground is cheaper than UPS and, so far after
using them for over 3 years, I have not had any damage
to outgoing shipments (that I pack) nor to any
incoming shipments including some items that were VERY
poorly packed and should have been damaged.

I have been in UPS owned facilities and have watched
them pack boxes as I was waiting in line.  Frankly, my
youngest granddaughter (who is 3) could do a better
job of packing.  The UPS Store (which used to be Mail
Box Etc.) packing generally is not any better (at
least in this area) and it is just as hard to get any
claims through their system.  Of course UPS just
"happens" to own the insurance company that insures
UPS shipments.  Therefore, it is in UPS's financial
interest to deny claims.

Glen, K9STH




--- Al Bailey <k8six at comcast.net> wrote:

I was told by UPS that IF you get the item packaged by
them, at a cost of course, that it is thoroughly
insured. If you use the old Mail Boxes Etc store to
ship via UPS their insurance is NOT the same as UPS.
They insure using your packaging. What UPS does not
tell you is their insurance is useless if you package
it yourself. They take your money though.
 
I try to stay away from UPS and use Fedex the majority
of the time or the USPS if not a item I have to worry
about.









Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com


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