Brian: I gave up on "Hello, Federal" a long time ago here in Michigan, for basically the same reasons that you are verbalizing (below), so apparently not much has changed, and it's not just my local outlet. Same identical box, same identical contents and weight, sent to the same nearby US State by the same method, 3:1 factor in quoted price! Completely random! I've used them once since then - JBZ requested that I send him his Raysport that way. It was cheap, but they were still able to make the experience unpleasant and time-consuming anyways! I don't think it's a conspiracy, just dis-organization, mostly. I realize it's tough to make a buck in any business these days, but come on! Be consistent, for goodness' sake! Another issue I have with Fed-X is that they measure each dimension separately, always figuring generously and then rounding UP to the the nearest inch. If you have a box that is anywhere close to a size limit (like within four inches!), they will try as hard as possible to push it into the next category. That's dishonest BS IMHO! I'll stick with good old USPS any day. As long as you know their rules and restrictions (which don't change very often at all, unlike those other guys!), you are fine. My local PO is now open until 7 p.m. weekdays, 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Plus, it has a self-service kiosk for most things, that is open 24/7. I use them for almost everything except complete bicycles. For those, I usually pack extra-carefully, and send 'em UPS. At least I get a consistent performance from those folks, with no surprises. Thousands of packages sent this way over many years, zero lost! One TT damaged slightly, which was my fault, IMO (poor packing). I almost never insure any packages, as it's simply unnecessary, statistically speaking. Greg Parker Ann Arbor, Michigan Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 06:01:41 GMT From: "brianbaylis@juno.com" <brianbaylis@juno.com> To: louiss@gate.net Cc: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Bicycle lost by FedEx
Louis,
I too have been having a bad time with FedEx. They have tried on no less than 5 occassions in recent months to charge me over $80 for packages that when correctly figured actually cost from $20 to $35 to ship. If you don't know pretty much how much your shipment should cost there is a good chance they will SEVERELY overcharge you. It has happend to several other people I know who ship upon occassion.
I contacted the district supervisor a few times about this with no real action. It kept happening, even though he assured he had investigated it a took measures to "correct the problem". The phone conversations I had with this person convinced this guy was trying to let it slide ON PURPOSE! I contacted the regional supervisor about this. He came down from north of LA to check out the FedEx location where the problem was occuring. He said they checked everything, and found nothing wrong with the system or the employee proceedures. The VERY NEXT DAY I went to send two boxes to Tennessee and had the same problem AGAIN! I fought with the counter person until he finally figured out that the box he wanted to charge me $82 to ship was actually about $31! The second box going to the same address and containing only a front wheel was being priced at $20. I knew that was too much also, but he could not come up with the correct price. I took the box with me and shipped it from a different FedEx location for &7.47! I've been too busy just before VR to get back to this; but I had put in a call to the actual VP of Fed Ex about the 3 levels of jerking around I've been dealing with and was supposed to get a return call, but haven't heard a word. I'm pretty sure at this point, after talking with a lot of different people within the FedEx company, that this is something that is happening intentionally and is probably adding a healthy amount to the increased profits this company is experiencing at this time. I'm really pissed. I saw them try to charge an elderly woman $56 for an overnite envelope that her husband or someone and sent her down to FedEx with $30 to pay for the shipment. She had to take a bus to another location (a FedEx/Kinkos) after I suggested to her to take the package elsewhere to get a fair shipping price.
I think a federal investigation is in order. Although my incidents have all happened at the same location in El Cajon, I have heard of others having the same experince at other FedEx locations. For some reason the FedEx/Kinkos stores don't seem to be pulling this trick.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
I just purchased a bicycle which was shipped via FedEx from California to me in Tampa. It was lost in transit.
I am sure that all shippers are reliable. This is the first time this has happened to me. However, what I think the list needs to know is how FedEx handles (or doesn't) claims.
FedEx has been awful. They try to prevent you from contacting them. They hide options on their voice mail and on their web site. They deny they have received a claim, when they have received it.
They lie about their own policies. They say they will only pay the shipper, when in fact the shipper can waive payment. They won't supply proper forms to document the claim. Their online claims page says it is "temporarily" out-of-service when you try to submit claim forms. But it works if you keep trying.
FedEx knows they lost my shipment, knows its declared value ($1000) and has received proof of purchase and payment. Yet they won't pay the claim. "They are still investigating."
If you are still considering using FedEx, you should download and read their 180-page service agreement. Even if they lose your shipment and it is their fault, they don't have to pay you for 6 months. And you can't sue them for that period of time.
Needless to say, I will never, ever use FedEx.
Louis Schulman
Tampa, Florida