FedEx Ground
One Third of $299 Declared Value Paid on Damaged Item

I am gladly publishing this story and gladly contacting the major media with it.

Highly trained staff with ad hoc procedures collects insurance but does not pay. There are lots of details below. Basically, FedEx Ground is denying a claim because their computers are not in sync, i.e., you create your shipping label online, declare a value, and when it is time to file a claim, the agents cannot see that you declared a value.

In five years, I've lost over $1000 with FedEx with their bogus insurance / declared values.

Think twice before you use them. They vow to cover hardly anything, yet they will accept your donations for declared value. I shipped over 100 packages in March via FedEx, yet when it is time to pay a claim, you might as well go to Las Vegas.

FedEx case number xx1927

3/16: The story... I shipped an item to a customer. The item arrived damaged. When the customer let me know of the damage, I quickly initiated a claim on March 21. Like clockwork, FedEx "denies" the claim, citing lack of supporting documentation. This documentation, a PayPal receipt and a screen print of the eBay auction, was submitted again.

The claim remained denied. I finally got in touch with the agent who was handling the claim. Each denial is an attempt to wear out the business initiating the claim. FedEx will only contact you via regular US Mail.

3/28/07: The claim was denied because The Exchange was not a person, so I emailed my driver's license and a waiver stating that I own the business. The agent received my data.

On or about April 2, I received a partial amount of the $299 that was the declared value of the item shipped. The amount that FedEx sent was exactly 1/3 of the declared / insured value. Amazing! A check arrived, but only for a wee bit of the value, so I got back in touch with the agent via email. By the way, I have copies of all the emails.

04/05/07: I contacted the agent as to why I only received a fraction of the declared value.

04/09/07: The agent sent this: "Hi. The amount you received is 100.00 freight that is due to no additional declared value purchased at the time of shipment... If you have any questions please email me back."

04/09/07: I realize that the game has now reached full intensity with the FedEx people. I responded, "Well, it appears that some type of error has been made. I insured for $299 USD. Here is a copy paste of my shipping details. Please confirm that you have received." A full jpeg image is shown like the one at the bottom of this page.

4/10/07, 11:45am: I contacted the agent via email again due to no response. What FedEx has trained their staff to do is ad hoc policy, i.e., make up excuses not to pay. I was told there is a computer glitch.

At this point, I am determined to fight for myself and the numerous other people who have been a pure revenue stream for FedEx. XYZ replaces the agent's name below.

On 4/10/07, I received this information from the agent: "I need to see where you were billed for declared value. What you are showing me is not a bill that shows you actually paid for declared value."

I wrote back: "XYX, I have zero control about the billing. At the time of declaration of value, I put in an explicit value so that in the event of loss or damage, I am covered for that amount. I am not sure why your billing is not showing the declared value. The FedEx revenue department is responsible for that function. Please escalate to your manager if necessary. I declared the value correctly. Thanks."

On 4/11/07, I received: "I turned the claim over to a manager... Someone will be contacting you soon... Thank you."

On 4/11/07, I responded: "Please let your manager know this is a serious matter, and I will be hiring an attorney if this matter goes ignored. There are numerous websites that show FedEx Ground has shoddy claims processes. Truly, I will look forward to going to court to seek punitive damages against all personnel involved in this matter. Without a doubt, I have been wronged. Also, I am ceasing to use FedEx Ground until this matter is resolved."

On 4/11/07 I opened a UPS account and ceased to use FedEx.

4/12/07: FedEx managers continue to avoid any incoming or outgoing phone calls. I called and explained the ongoing dilemma to the telephone agent, i.e., FedEx managers will not return phone calls, and in lieu of that, telephone agents are told to be patient and wait. Today was like yesterday. I was told to wait. The agent who took my call today was a Dallas Customer Advocate.

4/12/07: I contacted Dateline NBC.

4/13/07: It is evident that all personnel are trained in deferring claims or the technology at FedEx is inferior. The most recent manager I talked to stated that their office cannot see declared values. I was routed to a new "hotline," 877.339.2774. FedEx technology is supposed to help when you call this number. This is basically a call center, yet the phone will not be answered.

Below is an experience that I posted on www.epinions.com. The entire board at Epinions regarding FedEx Ground is consistent with ill practices and underhanded maneuvers by FedEx claims.

I've been a FedEx Ground user for approximately 5 years, so the first guess is that they must be doing something right. FedEx Ground only excels in cheap transportation cost. My annual bill with them is around $10,000 a year. That is about 800 shipments annually, or about 60 a month. Let me emphasize, I only ship with them because of their low cost and my heavy volume.

They are not recommended for someone who ships 10 items or less on an annual basis. Justification: when a problem arises, they cannot and will not help. This can be detrimental for someone shipping a rare or expensive item. I've seen testimony from normal, everyday consumers who lost significant money when an item was lost or damaged. Because of the volume that I ship, I can afford to accept losses as a cost of doing business, but I fight every claim. I am fighting the good folks at FedEx Ground right now on a 3 week old problem.

Allow me to give specific examples of the explicit risk you take when shipping with FedEx Ground.

I file one claim for every 600 packages I ship. In every case, it is a damage claim. I inherently believe that each field department is well versed in attempting to deny a claim for any reason. The steps are as follows:

1) Claim denied for lack of supporting documentation. This is why you make multiple copies, including screen shots and jpeg images of store receipts and credit card receipts. It will usually take 3 to 4 emails or faxes to the same person to show the value of the goods. Time wasted on this effort can be around 2 hours.

2) Once documentation is received, it has taken 6 to 8 weeks for review. During this time, any phone call or email that you make is futile. There is absolutely no correspondence or communication from FedEx during this exercise. Time wasted varies.

3) Finally, you will receive an email or letter stating the status of your claim. It is quite possible that you may get paid, but wait! Your claim may only be paid partially. This is the latest scheme by FedEx. It is very interesting and creative. Read this very carefully and urge your attorney general or your lawyer to take action on this point if it has happened to you. When you enter the data to make a shipping label, there is a box to declare the value. In my case, I entered $299.00 as the value of the item.

When my case was paid, I only received exactly 1/3 of my declared value. Very interesting! So I picked up the phone to begin my rules of evidence. Read this part twice! The claims agent stated that A) my item had a declared value of $299, yet B) the internal FedEx billing/revenue department never billed me the declaration value, which is about $3 or $4, therefore C) they would only pay 1/3.

My theory is that the FedEx managers hold weekly meetings to show profit/loss to the claims representatives. Draw your own conclusions.

I speak 100% factually based on experience. In 100% of the cases where I dealt with representatives in the claims area, their script was very poor, however, ad hoc policy was permitted. By that I am referring to inconsistent, undocumented policy that spews from the lips of agents.

Company: FedEx Ground
Country: USA
Phone: 9799855151
Site: fedex.com

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