Hey, I noticed your story when visiting this blog. I operate one of those independent shipping stores, and I agree with you that FedEx's job is to decline all liabilities. This is typical of all carriers I deal with. The reason I am emailing you is to share a recent experience we had with FedEx.
We operate an authorized shipping center for FedEx in MA, and we shipped an aquarium for one of our customers. We packaged it well and shipped it via FedEx Home Delivery from MA to NY, less than 200 miles away! The customer wanted to insure it to recover at least his cost of $400.00. We take photos of all shipments leaving our shop. The following day, the recipient called very upset that FedEx had managed to break the aquarium. They refused to talk to the recipient and directed him to us.
We filed a claim right away and sent photos of the shipment, the before and after shots. I still don't understand how they managed to damage this aquarium. It was double packaged in two boxes and surrounded with foam. Three weeks later, we received a denial letter stating it was not packaged well. We argued the point and referred the claim rep to review the photos. A week later, we received a check for $100.00. We thought that it was an error and were shocked to hear that FedEx stated they are only responsible for $100.00 of coverage on all glass shipments, and they referred me to their 55 tariff policy booklet!
What they did is unethical! They love to take insurance premiums, and they push customers around. They accepted payment of the $400.00 of coverage and admitted damage to the shipment, but they are not willing to do the right thing by the customer. We escalated to the FedEx President's desk, who simply blamed us for shipping the parcel!
We cut a check for our customer, wrote off the entire transaction, and refunded shipping and packaging fees out of our own account. This was the moral and ethical thing to do.
These big companies hide behind their tariffs that nobody reads, and if you do read them, the company has the right to change its policies anytime and without notice.
I appreciate the fact that you educated your audience about these issues. This is the season to remind them to ship carefully and tell them to be aware!
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