BBB puts complaint for 36 months. It won’t help to resolve anything. FedEx does not really care about BBB as well as the rest of large companies. Normally they require packaging safe enough to drop from the flying by airplane to the concrete ground. Otherwise, better not ship at all or small claims court
Besides the BBB how do you fight claim resolution against FedEx
I shipped a subwoofer to a buyer with FedEx and despite packing it with hard foam and double boxing it, the subwoofer was damaged in transit, most likely dropped. FedEx denied my $350 claim. Interestingly, I was the receiver of a subwoofer that was damaged in transit a few weeks ago. It seems that FedEx is not too good at shipping fragile items. Has anyone had such experience withe this company and were you successful in your claim? thanks.
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Shipping large, heavy, sensitive items is problematic, and expensive, at best. As a seller, I do everything I can think of to minimize my risk of shipping damage, which takes time and costs money, so I eventually became more conservative wrt buying/selling large stuff. Considerations include:
Unfortunately, my only suggestion for your current situation is to persistently work FedEx's system, provide any documentation you have of the suitability of the packaging, damage to the packaging upon delivery, and/or the purchase of insurance and, if they still offer no suitable resolution, ask them what you should have done differently in this case where even double boxing was not sufficient to prevent damage by their shipping process (i.e., at what point is the shipper responsible to prevent damage to an adequately packaged item?). |
@spenav was the item insured via FedEx for the $350 value? If not they would not even consider the claim. If it was insured then continue to fight it with hopefully pics of damage and packing. Good luck |
If the item was insured and you have documentation, then I would file a pro se lawsuit. Fed Ex will try to quash it but then you’ll just provide the documentation to the judge and the lawsuit will move forward. Most likely after that, you’ll get a phone call from the attorneys at Fed Ex and they’ll give you a settlement offer for the insured amount. |
I'm sorry about your loss. This has happened to me many times and shippers almost always fall back on "packed incorrectly..." But IMO shippers are also almost always right. Most folks who buy and sell used audio have no idea of how delicate audio items should be packed for shipping. I can't tell you how many turntables I have purchased that were bagged and set into a box full of packing peanuts. Needless to say, I almost always ended up pouring the broken bits of turntable out of the box. My suggestions are: 1. Hard foam and strofoam packing is a big no no. As is soft foam. Blur or green polyethylene foam works well, if you know how to use it. I typically assemble a "cradle" made of fabricated pieces and assembled with a hot glue gun. 2. You need a strong, NEW box. Don't reuse or recycle another box. Most old boxes are soft. Order a new box from Uline or one of the shipping goods firms. I try to use 2x wall thickness but 1.5x will work for lighter pieces. This will also negate the need for double boxing. I only do that for very high priced items going internationally. 3. You need a minimum of 2" of clearance between the box and your equipment - 3" is better. That means that your foam cradle is keeping your item that far away from the box boundaries. But the cradle needs to fit tightly - absolutely no slack or slop when the box is closed. 4. Tape your box well. That means using good quality tape and knowing how to use it. Life is too short for cheap packing tape. and more tape is not necessarily better if the tape is of good quality. Have fun |