Fedex, didn't it used to mean Federal Express?

All of these shippers including the post office have hubs (regional sorting facilities). The local trucking hubs behind my office all hold packages. Out going ground packages go to a larger center between Washington/Baltimore before going national by rail, or 18 wheeler. The air packages go to Dulles Airport. Fedex and the Post Office are sharing airplanes to some locations to keep the planes full and keep costs down.

I bought a pair of mint mono blocks here. FedEx ground pierced the double HD corrugated boxes and smashed the 3/4" thick aluminum faceplate and sheared the cover screws. Fine...insurance should cover it...FedEx claims no insurance was purchased. Seller had to fax claims dept proof. FedEx pick up unit for inspection. Driver gave no receipt, I had to go out to the truck and ask the driver for a receipt, he gives me a sticker. They do not inspect the unit in Toronto, Canada. They send it back to California. Who only know what further damage they have added to the unit? It arrives at the seller’s location. FedEx has done no inspection yet. FedEx goes to seller to pick up unit for inspection. Inspection damage report states it is packed with peanuts. The seller did not use peanuts. When it originally arrived in Toronto, there were no peanuts. When it arrived at seller’s location, no peanuts. When it was picked up, no peanuts. Why did a FedEx employee add peanuts? Or why was this false statement put on the damage report? The person handling the claim rejected the claim based on PEANUTS. The boxes were PIEARCED through, even if it was lined with sheet metal or wood, it would not have been able to stop the force that was exerted on the ¾” faceplate. So now there has to be an investigation. A superior is in charge now. Maybe the incompetence shown thus far was the result of the minimum wage employees. Great, now some management personnel are involved. With what result? FedEx LOOSES the amp. They do not know where it is and cannot find it. Seller gets a call from Virginia. FedEx shipped the unit to the original store that had sold the amp. Duh! Seller telephones FedEx to inform the claims dept management person that he found the amp. I called and asked the dealer in Virginia if there was any peanuts or evidence of peanuts in the box and there was NONE. Only original packaging. It has now been sitting in Virginia for a few days now. FedEx has made no attempt to communicate, inspect or pick up the amp. Limo This is where we are now. Probably will get even more interesting (frustrating) by this afternoon.

So that you'll know that all is not lost: I sent a set of speakers to my brother-in-law via FedEx Ground. I shipped on Thursday morning and they arrived on Saturday afternoon. We were all shocked, me especially since I'd told my BIL not to expect the speakers until Tuesday. We must have hit the truck schedule just right at each depot.

I have met approx 10 people in my life who had previously worked at UPS or Fedex as the people who load packages into planes or trucks off the conveyor belt. Not one of them ever want that job again, or were at all pleased to work there in that capacity. Think about it, they hate that job, they don't care what the item is, whether it states "Fragile" this side UP. They are trying to load the plane/truck as fast as possible in rain, snow, and have to overload the plane/truck to the hilt to get the most packages in vessel. They load your gear in these Igloos which are then precariously stacked in every direction. Just yesterday, I let the UPS driver pick up 2 monoblock amps weighing in at 84 lbs each, in triple walled boxes 27x25x14. I felt like I was in Vegas, gambling that they make it their destination in one piece. That pretty much is what it is, a Crapshoot.

Dnlyko, yours is a horror story. I too had to fight tooth and nail with the FedEx Ground claims dept to get them to pay the insurance I bought, and was CLEARLY marked and shown on the original shipping invoice, when the speakers i shipped from VA to TX were lost/stolen on buyer's doorstep. Despite having a good copy of my shipping form, the claims dept said they didn't see where i paid for insurance. I read down the invoice with them (IT IS THEIR INVOICE!!) until we got to the "insurance" line, and sure enough, the claims rep now saw that I had bought insurance for $4500. The claim was paid pretty quickly after that, but until I called and went over the invoice line by line w/that moron, they were just sitting on it. God forbid the speakers had been damaged rather than plain out lost. I doubt FedEx would ever have found a reason to pay out the claim. If you don't use original packaging, even if you had the item professionally packaged, they claim no liability. If you do use original packaging, but it is not very good or secure, they claim no liability. For instance, I used the original packaging (fairly lightweight styrofoam molds) to ship a pair of B&W Matrix 805s that arrived with the tweeters busted off the tops of the speakers. Ooops! Luckily, FedEx inspected the items at the buyer's residence, accepted liability, and paid the claim. I have no idea why FedEx required your buyer to ship the damaged amps yet again to some other facility where the inspection was still not done. I guess multiple detailed photographs and signed statements from delivery people should be gathered by anyone receiving damaged goods, before shipping the item off for "inspection," with the risk of false descriptions and representations by claims people at the other locations.