OT - do NOT use FedEx

[byndbad914]

Consider yourself warned :soapbox:

So a couple years ago I used FedEx for the last time after they lost a Porsche targa top I had sold (they didn't even have record of it leaving the facility I shipped it from, but it wasn't in the facility either :rolleyes: ) Anyway, I swore them off for good when they essentially screwed me on my claim and it took months to get it resolved. Shipping isn't rocket science, but they can manage to F it up pretty good.

(insert fool me once, fool me twice quote here)

So Kodiak Wheels in Canada used FedEx to ship my wheels. I shoulda asked who they were using and didn't think to do so. Well, first they damage one of them. I filed a claim starting on 9/9/07 (which still isn't finalized!!!) and then the next day, 9/10/07, they charged $127.59 to my credit card!

It has been two months of being transferred, hung up on, etc and ultimately this morning I was told that billing had no record of the charge and I would have to file a dispute WITH MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY. That's right folks, :censored: FedEx CANNOT CONFIRM THE CHARGE AND DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I WAS CHARGED, BUT WON'T CREDIT MY MONEY. I have to go through a dispute claim with my credit card company now, which will be another month I am sure.

HEED MY ADVICE, DO NOT USE FEDEX. That is about 3 warnings now :lolhit: Not to say I haven't had issues with damaged packages and UPS, but UPS has ALWAYS paid the claim or took care of any issues immediately. They tend to cost a little more than FedEx but the money is well spent for the level of customer service. F('ing)edEx may call the dept customer service, but they have no idea what that is.

At the hot rod shop I worked at years back I was in charge of shipping among other things and kept track of the shipment qty v. claim qty and FedEx lost that battle too. We used UPS exclusively at one point and would only use FedEx if the spot was so rural that UPS didn't go but they did or something similar. I broke down and used FedEx for the targa top only because they were right around the corner from where I lived and I wanted to get it on its way to the buyer - shoulda taken the time and drove the 10 miles to the UPS drop point.

[Dayton]

As a stockholder of FedEx, this is very unsettling.

[Mecom Racer]

I think I saw Tom Hanks using your targa top as part of a lean-to when he was stranded with his buddy, Wilson. :_paranoid

[Steve1968LS2]

I think I saw Tom Hanks using your targa top as part of a lean-to when he was stranded with his buddy, Wilson. :_paranoid

Now THAT is funny... :rofl:

[deuce_454]

my experience is just the opposite, whenever somthing gets fed-exed over here its here in 4 days and the service is awesome... ups on the other hand... id rather send it USPS...

[Garage Dog 65]

Steve, that might be a good topic for a magazine since we ship/receive stuff all the time (little stuff all the way to engines, frames and entire cars). Types of shipping and some stats on performance, insurance, claims, that kinda stuff.

And Racer already gave you the lead in ....

[68protouring454]

2 times in the past 3 months i ordered stuff overnight from fed ex, both times they had "plane trouble beyond there control" its bs, both things took 2 days to get here, refund or not its unacceptable especially with the prices they put on over night air. never had one problem with ups in my area.

[Hdesign]

I've used FedEx at least 8-10 times per month for the past 9 years. Until this morning, we never had a single issue. (Issue was resolved quickly after a phone call.) We've also received packages from UPS with no problem either as far as I know.

[Vegas69]

Every dog has their day.

[byndbad914]

my experience is just the opposite, whenever somthing gets fed-exed over here its here in 4 days and the service is awesome... ups on the other hand... id rather send it USPS...
okay, there is a trend here. I have this same thing posted on some other car sites I frequent and you are the THIRD person to say they would rather use USPS. Out of roughly 15 responses across 5 sites, three of them saying no issues with USPS strikes me as a good heads up.

So it is USPS for me whenever I can request it.

At the hot rod shop we sent out 15 pkgs per day average over a six month period. I had one claim with UPS and about 5 with FedEx. They just suck... especially their ground division.

In my personal shipping experiences (say 50-ish items I have shipped to fellow car nuts over the past seven years) my ONLY issues have been FedEx. UPS jacked up one of my shipments of parts one time and settled the claim almost immediately. FedEx has been 4 issues. I had a couple that they more or less handled. Then the targa top which was a complete fiasco even tho' I paid for insurance, and given their reputation with the hot rod shop and that fiasco, I said no more. How do you lose a 3ft x 4ft roof and claim it never left the building????

This latest one... I only wish I had asked them how they were shipping them to me. We are talking air shipment, overnight stuff and they jack one up. It didn't even go thru that many hands like a ground package does.

[rwhite692]

Our co. uses all of the major carriers (FedEx, DHL, UPS being the top three that we use) and in my experience, for air shipments, FedEx screws up the least of these.

FedEx air rates are the highest and they have been able to continue to charge the most, because their service level is consistently the best in the industry. No other carrier has close to the amount of infrastructure dedicated to the overnight / air service market.

Now, FedEx Ground is a different story, can be thought of like a different company, really. Their performance is not as good in the ground market, as UPS.

Obviously, even the guy with the best level of service is never going to be perfect.

Just my $.02

Rob

[byndbad914]

my real gripe here is how in the world does a company charge $128 to a credit card the day after a claim is filed, and NOBODY there can confirm what that charge is for???? :mad: That is what is killing me. Then tell me I have to file a claim with the credit card company for their charge!!

[OneTonK5]

Be grateful your not shipping anything perishable/living.

[rich-allen]

According to the fedex guy who delivers to my office everyday; If you use anything other than fedex overnight your looking for trouble.

Fedex ground is not actually fedex, ground services are subcontracted through different companies in each state.


That explains a lot.


Rich

[sledge33]

I worked for Fed Ex ground for 7 years and have seen it all.I havnt worked for
them for about 6 years.RPS was bought out by Fed EX about 10 years ago.That is how it is Fed Ex ground and Fed Ex express are really two seperate companies.They work together to go get business to have a ground and air service.Fed Ex ground drivers are independant contractors who own there own trucks and routes and Fed Ex contracts them.When i first started they were a very small company and couldnt keep up with packages very well but now from what im told every package is scanned anytime someone touches it but when i did work there i seen packages sit on the dock for days even months that nobody had a clue why or where it was supposed to go because of a lost label.

[va72mlibu]

Steve, that might be a good topic for a magazine since we ship/receive stuff all the time (little stuff all the way to engines, frames and entire cars). Types of shipping and some stats on performance, insurance, claims, that kinda stuff.

And Racer already gave you the lead in ....
I seriously doubt they could do that story. You're just asking for litigation by running that.

[Garage Dog 65]

I seriously doubt they could do that story. You're just asking for litigation by running that.

Wasn't suggesting Racers specific situation - just something generic like a 'shipping parts 101' kinda story. I don't ship stuff, and have always wondered what it would take to ship something like a full frame or a car, - and what the process would be if something got damaged. I received a C5 diff once that was damaged in shipping - but it was packed poorly by the shipper and was only packed in wads of newspaper. Broke 3 of the cooling fins off the bottom. Shipper wouldn't fix it stating rough handling by UPS - and UPS wouldn't fix it stating improper packing. I got to eat it ....

[byndbad914]

I worked for Fed Ex ground for 7 years and have seen it all.I havnt worked for
them for about 6 years.RPS was bought out by Fed EX about 10 years ago.That is how it is Fed Ex ground and Fed Ex express are really two seperate companies.They work together to go get business to have a ground and air service.Fed Ex ground drivers are independant contractors who own there own trucks and routes and Fed Ex contracts them.When i first started they were a very small company and couldnt keep up with packages very well but now from what im told every package is scanned anytime someone touches it but when i did work there i seen packages sit on the dock for days even months that nobody had a clue why or where it was supposed to go because of a lost label.
Rich and sledge both hit the topic about FE ground. I used RPS and UPS almost exclusively at one point at the hot rod shop, and used FE air only for international shipments. FE bought RPS and everything really fell apart then, so I only used UPS. It was FE Ground that lost the cylinder head I mention in the following text. BTW, these wheels were FE Air, Int'l Shipment from Canada, so FE Air can suck as well.

I copied from another thread describing my shipping experiences over the years FWIW to you guys...

strange circumstances. the reciept, with tracking number, should note the payment, method of, and the responsible party. they should be able to tell what shipment the extra charge you've incurred has been applied to.
Exactly... so the fact that five different departments now cannot tell me what that charge is (each dept sends me another cuz they must have levied the charge) tells me what a joke FedEx is.

Lose a part and can't tell me where it is... well, ya, cuz it is lost. Not be able to tell me why they billed my credit card money 2 weeks after the shipment but surprisingly enough the DAY AFTER my claim filing... BS. FedEx has and always will be a joke when they F up. I had them claim I must not have packaged the targa top right on the last claim! They lost it, basically never saw it, but claim I must not have packaged it well. I didn't realize packaging a certain way kept losses down :rolleyes: That is why I swore them off before and why I wish I had asked Kodiak how they were shipping...

NEVER opt for just the basic insurance value. note what you consider the TRUE value of the item is. i usually pad the value a bit and note exactly what is in the box. "porsche 914 stainlesss steel heat exchangers" as an example. i tape the hell out of the boxes. they have to work at it if someone is going to get into them. buyer should (IS) be responsible for the added insurance costs. if something goes south, you're on the hook for YOUR part. not the buyer. i NEVER discard the bill of lading until i hear from the recipient. i NEVER use a generic drop/ship point. thay add on to the actual shipping on their end. i drive the extra distance and ship directly from a fedex wherehouse. this takes me an hour+ there and back. i've only had 1 item broken, 0 lost. the breakage was prob my fault due to what turned out to be insufficient packing on a rather delicate item.
This was also a problem on the targa roof. I insured the roof for an approximate replacement value. They wanted me to "prove" what it was worth, not just what I sold it to the guy for!!! If I sold it to someone, then guess what it was worth! And show me the catalogs with a price for a used targa roof. Took months of arguing and they gave me less than I sold it to the guy for. Screw FedEx, they suck arse and those who say they are great, your day is coming! :D They do a great job until they really screw up, but when they really screw up, it will take you months to get a sh!t sandwich in the end.

At the plywood company I worked for from 1989-1994 we only used UPS cuz FedEx sucked. Only used FedEx if the customer was dumb enough to request them. Couple years later between 1996-2000 at the hot rod shop, used both UPS and FedEx, had claims with both (that is inevitable) but FedEx F'd a claim all up that then cost us $2000 (one full race cylinder head full CNC ported LOST, but somehow became our fault apparently as we ended up not collecting the insurance we paid for). So forget them.

Sounds like Chicken Little, but I promise, use them long enough and your day will come. And no amount of insurance THAT YOU PAY FOR will fix it. Without stating hourly income, suffice it to say I have spent more than $128 in hours on the phone with those bass turds. That is what they want tho', they want you to give up. that is what FedEx does best... wear you down. They are far better at that than explaining where your money went, that is for sure.