"03-29-15: Syntax
I love UPS"
I think you forgot to take your meds. |
"***The responsibility of pursuing a Damage Claim is solely with the seller,***
however, you will need to cooperate with the with the seller and the shipping company in any manner requestsed. Often, the shipping company will come back to pick it up, or inspect the package in your home."
Correct. But you should have never accepted the package in the first place. If you see damage on the box, never accept it until you open it. Yes, I know, UPS isn't supposed to do that. But UPS does a lot of things they're not supposed to do. Sometimes the driver is nice and wants to help out, or he may just be too lazy to drag a heavy power amp or speakers back to the truck. But if you show them where there may be legitimate damage, they always let me open the box. If they don't open the box don't take it. Next time use Fedex Ground. They suck too, but every legitimate claim I ever had, they paid.
"At this point the shipper will have my original payment plus the damaged unit, which might be repairable. Can a UPS claim be appealed? Can a UPS Store be sued in small claims?"
Yes, and you can most likely get your money back. Most people will tell you that its not worth it, for what ever reason they come up with. But, in fact, there's a lot of information about small claims court that the average person just doesn't know. They just assume its like a regular court and base their opinions on something they don't really know about. I would consider filing a claim with both UPS and the seller. Maybe just to UPS first and see if you can get them to write you a check just because they see you're serious. But before you do anything, you need to read one (or both) of these books.
Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court (Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court. National Edition) Paperback March 31, 2014
How to Win Your Case In Small Claims Court Without a Lawyer Paperback January, 2009
Follow the steps that these books lay out and you should be able to get a 100% refund plus all court costs. Given that UPS is a national company and knows they will probably loose the case, I would be stunned if you actually had to go to trial. But don't take anyone's word for it, just read the book. |
"03-30-15: Jarrett
Yes, I did file a small claims against UPS. I intend to also file against the UPS Store but that's in NJ and I am in Seattle."
This a very good thing for you. File a small claims suit in Seattle. The law is that wherever a company does business, even if its far away, they can be sued in a local court. UPS would have to send someone to Seattle. If they don't, you win by default. |
"04-01-15: Jmcgrogan2
Who paid for the insurance? Normally it is the seller/shipper. Whomever paid for the freight/insurance and has their name on the claim form, that is who should be dealing with the claim and UPS.
The seller needs to refund your money yesterday!!
Let him and UPS handle their problem."
Just to clarify that, its not really insurance. Well it is when you buy it, you find out its really not when you have a claim. They just charge you a fee based on your declared value. Its not an insurance contract of any kind.
"04-01-15: Jmcgrogan2
The seller's name is on the UPS paperwork, that means he is responsible for handling the claim. Which means that any money refunded will go to him."
For the most part, that's true. The buyer is responsible as well. They don't have to do as much, but there's a basic amount of cooperation that is required of the buyer. If you can get the seller to work with you and deal with UPS, one of the things that I do put the buyer at ease, and make the claim goes faster, is to tell the shipper that any refund goes directly to the buyer. I also give them all the info regarding the claim, so that they can check on things, wherever they want, without having to go through me. It also makes the claim go quicker. By not taking the refund check, It removes any type of unethical motive on the shippers behalf. It cuts the investigation time down.
But really, this is not something you should be worrying too much about. If you read one of those books I recommended in my first post, you'll just get all of your money back plus all expenses using small claims court. I wouldn't loose a minutes sleep over it. |
"04-01-15: Jmcgrogan2
Zd542, yes, the buyer should certainly help out the seller process his claim, and I have done that. However, the shipping company does not pick up the package and take it away until I have my money back. "
I didn't know you could do that. For the most part, though, I use Fedex Ground and not UPS, so they must have different rules. What do you do if the buyer doesn't accept the package? I'm guessing that you just wait until the box gets back to you first, and then file a claim. |
"Actually, the normal claim process you cannot take the box to UPS/FedEx and ship it back. They have to send an agent to your home to inspect it and pick it up. I had this happen just about two months ago. The seller made arrangements for FedEx to come to my house and pick up the damaged unit. I had the seller return my money before I agreed to wait around for hours for FedEx to arrive. After all, he would not have shipped the package to me if I hadn't paid him first. The process works the same in reverse."
I know that they send someone out to look at the damages and to pick up the package. I just never thought about keeping the box until a refund was issued. I just figured them taking possession of the item was a prerequisite for any type of claim to be paid to you. That's good to know.
Just to note, I use Fedex ground for shipping audio components and the few claims I did have, got paid. And for the right amounts. Once it was established that there was, in fact, shipping damage, and confirmed what the real value of the item was (the items new list price, along with the price from the add or auction that it sold for), we got paid with no problems. I at least have to give them credit for that. Fedex did end up doing the right thing with all my claims. I think where some people have problems, is when they try to take advantage. I know people that always declare a value that is far more than what the item is worth. (I'm not saying that's the case here, its just a general observation.) |
"So, now I need to wait out all of my consumer complaints and small claims cases. May just have to write this off. I also recommend you stay away from Care Audio in NJ as I contacted them before I bought the amp and they vouched for the seller then and still feel he is a "stand up guy."
Jarrett (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)"
I don't mean to repeat the same thing over again, but if you take UPS to small claims court, and do it the right way, I think you'll have at least 80% to win the case and your money back. Not only that, I think its very likely that UPS will settle with you out of court, before it even goes to trial. You have a very good case.
"04-15-15: Jarrett
Still no UPS inspection so I called them. They told me there will be no more inspections, they are finished."
Since you can't seem to make any progress with them, there's one more thing you can try, and it has a good chance of working. Call UPS again and don't act reasonable. (I'm not suggesting you yell at them and use profanity, or anything similar.). Just have the attitude that your getting your money back and that's all there is to it. Make it clear to them, that in no uncertain terms, that you are going to take them to small claims court if the issue is not resolved immediately. Also tell them that you're going to use a local court and they will have to send someone out to you if they want to defend themselves. They already know this. But whats important is they now know that you are aware of how all this works. They'll settle. |
If you want your money, you're going to have to take it back yourself. No ones going to hand it to you. At this point, you have enough info to do just that, but you have to act on it. Its your choice to make. |
