Another UPS Horror Story


I bought an Allnic T1500 amp here earlier this month. It was shipped in the original packaging by a UPS store from NJ to Seattle, fully insured. It arrived with a hole in the bottom corner and substantial damage to the amp (subchassis bent). I contacted the seller who refused my refund request and I processed a UPS claim.

UPS picked it up and did an inspection at their customer service center. They found no damage to the box (I have photos of the 6" hole in the bottom), did not look inside and have now sent it back to the NJ. Once again the seller has refused to refund my payment claiming he doesn't have the money to refund.

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?

I know I should never have given this back to UPS for "inspection". My best hope is that once it gets back to NJ they will ship it to the Allnic recommended repair shop in Pennsylvania and it can be fixed.
jarrett
Jmcgroan2 is correct. It is the sellers responsibility to deal with UPS. You should receive a refund from the seller and be done with it! Been there done that!
"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.
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.

Just as the seller doesn't ship until he is paid, the same process works in reverse. The package doesn't leave the buyer's care until his funds have been returned. It's really not that complicated.
"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.