HELP FedEx Mangles Speakers - Refuses Claim

You just GOTTA love these gorillas! Don't even get me started, with the experiences I've had with the Post Orifice! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoMSICZjPLQ&feature=related)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqryzEbsRBE&feature=related)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zh9kFJzDnA&feature=related)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWe_ICjYJn0)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUDTPbDhnA)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ng8HD5viVE&feature=related)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoCYePvJJmE&feature=related)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89SKOBQTEuY&feature=related)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGCdOmykOOg&feature=related)(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9mmgknvXw&feature=related)

I was very lucky. I had a pair of expensive speakers shipped to me overseas by FedEx. They were supposed to be shipped in the original box with the original packaging. I specified triple boxing. That saved me. The box was dropped and the impact crushed the corner of the box. I said a prayer before opening it. I discovered that one of the large original foam inserts was missing and the speaker it was supposed to cushion was shipped upside down with no padding at all on the bottom! The second box was also crushed but the inside third box saved the speaker from being crushed by a fraction of an inch.

"Both Fedex and UPS have a policy, clearly stated in their written insured coverage policies, related to damage coverage wherein they will not pay any claim if the original manufacturers packing materials and boxes are not used....."

If that is the case, which I do not know, and is written, than they surely should not allow for insured service and charge for it if they know they will not honor it if the mech gets damaged.

Looks to me like , if that is common practice, you do have a point against them. They charged for insurance they knew they would not offer in advance regardless of anything else. It can take timme but I think in today's climate they would find it hard to make this position prevail, and they may be liable for charging probably millions on the overall picture of their services for a service they will not offer (insurance). Is that froud or misrepresentation?

My understanding from Fedex: for pkgs valued at greater than $499, they are required either to a) open the box and inspect the packing or b) get a waiver from you not to open the box which means they will not accept a valuation higher than $499.

If they accepted the valuation (if a value was paid for as part of shipping cost) did Fedex inspect the packing? By charging for a certain valuation and taking the package it would seem they entered into a contract of insurance for that value. Ianal, but unless Fedex followed their own rules and inspected the packaging, it doesn't seem they can claim it was inadequate.

From my experience, some Fedex offices will require inspection of high value items and some are lazy and don't bother. Going forward, it really is not that expensive to ship speakers on a pallet using a freight service. A local UPS store (not UPS service) should be able to arrange that.