Fedex SUCKS!

They do--big time.


Last week, Neil sent a package to his sister Sheila in the UK. It contained a Treo 680 and an iPod Touch 16GB--both units with their original boxes, accessories, manuals. Neil spent almost an hour at the Fedex branch to fill up the forms and monitor the packaging (the Fedex people were the ones who put the units in bubble wrap and they also created a customized box). He scrutinized every detail.


Two days after, Sheila sent a text message that she just got the package, and that she'll check it "later" because she was still at work. Neil and I marveled at how fast and efficient Fedex was.


Three minutes after we received Sheila's first text message, we got another one: the package was tampered, bubble wrap was a mess, and there were no units. What was in the package? Just the box of the Treo 680 and its manual and CD.


At first I thought it was a joke. We called her up, and indeed, there was no iPod Touch nor Treo 680 inside the package! According to Sheila, there was a hole at the bottom of the box, which was promptly covered by a Fedex sticker.


We immediately called Fedex's Customer Care number and reported the incident. The CC rep informed us that we can either claim the declared value that Neil put on the form, or request for them to look for the units.


We called up Neil's sister again to discuss the matter. We further found out that:

1. Sheila was not the one who "received" the package. Someone else did, and just handed the package to her after. Per Fedex policy, the package must be delivered to the recipient, and in case the recipient is not available, there should be an authorization letter from the recipient. Sheila did not authorize anyone to receive the package, but Fedex did not ask for the authorization letter, nor for Sheila, who was in the area anyway.
   
2. Upon confirmation with the Customer Care Rep, the declared value that was in their database was just half of the value which was on the form that Neil filled out! (Neil had to then scan and email the form which showed the full value.)
   

We decided that we will just claim the cost, because looking for the units seemed like a lost cause. Fedex said they will investigate, but they could not tell us their timelines nor assure us that we will indeed get our claim.


We never thought a thing like this could happen--with Fedex at that! :( Unbelievable. We've sent other packages to UK before, via our local post office, and they arrived intact!


So guys--extra caution and discretion when sending packages.


And wish us luck that we'll be able to get back what we've lost! :(