Should I file a lost package claim?

[EricH]

Hey UPSers,

Like a couple others who have come in here and crapped on UPS, I have a package which has been in transit to the Seattle, WA area for over 2 weeks now. Unlike those couple others I won't be crapping on UPS. I'm just looking for a little advice from the experts.

I shipped the package full of Christmas presents to my parents on 12/15 (estimated delivery was 12/18) from Southern California and it made it to Portland on 12/16. It sat in Portland until 12/21 (Departure scan) and was in Seattle 12/22. On 12/23, it made it to Redmond where it's been sitting ever since.

My parents tell me that the roads have been clear for the last few days now. This includes main roads and side streets - even the side streets in their housing development have been plowed and are clear for several days.

I've called the 1-800 number a couple of times and the people have been less than helpful. They simply tell me what's on the website and say "we don't have any other information". My mom emailed and the CS rep apologized for the delay in Anaheim (what delay there?! Tracking shows it was out of the LA area overnight). The email CS rep even went so far as to instruct my mom how to file a lost package claim.

So because the package is almost 2 weeks late from its original delivery estimate and there have been no updates for over a week I'm thinking the package might be lost. I insured the package for the value of the contents, but after reading a little bit on the UPS website, it says I need receipts for everything shipped. One of the items I purchased on sale for about 1/3 of full retail and I don't have the receipt for it anymore. Moreover, I purchased another item on sale and only have a receipt showing the discounted price so probably would have to pay significantly more to replace. So by filing a claim and replacing the package contents, I'd be out a couple hundred bucks.

Should I file a lost package claim? Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for UPS in the Seattle area to be caught up soon? Should I just wait another week before filing a claim? If it helps, I can provide the tracking # via PM.

Also, out of curiosity, what happens if I file a claim, get reimbursed, and the package gets found? Does it go into a "dead package" department? Contents divvied up by the employees? Is it available for pickup to the customer if they pay the insurance money back?

Thanks guys and gals! And happy New Year!

 

[UPSNewbie]

I would hold off on claiming a loss for just a little while. It's my understanding that that area is still backlogged like crazy, with new pieces everyday.

 

[BigBrownSanta]

The claims process is not an overnight process. By the time the claims process finishes, the delivery backlog will probably be cleared up and your package will be delivered (that is if it isn't really lost). Give it until next friday (the 9th) to be delivered. Nothing is going to happen quickly this week considering the New Years holiday.

 

[scratch]

If you didn't buy extra insurance, then UPS will only pay up to a hundred dollars on a package. Usually when you file a claim, UPS will start what we call a Driver Followup, which means we have one week to find the package or the claim is automatically paid. I don't know what would happen in a case where UPS simply got buried somewhere because of bad weather like what happened in Washington. I would think that these delayed packages will be delivered soon. As an employee, I am sorry for these delays. But on the other hand, the safety of our employees is important too. We get charged with accidents and could lose our jobs if we slide off the road and hit things. The bad weather plus twice the stops we usually deliver during the Christmas Season just made an already difficult job impossible.

 

[EricH]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I did purchase extra insurance on the package in case something like this happened. I guess, I'll wait it out for now, though.

Honestly, I'm really disappointed in UPS this time around. Normally UPS service is pretty good. But I have some other relatives in the Seattle area which received packages shipped from California/Oregon via USPS Priority Mail during the snow storm. And I read an article in the Seattle Times where they mentioned Fedex locations were open for 4 hours on Christmas day allowing people to come in and pick up packages they weren't able to deliver. I wish the corporate UPS folks would have stepped up like that or at least prioritize the backlogged packages over new ones.

I completely understand driver/worker safety and wouldn't expect workers to endanger themselves. But USPS and Fedex were able to figure something out to work through the difficulty.

 

[dannyboy]

The postal service and Fedex are just as backed up as we are.

The volume of packages inbound to there was overwhelming. I posted the details as to what possibly happened on another thread.

The Drivers Hearts were willing, we were out there everyday, in spite of what some trolls have posted.

Think of it as being in debt. Barely making it from paycheck to paycheck.

First, your hours are cut. Then you have the tranny go on the car you take to work. Your wife, who was also working gets sick for three weeks and cant work. Your son wrecks the only other vehicle you have.

Then the heat pump and water heater go out, and the electric bill arrives for 700 bucks. You are already maxed out on your cards, and the car payments and mortage payments are due. And by the way, so is the car insurance for 1300 bucks.

and its Christmas time, and you really need money for that.

See how big the hole is that you are in?

Same thing happened to us.

We were trying to keep our heads above the water while it was calm, but wave after wave after wave of new packages kept rolling in.

Now that it is clear, we only have 5-7 days of deliveries we need to get delivered. But of course, each day will bring in more and more.

I would bet that the vast majority of the packages that were missed will be delivered by the 5th or 6th.

If you did file a claim today, you might get the paper work by then.

I would wait.

d

 

[old levi's]

......................................

Think of it as being in debt. Barely making it from paycheck to paycheck.

First, your hours are cut. Then you have the tranny go on the car you take to work. Your wife, who was also working gets sick for three weeks and cant work. Your son wrecks the only other vehicle you have.

Then the heat pump and water heater go out, and the electric bill arrives for 700 bucks. You are already maxed out on your cards, and the car payments and mortage payments are due. And by the way, so is the car insurance for 1300 bucks.

and its Christmas time, and you really need money for that.
...................................................................

d

And your wife, your girlfriend, and your mortgage payment are all late!
OMG

 

[outta hours]

I completely understand driver/worker safety and wouldn't expect workers to endanger themselves. But USPS and Fedex were able to figure something out to work through the difficulty.

You gotta be kidding me. You post here under the guise of needing help and then snipe with your comments in every paragraph. Figure out your problem yourself. As for the rest of your comments:


They do not handle near the volume of packages that we do. Sorry that our employees did not risk their lives to deliver your package. Perhaps in the future you may use the other carriers.

Don't worry about committing fraud,UPS will wait long enough before they pay your claim just in case your pkg. is "found". Now excuse me I have to get back to the "dead package department" and play with some more Chia pets,Clappers, OveGloves, and eat some fruitcakes along with other quality Christmas gifts that were "lost".

Merry Christmas

 

[UnconTROLLed]

You gotta be kidding me. You post here under the guise of needing help and then snipe with your comments in every paragraph. Figure out your problem yourself. As for the rest of your comments:


They do not handle near the volume of packages that we do. Sorry that our employees did not risk their lives to deliver your package. Perhaps in the future you may use the other carriers.

Don't worry about committing fraud,UPS will wait long enough before they pay your claim just in case your pkg. is "found". Now excuse me I have to get back to the "dead package department" and play with some more Chia pets,Clappers, OveGloves, and eat some fruitcakes along with other quality Christmas gifts that were "lost".

Merry Christmas

Funny how he said "my package made it to Redmond and has been sitting there ever since"....then it's "my package might be lost"....

No no, it's sitting in Redmond! Pack and ship promise from me to you! Be thankful that They'll recieve the gifts in time for Christmas 2009.

 

[EricH]

You gotta be kidding me. You post here under the guise of needing help and then snipe with your comments in every paragraph. Figure out your problem yourself. As for the rest of your comments:


They do not handle near the volume of packages that we do. Sorry that our employees did not risk their lives to deliver your package. Perhaps in the future you may use the other carriers.

Don't worry about committing fraud,UPS will wait long enough before they pay your claim just in case your pkg. is "found". Now excuse me I have to get back to the "dead package department" and play with some more Chia pets,Clappers, OveGloves, and eat some fruitcakes along with other quality Christmas gifts that were "lost".

Merry Christmas

Wow! Sensitive much?

I didn't come here trying to pick a fight like others have. I came here asking for advice from those in the know. I got stuck in a crappy situation and had my Christmas somewhat ruined (my first Christmas away from my family so one of the gifts was a webcam to help make it easier) and I'm asking the experts what I should do with an extremely late package in this situation. I've called customer service twice and the reps, while polite, have been completely unhelpful.

My question about what happens to the packages is not fraudulent. I paid for extra insurance on a package that is now 2 weeks late. I'm sure the backed up packages are starting to get filtered through by now because the weather and roads are clear.

So I was asking if I should wait longer or file the lost package claim which would end up still costing me about $200 even though I paid for the extra insurance because receipts are required and I don't have all of them. So, I would MUCH MUCH MUCH rather have the package delivered than be out of pocket $200 to replace the gifts I sent to my parents.

Sorry if you took my comment about Fedex and USPS handling the crappy weather better as an attack. I didn't mean it as such.

I know there have been people registering to purely crap on UPS - but please don't lump me in with them and jump on me for asking for help.

 

[EricH]

Funny how he said "my package made it to Redmond and has been sitting there ever since"....then it's "my package might be lost"....

No no, it's sitting in Redmond! Pack and ship promise from me to you! Be thankful that They'll recieve the gifts in time for Christmas 2009.

The tracking shows that my package has been in Redmond since 12/23 with no movement since then. I would guess that most lost packages show as being stuck like that, right?

I honestly don't know. I've never had a package lost by UPS...this is new territory for me guys. Please cut me some slack.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

EricH--please be patient for just a bit longer. Your pkg is in the system and will be delivered as soon as possible. Filing a claim at this point would be a waste of time. I would give it another week and then file the claim.

 

[EricH]

EricH--please be patient for just a bit longer. Your pkg is in the system and will be delivered as soon as possible. Filing a claim at this point would be a waste of time. I would give it another week and then file the claim.

Thanks for the reassurance. Seems like "wait a week" is the concensus so I'll go with that.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

May cooler heads prevail. Hey Eric, if you read the other threads, where the guys were arguing, and block out the negativity, you'll find the answer to your question. Sorry for all the tude given. I say that waiting patiently is the best, thing at this point. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

 

[trplnkl]

EricH, I'm sorry to say that Yes some of our posters are sensitive at this point and it isn't your fault. Many of us have been getting our chops busted for a few weeks already by customers that wanted their packages a day or two earlier or have been ribbed daily by SA customers that think bringing up the weather fiasco in the NW is funny.It gets very grating on the nerves.


What the majority has said, wait a week before starting a claim.
The problem with the package not showing any movement in Redmond is because it is just one out of tens of thousands of packages stowed in trailers. I can only "armchair quarterback" the decisions made there on what trailers to run each day, but it does seem logical that they would run the oldest first. But then again, I'm not in Redmond. I hope that your stuff is delivered tomorrow (friday) and you fears relieved. Good Luck.
I just hope that everyone learns something from all this, sometimes IT happens and we need a backup plan better than we have.
Here's to a New Year, may it be better than the old.

 

[New Englander]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I did purchase extra insurance on the package in case something like this happened. I guess, I'll wait it out for now, though.

Honestly, I'm really disappointed in UPS this time around. Normally UPS service is pretty good. But I have some other relatives in the Seattle area which received packages shipped from California/Oregon via USPS Priority Mail during the snow storm. And I read an article in the Seattle Times where they mentioned Fedex locations were open for 4 hours on Christmas day allowing people to come in and pick up packages they weren't able to deliver. I wish the corporate UPS folks would have stepped up like that or at least prioritize the backlogged packages over new ones.

I completely understand driver/worker safety and wouldn't expect workers to endanger themselves. But USPS and Fedex were able to figure something out to work through the difficulty.

Oh give me a freaken break okay. Personally? Piss off. Don't say your not going to start a bash thread and then start bashing.

First, FedEx doesn't even come close to the volume we handle and MOST RURAL USPS drivers are in 4 wheel drive vehicles. You want to come drive one of our rear wheel drive monsters?

As to us working Christmas so you can get your presents? Me I honestly just don't care that much about "your" presents. My Christmas is spent with my family and children. Not "worrying" that I was unable to get your package delivered.

Sorry if you fail to see a relation to volume delivery AND a higher number of failures for us. It's a simple concept!

 

[New Englander]

Wow! Sensitive much?

Sorry if you took my comment about Fedex and USPS handling the crappy weather better as an attack. I didn't mean it as such.

I know there have been people registering to purely crap on UPS - but please don't lump me in with them and jump on me for asking for help.

Then don't act like them.

Bottom line is - no one here can help you with your package. File the claim like any smart person would.

 

[Highwayman]

I would wait. They got backed up and with the holidays mid week just compounds the problem. We'll be back on regular schedule monday.

 

[trplnkl]

Way to go NE...the whole world revolves around you.
This guy has a legitimate question and couldn't get any help from our esteemed customer service people. He did however get a good answer to his question here. I agree that he probably has no concept of difference in the amount of volume we handle in relationship to USPS and brandEX, but there is no reason to be ugly to him. If you truly don't care about his problems, why not just pass the chance to be an A**hole up and just not post?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Juding from the time of his post, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he is badly hungover from last night. I would hope so as there is no other excuse for a post such as that.