Story of shipping cylinders for a week of diving

[Schwob]

So, the rest of the story.

I made it back home, and UPS brought back my box of fins etc, and my box with the one remaining cylinder, without incident.

After a number of phone calls with UPS, they are not paying the claim. They have given various hollow reasons for this and have changed reasons when challenged. Among these, they claimed I didn't send in photos (I had), they claimed the photos didn't show what they needed to show (they did), that the boxes I used weren't approved for the gross weight of the shipment (57 pounds; they were rated for 65 pounds), and that internal packaging is required even for non-fragile items.

They also made several attempts to close out conversations with me by saying, variously, that they would have to speak to the shipper, or to the recipient. Since I was both the shipper and the recipient, this was beside the point.

I do not believe they made a good-faith effort to handle the claim in a fair or responsible fashion.

I also do not believe they have made a good-faith effort to find the cylinder, since it is clearly marked with my name, address, and phone number, and easy to identify.

I am chalking this up as being part of the overall cost of diving.

One conclusion I have reached is that there is no benefit to paying for the higher valuation, since UPS does not appear to be serious about paying their claims in the event of a loss. The valuation fees are substantial, around 1% of the value of the shipment.

I am considering the matter closed at this point but will report back if the cylinder ever shows up.

Sorry to hear that is indeed how UPS operates. I concur that it is best to write it off as whatever you choose to rationalize. I would do the same, even so I full well know that also enables them to keep going about business the way they do. Any other option just seems too time consuming and grief inducing. And they know it...

Unrelated to diving:
... just trying to get a smile or smirk on your face: My limited experience with other shippers is not that much better. When things worked out well after a mishap it usually was because a company that they intended to keep as customer was the sender (not if the sender was a private individual). -
... Like (hey you sort of are "overdue" - or did I miss it) to tell about your sailing adventures, ... the ice must be gone in Minnesota)... like the time I thought I need to get a little trailerable, open cockpit sailing trimaran from France and it arrived perfectly well looking on its trailer at the freight forwarder with like a ton of cardboard and bubnle wrap wrapped all around, several inches thick it seemed... And when unwrapped at home, it turned out it had the bow gored through and through by a forklift. The, pardon, "lying through their teeth shipping jerks" sure tried to hide and deflect that. Good thing we had our first little digicam and I took lot of pictures each little partial unwrapping step ... and the outfit in FL that made the actual sale went to bat for it indeed.... Getting that boat taken of my hands at the end made for one of those happy (former) boat owner days indeed...

 

[2airishuman]

... Like (hey you sort of are "overdue" - or did I miss it) to tell about your sailing adventures, ... the ice must be gone in Minnesota)...

Here you go. Enjoy