If you send somebody a package and UPS delivers it and drops it at the receiver's door when nobody is home but the package is gone by the time the recipient gets home, who is to blame? Sender, recipient, or UPS? I have a feeling I will be coughing up a refund when I did everything I could to have a good transaction...

 

UPS. My UPS person told me that if he leaves something without handing it to someone and it disappears, they will make that recipient sign for every delivery after that to make sure it doesn't happen again. And they hold the delivery person responsible for the missing package. I don't know if that means the UPS delivery person has to pay for it or not, but it leads me to believe that everything is SUPPOSED to be signed for but in the interest of time, isn't. That would make UPS responsible.

 

May not be so cut and dry as UPS responsible. I have my signature on file with UPS and FedEx so they will leave packages when I not present during delivery. If something went missing after deliveryIi would expect it to fall back on me instead of UPS due to signing their form allowing for delivery.
I expect once you turned the package over to UPS you are no longer responsible for it but some companies will go beyond their legal responsibilty in the name of customer service and goodwill. That would be your choice as the sender.

 

That would make sense, but I know I never signed any form like that. They just leave the stuff.

Generally when I ship something, I use FedEx. They're a little cheaper than UPS, a LOT cheaper than USPS, and more consistent than either with on time deliveries.

I just shipped a $900 part to Oregon with FedEx and opted for the additional insurance. They provide insurance up to $100 at no charge and it only cost me an additional $6 to insure it to $1000. Their tracking system works very well too. Ups tracking works well but USPS tracking is a joke. I've had things shipped to me USPS and have it in hand while the on-line tracking states that it's still at the point of origin.

 

Thanks guys. The recipient called them today and they told him to check with his neighbors first and if nobody had it then I needed to call them since I was the shipper. With so many crappy deals going on these days with sales on these internet forums it seems very likely to me that a recipient could easily claim a package was not there when, in fact, they did receive it. Just makes a bunch of work for the seller who may or may not get his money back from the shipping company. Meanwhile the buyer gets his refund back from PayPal AND gets the parts.
I think I may be done selling/buying on the internet...

 

UPS also automatically insures for up to $100 per package but in this case it shows delivered so that's where I think the question will lie as to whom is to blame...

As for Fedex, we tried switching from UPS a couple years ago and they were absolutely horrible with lost shipments and packages coming back as "Refused by recipient" and when I call my customer they would tell me they never has a Fedex truck come by at all. It only took a week for me to switch back to UPS and we rarely have problems.

 

Well, apparently now one of the neighbors he DIDN'T talk to came over with the package that was delivered to the wrong house. No more worries. I AM thinking about requiring a signature if I ship any more of my parts for sale now though...

 

The first thing I would ask for is a tracking number for the shipment. Once received, UPS has the capability to identify exactly when and where the package is at all times until it is placed at its final destination. With the tracking, I would think once the item shows delivered its now the recipients responsibility. If you have the tracking number let me know and I will pull the information for you.

 

Yes, a lot of the FedEx drivers need to be 'trained'. That's where a lot of the problems lie I think. We've had several 'instructional sessions' here at the farm for the various drivers that deliver here. The last one was last spring when a driver went off the edge of the pavement and couldn't get his wheel back up over the edge. He decided that it was a viable option to keep going forward and drive out over the lawn. That driver spent 3 days laying down new topsoil and grass seed, resealing the portion of driveway where he spun his wheels for 15 minutes before deciding on the 'drive forward' method and finally, replacing the bush he ran over that he discovered could NOT be trimmed to look 'as good as new'. Other training session involved pounding it into their head that YES, they WILL use the security gate code to enter the correct driveway. You may not know it, but FedEx Ground drivers are independent contractors with their own trucks and FedEx will make them do pretty much anything to keep an account. We've had a few things lost over the years too, but there's never been much hassle to get them to cover the loss. It's a pain to have to ship something again, but at least we've never been out the money for the product, just the time. And if we cry hard enough we usually get a credit to put towards future shipping charges as a way for them to say 'sorry'.

 

My $450 GPS sat on my neighbors porch for 3 weeks before they returned from a trip and brought it over to me. UPS stated it was delivered 3 days after it left the manufacturers address, the manufacturer insisted it was delivered 3 days after it left. While we were getting to the bottom of it and getting insurance info squared away my neighbor brought it over and said they found it on their porch. My address is 2727, theirs is 2641 so it wasn't even close!

I was a little steamed because it was tracked and marked delivered, just to the wrong house 6 houses away. UPS tried to blame it on their driver saying he was new. I thought that was a little unprofessional.

 

Who's to blame? The thief is if it's been stolen or the driver if it's been left at the wrong location.

UPS left one package UNDER my truck one day when it was raining. If I hadn't happened to see it, I would have run it over. Then whose fault would it have been?

Usually they do pretty good but right now I'm wondering where my furnace parts are. They were supposed to have been here Tuesday or yesterday so tomorrow I'll have to call and get a tracking number.

 

Most couriers have a spot on their weigh bill asking if it okay to drop off without a signature. I always indicate no which puts the onus on the courier/delivery driver to get it signed for.
Del

 

I think it's cincy's fault...

 

i live 50 miles from any major city so i do allot of ordering online to save fuel, i have had so many problems with fed ex and ups its terrible. i ordered 500 worth of medican for my cows over night n them sobs left it at the store in town because it was the only package my way,they try all the time to leave stuff at my dads office or at the school with my mom. i have made every one cry once or twice and now they are required to come out no matter what,its not like they have to drive 5 miles to off the road i have a barrel in the road.

 

We've been dealing with these issues for 28 years. I have had them drop a package insured for $1000 on the wrong porch and they won't go find it. They paid on the insurance. Easier for them! UPS is the only one I trust and they do make mistakes. At least at my place the driver is a regular and knows exactly what to do if I'm not home. He is not allowed to return to his facility without making every delivery on his truck. Fed Ex uses contractors and they still say I'm not in their system after making hundreds of deliveries. They constantly say no one was home when we were waiting there all day. We are 70 miles from the terminal so I know they wait untill they have multiple packages in my area to make a trip. The USPS is pretty reliable but not if you need tracking. Heck the other day they sent some parts to Ohio even though they were all addressed right to Texas ! Just hold your breath and maybe it will arrive.