When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Got in contact with the seller and rep from PCARMARKET. Everyone was very nice and cordial. Felt good about the transaction. Paid the seller the same day.
On April 26th, seller took the CF hood to FedEx Freight in Houston to ship. Paid the packaging and shipping fees. He asked for the shipping to be covered for $10,000.00 and was told it was covered and no additional insurance was needed. Value was declared at $10,000.00. Written on the shipper bill. High value stickers placed on box.
On May 4th, FedEx FINALLY indicated it was out for delivery. They didn't show up until May 5th. I made sure I was available to sign for it. All looked okay and I finally got around to open it a few hours after receiving it.
Immediately I can see that the box was dragged on the ground and rubbed thru the taping material, the bubble wraps, the foam... then the PPF, black carbon fiber showing on the front tip of the hood. Okay, I said to myself... the rest of the box looks okay. So let's just take it out.
Took it out of the box carefully and I can tell it was fully bubble and foam wrapped. Extra bubble wrap roll up to fit in the empty spaces of the box to make sure the box was able to maintain its shape. Overall good packaging was done.
Then upon unwrapping the bubble wrap, a piece of lose carbon fiber shroud fell out Upon inspection, I see two punctured holes in the underside of the hood. Took pictures and shared with the seller.
Looked up the FedEx site and tried to call them. They sent me to file a claim. Found out regular site can't take the claim with a Freight shipper number, so I called Freight. They emailed me a poorly scanned form and asked me to FAX it. I tried for hours and hours to send the form to their FAX number, it failed every single time. Called them the next day and they said by policy they don't take FAX anymore and for me to mail it into the address on the bottom of the form. So I packaged it the forms and the printed pictures and sent it.
A week goes by, no one called. So I called FedEx Freight office. They said they don't have it. I showed them the form and the address I sent it to. They said, that form and that address/dept hasn't existed in 10+ years.
May 18th, New form sent to me and sent via email to "NEW" FedEx Freight Claims office. Acknowledgement of receipt of the form from FedEx was received same day.
May 25th, FedEx Claim agent emailed the claim was denied and my payout is only $498.00. Upon receiving the email, I tried to stay calm and wanted to discuss with the agent on the phone to understand better what is the reason. Took me 3 days and 20+ phone calls to finally catch her on the phone. She basically said by tariff law and policy, they only reimburse $0.50 per lb for USED item. They were being generous by giving me $5.00 / lb assessment. I tried to calmly reason with her that the weight of the content should not be used solely to determine the value of the content. Giving her an example of shipping a boulder vs gold bars didn't help. She said the only thing she would do is forward my claim to EAS department.
June 1st. Executive Assist Specialist agent emailed me back and basically said the same thing.
June 4th, I received a check for $498.00 for a damaged $8500.00 CF Hood that weighs 30lbs (declared by FedEx shipper bill). Retails for $32,500 on Suncoast Parts, but onsite for $24,500.
So I'm hoping, by sharing this with the forum, I can get some helpful suggestions for next step. Legal is always an option. But is it worth it?
Also note. I don't know why the claim amount was $10,348. I think the agent got mixed up with the shipper bill indicated value vs my purchase price. Regardless, I didn't even get a chance to clarify that with the agent.
Any comments and suggestions are welcome.
Packaged at a FedEx facility Tracking of the package.
Filing claims for freight or moving IMO will lead you nowhere. They do it in antiquated ways, ie measuring the weight.
however if you had insurance for 10k, why would t it activate?
lastly, I might look into auto insurance or blanket coverage on homeowners (if you have it?)?
Have hagerty on the GT3RS.
FedEx employees from the Houston Freight office said no additional insurance needed. Should have been covered up to $10k. Claim office agents says policy pays $0.50/lb or up to $10k, which ever is lower.
My company ships thousands of packages per month, and we’ve dealt with most all freight companies including Fedex under long term contracts. I would read any insurance info provided at the time of shipping the item at the FedEx store to see if they provided you any terms of $0.50 per lb coverage. The fact that the FedEx store itself packaged the item leaves zero room for them to weasel out of this by saying it was packed with insufficient protection. I’m not sure what the small claims court max claim amount is for your state, but it is commonly around $10k max. I would send them an attorney letter requesting to collect the value of the item with a deadline to respond date. When they inevitably try to brush you off, then file a small claims civil case against them. You will most likely settle before the case ever reaches court. If it does reach the courts then I don’t see why you would have any trouble at all getting your full value based on how you did everything perfectly on your end with regards to the shipping procedures. Good luck and sorry to hear your woes.
If it states in printed documentation that used Items are only covered by this method I doubt it would be worth suing. You should try and see if you could find out what it would be to repair.
If it states in printed documentation that used Items are only covered by this method I doubt it would be worth suing. You should try and see if you could find out what it would be to repair.
CF is repairable, but I’ve found it far from perfect. I had a carbon diffuser crack that was also damaged in shipping fixed at Carbon Fiber Technologies on Star Lane in Houston. The crack was barely noticeable at first, but over time the cheap varnish they used became very yellow and noticeable after sitting in the sun a bit. The piece also never felt quite as strong or rigid as before. Their prices were reasonable though. I believe I paid $200 repairing a 6” crack. Good luck
FedEx Freight is one of the best LTL carriers but I think you’re up schitts creek. LTL and small parcel are different animals.
just because the estimated value is on the Document (BL) that doesn’t mean the carrier covers it for that value. For regular freight They cap it by dollar amount by weight. If insurance was purchased maybe that is different, I don’t know.
this really should have been on a pallet. Shipping this is a box is just asking for trouble. Fright goes through several terminals and drivers move freight around between customer stops. It gets handled by not just FedEx but also it’s customers. So you’re but a lot of faith in other people.
taking an LTL carrier to small claims court seems like a waste of time. Frankly I don’t know if it’s even an option based on LTL contract — probably thrid party mediators only.
if you don’t move a lot of freight, I just don’t think they will be too motivated.
If you used a credit card for payment, then that may be your best option.
If you have more questions, feel free to pm me.
good luck. Hope it gets resolved to your satisfaction.
I would return it to the seller and ask for money back since it arrived damaged. That should be the foundational move. If he shipped it to you and it got damaged along the way, he can’t walk away from that and has to take responsibility. PCAR market should also back you up on this.
FedEx Freight doesn't do packaging, if it were taken to a Freight terminal it would be shipped bare. I'm guessing it was taken to a Kinkos (FedEx Office) and they did the packing. There's no way I'd put a $10k hood in a cardboard box with a little bubble wrap. This needed to be in a crate and packed accordingly. Your beef should be with the seller IMO.
FedEx Freight doesn't do packaging, if it were taken to a Freight terminal it would be shipped bare. I'm guessing it was taken to a Kinkos (FedEx Office) and they did the packing. There's no way I'd put a $10k hood in a cardboard box with a little bubble wrap. This needed to be in a crate and packed accordingly. Your beef should be with the seller IMO.
What he said...I think you have been basically screwed by negligence on your part. For a CF hood with a $24-$30K msrp I would have demanded a wooden case shipment. Not a cardboard box with some F'n bubble wrap. That is for roll bars not CF RS hoods. So sorry but you should have showed more due diligence and caution with the shipping.
06-04-2021, 08:38 PM
FEDEX Freight Damaged 991.2 CF Hood
