I am going to B a SC..I just Know it

[tamezin]

My father in law passed away 9 days ago. Because we had a few days advance warning that his health was seriously declining, my husband and kids were able to make it to Mexico to spend a few days with him before he passed.

I was left with the responsibility of taking care of everything at home. There were a number of pictures the family wanted blown up and sent for the 9 days of prayer. We have never had good luck sending through regular post, so I decided to use fedex.

I was assured the package would arrive within 4-5 days, should be there around the 13th or the 14th. My husband has been going to the local fedex receiving office everyday since the 13th, no package.

I call fedex last night, my package is being returned. They are telling me they don't have a local office in the town I sent the package to (apparently the folks in VG don't know that, they are still open for business ???). They also said they couldn't credit me the 55.00 usd it cost me to ship this package.

Not happy...Not happy

Can anyone tell me why, before I go postal on the fedex folks at the office I sent the package from, why they would not have known there wasn't a local office at the destination the package was being sent to? I could have sent the package on a shuttle bus, but fedex should have been faster.

[Imogene]

And why can't they credit you the cost? Did the package get where it was going? NO, and that's what we like to call, "NOT your fault."

[LifeCarnie]

Can anyone tell me why, before I go postal on the fedex folks at the office I sent the package from, why they would not have known there wasn't a local office at the destination the package was being sent to? I could have sent the package on a shuttle bus, but fedex should have been faster.

I feel bad for your situation, BUT this might not have been the clerks mistake, it could be an error in their system, in that Fed Ex has not kept their database up to date and that location is still shown as being open.

In other words, don't kill the messenger.

That being said, I wouldn't even mess around with the lackies, ask to talk to a manager. I'd tell them you want a refund, because you were ensured by a Fed Ex employee, that the area you sent the package to DID have delivery service. Since, it's not a case of you providing an invalid delivery address.

The one sticking point I could see is that most Fed Ex "offices" are actually independently owned and operated. Although, since the office is still open, even though Fed Ex says that it is closed, I don't see that would be an issue.

[wagegoth]

This is why I've started charging a lot of things like this to my credit card. Chargebacks can be a good thing.

I just signed up for a Translink card for my local public transit a couple of months ago. I tested it for a while by putting small amounts on it, and it seemed to be working just great. Then I put a monthly pass on it. Of course, that was the four-day period there was a horrible bug in the system. My credit card was charged, but the amount was not showing up on my Translink card when I tried to use it. I called Translink twice. They admitted they had no idea what the problem was, that they knew it was during a specific four-day period, and seemed to have affected everyone who had loaded money online for that period, and they could not manually credit the money back to my credit card or to my Translink card. I even asked one of the Translink CSRs if I should just have my bank do a chargeback. She said nothing. Enter my bank, which kindly charged the money back to Translink.

Another time, I ordered a pendant online for MIL that I could not get locally. They sent the wrong item. I contacted the seller by phone and explained the issue. They were very nice, told me to send it back, and they would send the right item. I sent it back, but, SURPRISE, suddenly that business was closed. With verification from FedEx to the undeliverability of the return, my bank charged back the merchant, I got the credit, and found the item somewhere else.

Anyway, long-winded stories aside, if I think there could be any problem, I charge it to my credit card.

[bainsidhe]

And why can't they credit you the cost? Did the package get where it was going? NO, and that's what we like to call, "NOT your fault."

I agree. Why are you still responsible for the frieght charge? Your posting sounded quite calm, considering the cost. I would have flipped out over five bucks, let alone 55, but hey that's me.

I'm not as familiar with FedEx, but my company uses UPS and UPS is a terrific carrier. Stateside, that is. Once you get into international shipping, things get squirrelly and can be difficult or impossible to track. Oftentimes the level and consitantcy of service deteriotes rapidly, depending on the county you're shipping to. Frustrating as your experience is, I can't say I'm too surprised. Still, it sounds like they didn't even try to work with you and that sucketh.

[Crazeyal]

Uh..

Forget SC.. GET A LAWYER!!!

[CancelMyService]

Oh man, of all the shipping companies around only FedEx gives me that warm stabby feeling.

I live in an apartment with an intercom system where pushing the button rings my phone. I had to call the local depot or whatever they call the main office since the driver was saying he was calling me to pick up my package yet there was no calls/messages on my phone. Guy was flat out lying and the supervisor was taking the driver's side. I offered to drive down there with my cordless phone to show the caller ID display before she finally relented. The next time I got a package from them, it was left by my apartment door where anyone could steal it.

What sucks is the place I get my blank DVDs from only ships with FedEx so I can't avoid them.

[tamezin]

I agree. Why are you still responsible for the frieght charge? Your posting sounded quite calm, considering the cost. I would have flipped out over five bucks, let alone 55, but hey that's me.

After talking to several people yesterday, I finally got the full story on the credit back. The Call center cannot credit back. I have to go to the main office after my package is returned with my receipt to get this credited back to my card.

I don't think this is right, however, if I want my $$ back I will follow their procedures. The sad thing is, we have never had luck sending anything through a mail delivery service to Mexico. It usually disappears. Because of the urgency of the situation I was willing to try fedex. I won't make that mistake again.

We wouldn't have been a huge customer, but we typically send packages down 5 to 6 times a year via a small locally operated busline. It takes a long time, but we know it will get there because the busline owner is a friend of the family. Had Fedex shown they could be reliable, we probably would have switched up. Three hundred a year from us isn't a big loss to the company, but my husband has 8 brothers and 27 cousins who live in the states.