insurance and shipping with UPS


I recently shipped a Levinson 432 amplifier with UPS.I brought it to UPS and requested that they box it. It was insured. During transit UPS dropped the amplifier and pretty much destroyed it. I offered to pay for repairs, however the buyer had no interest in purchasing the item. UPS inspected the damaged amplifier and denied my claim, insisting  the  amplifier was not properly packaged. Corporate denied responsibility and said the issue was between myself and the UPS franchise that shipped it. I've been dealing with the franchise for a month and they are fighting with corporate in an attempt to adjudicate the issue. Meanwhile, I've repaid the buyer and have had  no relief from UPS. The UPS website clearly states that if a franchise boxed the item they are responsible. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to resolve this issue, other than hiring an attorney? UPS seems to be somewhat of a scam operation. I did not realize that all UPS offices were franchises and am wondering why anyone would ship anything of value with them.
catsally1
A long time ago, in a land not so far away, a much smarter and funnier man than me made this profound statement...
" I would never want to belong to a club that would have me as a member". See ya...wouldn't want to be ya.
Uberwaltz..... thanks for your post. Now if only spin4cards could figure out how to click on your link?

kqvkq9 .... if someone can’t grasp simple common sense and reason, Mark Twain is WAY over his head.

Audiogon Moderator .... the trash is gone. Thanks for the house cleaning.
The beat goes on. I recently posted that my UPS claim had been resolved with respect to my Levinson. The franchise manager said that corporate had mailed them a check and they were waiting to receive the check in order to pay me. None of this is true. UPS corporate called my poor buyer and requested even more photos than the ones he had already provided. They wanted him to take the amplifier apart and take additional photos of the interior. He responded that he did not have the tools and did not want to cause additional damage to the amplifier. Why they are even conversing with the buyer is beyond me. I'm the claimant and I've already reimbursed the buyer. Shortly thereafter, UPS responded that they wanted to pick up the amplifier. I told the buyer that under no circumstances allow them to pick up the amplifier. If they wanted additional photos, let their claim’s adjuster come back once again and take more photos.  Of course I notified the franchise owner that the store manager had been telling me for over a week that the 'check was in the mail' and that corporate had no idea that any claim had ever been resolved. My wife, as I previously stated is an attorney, e-mailed  Mr.  Franchise Owner to notify him that he was, in addition to  damages, also responsible for the actions of his employees. As I write this, my wife just received an e-mail from Franchise Owner asking for my phone number, saying there were things he wanted to talk about regarding UPS that he couldn't mention in an e-mail. Of course my wife refused, replying that a paper trail was necessary for any correspondence. This is probably far from over and unfortunately I'm forced to file a suit this week in small claim's court.

I also wanted to mention that until recently, I was using Chubb for my homeowner's policy and had two somewhat similar issues for substantially more money than the Levinson. Within a week a received both checks, no questions asked. One was for a gold Rolex, which was stolen during shipping, and I was reimbursed full replacement value.
I am almost 3 months in on a claim with UPS. I shipped a pair of Apogee Acoustics Duetta Singnature Series II speakers in original heavy duty boxes with a very heavy duty 2x4 enclosure. They dropped one of the speakers and also clearly ripped 2x4s off of both enclosure with a forklift (large puncture hole on the bottom of one of the boxes that is clearly from a forklift). As a result, the bass panel shifted in the shell causing a low frequency rattle (mounts can’t be accessed without destroying the panel; therefore they have to be replaced with the panel used in the Apogee Duetta Ultimate. Right out of the gate their policy is clearly to tell you, regardless, that you didn’t pack your shipment with proper packing material and the burst rate of the box isn’t sufficient.  Needless to say I kept hammering them with evidence and logic and got past their deny-deny-deny and then deny some more tactics. They also don’t follow-up ever as they promise and pretend over and over again the 7 pictures they want, for example, weren't received. It took forever, but I’m now at the step where they pay me out. The jist of it is to not let up and hold them accountable. Eventually you’ll make progress. Whether I actually get the full $4k is still to be determined (which still won’t cover my full cost to have both bass panels replaced by True Sound Audio Works). If in the end they don’t do what is right (and you can prove it) tell them you will take them to small claims court and see if they budge. If not, force their hand with a judge.
spin4cards23 posts07-29-2018 7:22pm.......Dear Builder3, You seem to know a bit about the financial woes of the USPS so tell me, according to kqvkq9, the retired postmaster who says that they deliver billions and billions of 50 cent packages which of course equals billions and billions and billions of dollars, how do they manage to do such a fantastic job and yet end up, as you stated, billions of dollars in the RED every single stinkin’ year?! On the surface that would seem preposterous at best! Thank you for your time and consideration.

Their expenses are greater than their revenues. Have been for years. Google it, if you don’t believe me. Bailed out every year, billions and billions, by the taxpayers. They lost nearly $16 billion in 2012. If you were at the helm, with free unlimited parcel insurance for all, I’m sure you’d be able to double that, though.