Any UPS horror stories?

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS DOUBLE BOX! A little known fact is that UPS almost always honors damage claims if the package was double boxed. (The damage claim personnel probably are sworn to secrecy on this one; I accidentally overheard a conversation between UPS personnel in a non customer area of local UPS warehouse)

I have had extremely bad luck with them. In the twenty or so times I have used them they have damaged four items, lost C.O.D. checks twice, forgot to get a C.O.D. check once, and were bastards about paying for two items they damaged and I had insurance for.

Yes, a few years ago I witnessed our UPS delivery man eat a Carl's Jr. sandwich and then he turned into Mr. Hanky. It was very scary to watch and I still have nightmares about it.

I bought the insurance and they still refuse to pay. I shipped a pair of Klipsch Speakers (One of a kind specially built at the factory). They only sold for $900, but even though I bought the extra insurance they still refuse to pay for damage. The exteremely well reinforced cabinets were cracked and their excuse was that they were insuficiently packed. I can't really see how though since I used the factory shipping cartons and even lined them with extra styrofoam board (the kind they insulate houses with). Funny thing is Klispch ships these all around the world in the exact same packaging and for some reason, mine are insuficently packed whereas the ones from the factory are suficently packed. I'm working on getting a certified letter from Klipsch (awesome customer service) on the packing SOP, but I have a hunch I'll end up getting nowhere in the end.

So, we sold the speakers in perfect condition and shipped them by UPS insured (or so we thought). We double boxed them; double bubble wrapped them, added peanuts and insured each for the price of the pair. So about a week later the purchaser wrote and asked where the second speaker was. This was a site clue that it was about to hit the fan. Then my son figured out that the notice from the campus post office might be the speaker he shipped and there it was in all its magnificence. Unfortunately it looked as though the box had been dropped ten feet and then dragged behind a truck for a couple of miles. Now, we're reasonable people so he started yelling!!! The UPS people decided that if he opened the box to inspect that would be one charge and if he then shipped the speaker (broken or otherwise) he needed to pay for the shipping (again of course) because it had already been delivered (unfortunately to the shipper not the recipient) We are awaiting the outcome. But I no longer ship anything by UPS that is not double boxed and overstuffed so that the bastards can't destroy it when they play stereo ping-pong with it!