Complaint Review: UPS - West Palm Beach Florida

Crawford & Co / Crawford Insurance in bed with UPS in a conspiracy to deny or underpay all claims.

Time to get this in court!

I have been through this song and dance with UPS claims before, so I knew from the beginning what I was in for. Previously, I shipped items when I was an employee of a big company, and they would not spend the time and energy to appeal this claims process that UPS and Crawford Insurance want's you to go through.

However, I am now self employed, and I am going to go the distance on this just on principal alone. Enough is enough.

We need national exposure on this scam, and ultimately a class action lawsuit as this is a clearcut case of defrauding the customer. This is because UPS and Crawford Insurance conspire to either deny every claim, or undervalue every claim. It is a conspiracy to defraud and needs to be prosecuted as such, both at the criminal level, and civil process.

I prepared 2 shipping labels where I paid for the "insurance" at an amount that was clearly under what it would take to replace the items if lost or damaged. And, I was fully willing to accept that amount when UPS lost my package.

However, Crawford Insurance, as usual undervalued my claim, and did not "make me whole" as required under the law. Then they jump you through hoops when you try to appeal the decision in hopes you will just go away, and most people do. That's why they get away with it.

I finally get a return call from a "supervisor" with Crawford & Co. by the name of TIFFANY HOFSTETTER with a caller ID of UPSC 817-570-6100. She was snotty sounding from the start and talked down to me like I was stupid. (I'm not by the way). She tried explaining that this was NOT "insurance" that I purchased, but rather "declared value". (Semantics). This person sounded like she is like 12 years old.

I declared the value of that package at only $195 (trying to be fair and reasonable) even though the items could never be replaced for $195. Crawford went ahead and processed a payment for like $101 total! I was given the amount over the phone, and have not recieved the check yet.

My total claim amount was only $231.59 which I WAS fully willing to accept, but now, that offer is off the table. I reside and do business in Florida, which to the best of my knowledge (from past experience) is a "make whole" state which means they are required to pay me at least the declared value OR they must actually replace what I lost.

I am now going for nothing less than full replacement of my lost items, as that cannot be done for less than $1000.

These idiots think that just because I paid a certain amount for something, that is all they are required to pay. The part these mental midgets cannot comprehend is that the lost items cannot be replaced for what I paid for them.

BUYER BEWARE!!

When you purchase "insurance" from UPS you need to understand that they have no intention of paying you the declared value that you are paying for.

I must now proceed against the seller on Ebay on this although he did nothing wrong, just so there is another party involved against UPS...Although I purchased the UPS labels on my UPS account and sent them to the seller (that makes me the shipper, legally).

These lowlife already tried using that angle..."well you are not the shipper".....WRONG!

Crawford & Co. / Crawford Insurance / UPS will do whatever they can to get out of paying a legitimate claim.

These arrogant fools are willing to go to court and possibly have a legal precedent set over a measly $130.00!!

How stupid is that!

We really do need a class action lawsuit on this of every single person who has ever been shorted on a claim with UPS or any claim that Crawford every processed and shorted.

Any lawyers out there want to tackle this?

If not, I have enough experience to prepare and file my own complaint and it will be filed in FEDERAL COURT.

It will be filed against UPS as they are the ones who actually lost my items, and then they can deal with Crawford so they can see how they like it!

UPS CLAIM# 367XXXXXXXXXXX

UPS Tracking# 1ZT4XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ebay Item# 190650237437

I printed the labels on 3/19/2012.The Ebay seller dropped them at a UPS Store on 3/26/2012 in Edison NJ.
My package never made it past that location as per the tracer.3/31/2012 UPS declared the package lost and this nightmare claim process began.


UPS - Claims Processing Center
P.O. Box 1265
Newport News, VA. 23601-1265
Fax: 888-458-7703
Tel: 877-524-4498

Crawford & Co. / Crawford Insurance "Claims:
Tiffany Hofstetter, Claims Supervisor
877-225-7625 x6176
or 817-570-6100

Had the exact same experience up to UPS at first accepting the blame, and then dropping the ball (after I filed a BBB report)and not getting the promised money back. This is ineffective. Go to your lawyer and have him write you a short letter on why this is rediculous. After that, you still have to contact UPS again. They are hoping that you will just go away. Once they see you are willing to go this far... they will offer you a settlement of half. We accepted this, and received a check within 24 hrs, but had a feeling that if we held out, we could have gotten 100 percent. Complain to your local UPS office (they will be embarrassed) in person. I think this is how the reps are taught to handle these complaints. I don't think it is UPS at all, but a call center. The agents protocal is..... 1. Blame the customer and if that doesn't work the proceed down the list. 2. Take blame, but don't process anything..... Don't play the game. Have your lawyer draft a short letter and that will do the trick.. 3. Still have to call UPS to complain, because if is the same as our situation they will NOT contact you. They are hoping that somewhere along the way that you will get tired and drop the ball, or will think it is your fault and give up. I believe that this is their protocal no matter what, or who you are, or what the circumstances are. Can't make sense out of nonsense. So don't waste your time or energy arguing with the reps. Get your lawyer to write you a short letter. It is just a game.

Though this poster (Rypt) states that UPS reps are, "incompetent to be able to understand logic", this complaint is filled with both illogical remarks, confusing flow, and irrational slander. The way this post is written, it appears Rypt (the complainer) made a simple phone call to have it inspected, packaged, and shipped from a UPS hub. How does a phone call do all that? It then appears Rypt sent the package to himself as he states, "Well I get the package and it was a mess." Apparently, Rypt couldn't take the little package to Orlando himself, but was willing to drive there to handle the matter - even though he already had the shipment in his possession at delivery? UPS will stop for a package inspection on the next business day. They do not need to take the contents if the owners do not want to part with them. They only need to inspect in ensure proper packing was done to protect the contents. Notes and photos are taken. But somehow, absolutely everything was broken and now has also mysteriously disappeared. Even after normal protocol was in place, Rypt had motive to google the specific words "UPS damaged my merchandise"? Though everything was in order, why would Rypt have reason to jump the gun at pointing fingers? Did Rypt know he was at fault with his supplied inferior packaging? Did Rypt forget to insure the contents? Did he 'lose' an invoice that proved the box contents? He had a motive....any readers know what it was? If Rypt's items were packaged properly and fully insured, he would receive the claim value with only a 'proof of value' which he should have or could easily fabricate. If the claim is denied, it is due to the senders incompetence or inability to accept responsibility for his own errors. The reasons for package damage and subsequent results of package inspection and claims are similar for all carriers. If the carrier faults, they don't play unethical games - they will honor the claim. If a sender faults, as we may assume Rypt has, he often refuses to accept his responsibility and blames others for the problems he caused due to poor packaging or hindsight. Some people do not get that responsibility and liabilty go both ways or that insurance has prerequisites. The quotes that Rypt gave are also not statements or verbiage that UPS (or any other professional carrier) uses. Those quotes are either grossly misinterpreted due to Rypt's misunderstanding or blatantly false altogether. Considering the entire flow of this complaint with it's derogatory slander and illogic, I sense it to be the latter. Like the other respondent said, what is the tracking #? Exactly how were the items packed? (Sloppily packed and they all could break easily - simple proper packaging and you could toss that lightweight box off a five story building with no damage to those contents.) Why doesn't Rypt attach a copy of the UPS claim results here for us to see? And what's the BBB file # (like that makes a difference)? I predict Rypt will supply none of these and, assuming this isn't a crank RipoffReport, we can see why he feels it productive to use adolescent insults when he doesn't get what he wants. I've owned a shipping business for seven years. We've spoken with reps of many different carriers and, though the results aren't always what we prefer, the correspondence could never be described as, "BY FAR THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER". Perhaps Rypt has lived a pampered life or is rather short-sighted, but I would imagine this response to his complaint to be Rypt's new 'worst experience ever'. Either way, if that were true, Rypt's life must be all peaches and cream. If Rypt doesn't provide a better description and detail for both evaluation and credibilty, we can write him off as a potential crackpot.

"..Having spoke with UPS on the phone I had the package shipped through a UPS hub where the UPS rep inspected and packaged the shipment and sent it along its way..." - What does this mean? Did you take it to an actual UPS facility, or to a shipping location such as the UPS Store or other retail location(such as Staples). Because an actual UPS facility does not do any packaging. Some sell supplies, but like the USPS they leave it up to the consumer to package the box.

A critical detail completed omitted from this complaint is regarding the packaging information. It leads readers to assume that the packaging used and the fact that the poster did not indicate the reason for the claim denial are indeed related. Readers would also assume that the contents were insured for full value, otherwise the poster would be wasting everyone's time. As with any insurance policy, criteria must be met to approve a claim. With a shipping insurance policy, this criteria includes the packaging materials and technique used. If the items were worth "thousands of dollars", common sense would be to double box the fragile screens. Were the screens in original factory boxes? If not, were they individually wrapped in cellular foam or bubble wrap? Was the box thoroughly stuffed with bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts to prevent internal movement or box compression? Was the box(es) new or like new with a minimum rating of 200ECT to prevent crushing? Locations accepting customer packaged items cannot, for obvious reasons, be liable for the customer packaging. When a person packages items for shipment, they accept responsibility that they have reviewed and understand the industry packaging guidelines easily found in any shippers website. UPS policy for accepting prepackaged shipments and claim approval/disapproval is similar to any other shipping corporation, including the simple postal service. I wonder why this poster is making her googled results for "UPS damaged my merchandise" sound unique. Hasn't he/she googled "FEDEX damaged my merchandise" or "the post office damaged my merchandise" to see even greater complaints of the same nature? Of any shipping corporation, UPS is the most liberal with claim approval. If packaging criteria and proof of value meet industry guidelines, UPS will pay the claim. The inevitable problem is that there will always be people whom ship items that are poorly and inadequately packaged, only to blame the shipper for the damage that would have resulted in normal handling via any carrier. Even the most ignorant person must be able to understand that basic logic. Until readers have the necessary information, ie: tracking number, proof of packaging used, perhaps a copy of the UPS claim response which clearly depicts reasons for claim denial (plus suggestions to avoid same problems in the future), etc., no one has enough information to formulate any specific suggestions for this claim. As a side note, this poster should also Google, "BBB is a scam". The BBB does not operate in the manner which some of the public assumes it does. If you are a BBB 'member', you will be 'protected' from even legitimate claims. The BBB, which does not report it's revenue as taxable profit to the IRS, protects it's paying 'members'. If a business rightfully chooses not to give the BBB a payment to become a 'member', that business rating will go down (on the cheesy 'A, B, C...' scale) even if it has no complaints against it at all, as the BBB is trying to force that person or business to pay them money! The BBB phone sales (no different than any other advertising agency) often intimidates or threatens small businesses that choose not to give money to the BBB. The closest analogy for the BBB is the mob or racketeering that bullies people into paying to get their "protection". The protection is merely a generic brush-off process of anyone that complains about that business. If you don't pay, they'll burn you. Anyone that has done their homework on the BBB knows that the BBB is a self-serving operation, with franchised territories having far less clout than that which they mislead the public. These facts are elaborated online and with your local chamber.

A critical detail completed omitted from this complaint is regarding the packaging information. It leads readers to assume that the packaging used and the fact that the poster did not indicate the reason for the claim denial are indeed related. Readers would also assume that the contents were insured for full value, otherwise the poster would be wasting everyone's time. As with any insurance policy, criteria must be met to approve a claim. With a shipping insurance policy, this criteria includes the packaging materials and technique used. If the items were worth "thousands of dollars", common sense would be to double box the fragile screens. Were the screens in original factory boxes? If not, were they individually wrapped in cellular foam or bubble wrap? Was the box thoroughly stuffed with bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts to prevent internal movement or box compression? Was the box(es) new or like new with a minimum rating of 200ECT to prevent crushing? Locations accepting customer packaged items cannot, for obvious reasons, be liable for the customer packaging. When a person packages items for shipment, they accept responsibility that they have reviewed and understand the industry packaging guidelines easily found in any shippers website. UPS policy for accepting prepackaged shipments and claim approval/disapproval is similar to any other shipping corporation, including the simple postal service. I wonder why this poster is making her googled results for "UPS damaged my merchandise" sound unique. Hasn't he/she googled "FEDEX damaged my merchandise" or "the post office damaged my merchandise" to see even greater complaints of the same nature? Of any shipping corporation, UPS is the most liberal with claim approval. If packaging criteria and proof of value meet industry guidelines, UPS will pay the claim. The inevitable problem is that there will always be people whom ship items that are poorly and inadequately packaged, only to blame the shipper for the damage that would have resulted in normal handling via any carrier. Even the most ignorant person must be able to understand that basic logic. Until readers have the necessary information, ie: tracking number, proof of packaging used, perhaps a copy of the UPS claim response which clearly depicts reasons for claim denial (plus suggestions to avoid same problems in the future), etc., no one has enough information to formulate any specific suggestions for this claim. As a side note, this poster should also Google, "BBB is a scam". The BBB does not operate in the manner which some of the public assumes it does. If you are a BBB 'member', you will be 'protected' from even legitimate claims. The BBB, which does not report it's revenue as taxable profit to the IRS, protects it's paying 'members'. If a business rightfully chooses not to give the BBB a payment to become a 'member', that business rating will go down (on the cheesy 'A, B, C...' scale) even if it has no complaints against it at all, as the BBB is trying to force that person or business to pay them money! The BBB phone sales (no different than any other advertising agency) often intimidates or threatens small businesses that choose not to give money to the BBB. The closest analogy for the BBB is the mob or racketeering that bullies people into paying to get their "protection". The protection is merely a generic brush-off process of anyone that complains about that business. If you don't pay, they'll burn you. Anyone that has done their homework on the BBB knows that the BBB is a self-serving operation, with franchised territories having far less clout than that which they mislead the public. These facts are elaborated online and with your local chamber.

A critical detail completed omitted from this complaint is regarding the packaging information. It leads readers to assume that the packaging used and the fact that the poster did not indicate the reason for the claim denial are indeed related. Readers would also assume that the contents were insured for full value, otherwise the poster would be wasting everyone's time. As with any insurance policy, criteria must be met to approve a claim. With a shipping insurance policy, this criteria includes the packaging materials and technique used. If the items were worth "thousands of dollars", common sense would be to double box the fragile screens. Were the screens in original factory boxes? If not, were they individually wrapped in cellular foam or bubble wrap? Was the box thoroughly stuffed with bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts to prevent internal movement or box compression? Was the box(es) new or like new with a minimum rating of 200ECT to prevent crushing? Locations accepting customer packaged items cannot, for obvious reasons, be liable for the customer packaging. When a person packages items for shipment, they accept responsibility that they have reviewed and understand the industry packaging guidelines easily found in any shippers website. UPS policy for accepting prepackaged shipments and claim approval/disapproval is similar to any other shipping corporation, including the simple postal service. I wonder why this poster is making her googled results for "UPS damaged my merchandise" sound unique. Hasn't he/she googled "FEDEX damaged my merchandise" or "the post office damaged my merchandise" to see even greater complaints of the same nature? Of any shipping corporation, UPS is the most liberal with claim approval. If packaging criteria and proof of value meet industry guidelines, UPS will pay the claim. The inevitable problem is that there will always be people whom ship items that are poorly and inadequately packaged, only to blame the shipper for the damage that would have resulted in normal handling via any carrier. Even the most ignorant person must be able to understand that basic logic. Until readers have the necessary information, ie: tracking number, proof of packaging used, perhaps a copy of the UPS claim response which clearly depicts reasons for claim denial (plus suggestions to avoid same problems in the future), etc., no one has enough information to formulate any specific suggestions for this claim. As a side note, this poster should also Google, "BBB is a scam". The BBB does not operate in the manner which some of the public assumes it does. If you are a BBB 'member', you will be 'protected' from even legitimate claims. The BBB, which does not report it's revenue as taxable profit to the IRS, protects it's paying 'members'. If a business rightfully chooses not to give the BBB a payment to become a 'member', that business rating will go down (on the cheesy 'A, B, C...' scale) even if it has no complaints against it at all, as the BBB is trying to force that person or business to pay them money! The BBB phone sales (no different than any other advertising agency) often intimidates or threatens small businesses that choose not to give money to the BBB. The closest analogy for the BBB is the mob or racketeering that bullies people into paying to get their "protection". The protection is merely a generic brush-off process of anyone that complains about that business. If you don't pay, they'll burn you. Anyone that has done their homework on the BBB knows that the BBB is a self-serving operation, with franchised territories having far less clout than that which they mislead the public. These facts are elaborated online and with your local chamber.

A critical detail completed omitted from this complaint is regarding the packaging information. It leads readers to assume that the packaging used and the fact that the poster did not indicate the reason for the claim denial are indeed related. Readers would also assume that the contents were insured for full value, otherwise the poster would be wasting everyone's time. As with any insurance policy, criteria must be met to approve a claim. With a shipping insurance policy, this criteria includes the packaging materials and technique used. If the items were worth "thousands of dollars", common sense would be to double box the fragile screens. Were the screens in original factory boxes? If not, were they individually wrapped in cellular foam or bubble wrap? Was the box thoroughly stuffed with bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts to prevent internal movement or box compression? Was the box(es) new or like new with a minimum rating of 200ECT to prevent crushing? Locations accepting customer packaged items cannot, for obvious reasons, be liable for the customer packaging. When a person packages items for shipment, they accept responsibility that they have reviewed and understand the industry packaging guidelines easily found in any shippers website. UPS policy for accepting prepackaged shipments and claim approval/disapproval is similar to any other shipping corporation, including the simple postal service. I wonder why this poster is making her googled results for "UPS damaged my merchandise" sound unique. Hasn't he/she googled "FEDEX damaged my merchandise" or "the post office damaged my merchandise" to see even greater complaints of the same nature? Of any shipping corporation, UPS is the most liberal with claim approval. If packaging criteria and proof of value meet industry guidelines, UPS will pay the claim. The inevitable problem is that there will always be people whom ship items that are poorly and inadequately packaged, only to blame the shipper for the damage that would have resulted in normal handling via any carrier. Even the most ignorant person must be able to understand that basic logic. Until readers have the necessary information, ie: tracking number, proof of packaging used, perhaps a copy of the UPS claim response which clearly depicts reasons for claim denial (plus suggestions to avoid same problems in the future), etc., no one has enough information to formulate any specific suggestions for this claim. As a side note, this poster should also Google, "BBB is a scam". The BBB does not operate in the manner which some of the public assumes it does. If you are a BBB 'member', you will be 'protected' from even legitimate claims. The BBB, which does not report it's revenue as taxable profit to the IRS, protects it's paying 'members'. If a business rightfully chooses not to give the BBB a payment to become a 'member', that business rating will go down (on the cheesy 'A, B, C...' scale) even if it has no complaints against it at all, as the BBB is trying to force that person or business to pay them money! The BBB phone sales (no different than any other advertising agency) often intimidates or threatens small businesses that choose not to give money to the BBB. The closest analogy for the BBB is the mob or racketeering that bullies people into paying to get their "protection". The protection is merely a generic brush-off process of anyone that complains about that business. If you don't pay, they'll burn you. Anyone that has done their homework on the BBB knows that the BBB is a self-serving operation, with franchised territories having far less clout than that which they mislead the public. These facts are elaborated online and with your local chamber.