General Asylum

General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

Return to General Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

USPS not paying insurance claims!

50.82.119.167
Posted on January 30, 2015 at 08:00:37
johns dad
 Since I began using USPS to ship my fragile products nearly 14 years ago, I have had 4 insurance claims. Actually they have damaged more shipments than 4 but I have only made this number of claims due to value. Of these 4 claims, 1 claim was paid in less than 45 days, 1 claim was paid after 60 days due to a follow up phone call, 1 claim was completely ignored and my last claim is over 60 days old with no response.

Has anyone else had problems in this regard? I have now changed all of my shipping to UPS. Seems a shame really but I really cant say I am surprised.

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 30, 2015 at 08:51:07
Chip647
Audiophile

Posts: 2649
Location: The South
Joined: December 24, 2012
 Try FedEx. My experience is that UPS stands for United Package Smashers.

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 30, 2015 at 10:15:20
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 4614
Joined: March 26, 2001
 FedEx is just as bad about not paying claims and just as likely to destroy your gear. People are kidding themselves thinking one parcel carrier is better than another.

Bottom line when shipping stuff pack it like it will be handled by gorillas, survive 6' drops, etc. Anything less than this level of packing will result in damaged good and claims being denied.

 

Thanks for sharing nt, posted on January 30, 2015 at 11:18:53
Goober58

 

Good luck with that......., posted on January 30, 2015 at 11:23:20
Basslines
Audiophile

Posts: 373
Location: The Great White North
Joined: October 22, 2003
 .....UPS never pays insurance claims as a matter of policy, but they always keep the money you paid them for the insurance. Fired UPS 10 years ago and took $20k annual shipping business elsewhere. They didn't even call to ask why.

 

RE: Good luck with that......., posted on January 30, 2015 at 11:28:09
johns dad
 Well who do you use now? Believe me I would rather not switch but I have to for what I feel are obivous reasons. A peer/friend uses UPS and FedEx and says they pay immediately provided the claim is less than $ 100.00. I would expect UPS or FedEx to break more. Almost all of my items weigh less than a pound.

 

RE: Good luck with that......., posted on January 30, 2015 at 11:38:15
A.Wayne
Audiophile

Posts: 2527
Location: Front row center
Joined: November 30, 2011
 I would'nt give UPS the time of day and charge companies who use them to ship to us more. USPS are better with packages than either fed-ex or UPS, i would be willing to bet they did not damage your package, as they use both UPS and Fedex as contractors to handle certain packages, depends on load.

Fed-ex, USPS, never UPS, ohhh by the way , it's not insurance with Fed-EX ..


Regards

 

RE: Good luck with that......., posted on January 30, 2015 at 12:01:29
johns dad
 Perhaps but if they dont pay for insurance claims I will not do business with them until I see that the other carriers behave similarly.

As I understand things, USPS delivers many parcels for UPS and FedEx while USPS only contracts with these other companies to transport goods particularly using their jets. Other than loading and unloading USPS are the only clowns handling their parcels.



 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 30, 2015 at 12:07:11
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46280
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
I haven't had this happen yet. And to be honest, the only broken goods I've received from UPS or FedEx were due to poor packaging on the shippers part.

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 30, 2015 at 14:14:34
daleda
Audiophile

Posts: 741
Joined: March 6, 2002
 Absolutely the worst! We just had a new story here in Austin of a driver throwing a package (with audio gear inside) over a steel fence and then urinating on the owner's home before leaving. The whole thing caught on a surveillance camera - comment from UPS is no comment!

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 30, 2015 at 14:23:27
A.Wayne
Audiophile

Posts: 2527
Location: Front row center
Joined: November 30, 2011
 United Pissing Service ............... LOL

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 30, 2015 at 15:58:16
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
 I'm sorry you had a problem but after 30 years of using various shippers the post office is still my favorite. When Popular Mechanics compared the big three the post office won. They sent packages will accelerometers in them and UPS and FedEx treated them worse than the post office.

Also priority mail boxes offer a great deal price-wise, especially if you can use the small or their padded envelopes. Here recently the post office started giving free $50 insurance with priority mail.


E
T


ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

HELLO!!! USPS (United States Postal Service) is not the same as... , posted on January 30, 2015 at 17:20:43
DeKay
 UPS (United Parcel Service).

I'm old and dumb (on occasion, with this not being one) so what's your excuse?

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 30, 2015 at 17:55:03
suretyguy
Audiophile

Posts: 3022
Location: western Missouri
Joined: October 9, 2001
 Are you aware that the original poster is talking about the United States Postal Service and not United Parcel Service?

 

RE: HELLO!!! USPS (United States Postal Service) is not the same as... , posted on January 30, 2015 at 18:02:51
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46280
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
I believe he is complaining about USPS and then made the switch to UPS.


 

RE: HELLO!!! USPS (United States Postal Service) is not the same as... , posted on January 30, 2015 at 18:07:06
johns dad
 Perhaps you should read again.

 

My post was directed to some (a few) commenting to your OP..., posted on January 30, 2015 at 20:36:52
DeKay
 Suggest, instead that you read (again;-) the comments posted to your OP as USPS & UPS seem to be??? to a few.

 

Sorry, should have directed this to the individual posts. NT, posted on January 30, 2015 at 20:56:13
DeKay
 .

 

Do you REALLY need the insurance?, posted on January 31, 2015 at 06:36:42
vinyl phanatic
Audiophile

Posts: 1596
Location: Washington DC
Joined: May 22, 2006
 First, it's a little hard, because I have no idea how many shipments you have made, or how valuable the contents were. The best advice I ever heard about insurance was, "you should only buy insurance for things that you cannot afford to replace". You might try doing a rough calculation of how much you have paid in insurance fees over the 14 years, versus the dollar amount of the claims that you have made. That might be enlightening.

Insurance companies are in business for one reason. To make money. If you ship a lot of stuff that isn't extraordinarily valuable, over the long haul you are going to be ahead if you do not buy insurance. If you only occasionally ship extremely expensive things, that's a little different. It's at least worth taking a look at.

 

In a few years, parcel handling and delivery will be done by robots, posted on January 31, 2015 at 07:44:51
Jay Buridan
Audiophile

Posts: 10271
Location: Michigan
Joined: January 21, 2004
 IIRC, Amazon has something like 30,000 robots already. There will be a brief golden age when packages arrive undamaged and robots process insurance claims. This, in the Twilight of Man preceding the Singularity of which philosophers speak.

And I confess that, in my human pettiness, I long to see Donald Trump undone by cyborgs or eaten by penniless humans. But probably one of these fates would find me first -- which I hope not to see.

I think that Post-humanism is not dystopian if it's real. And so says Leon Wieseltier in his essay 'Among the Disrupted'.

P.S. Did anyone see the robots at CES?




"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 31, 2015 at 09:12:35
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15518
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 Great video-Abe! It is hard to imagine that people really act out like the gentleman in your post.

I am very fortunate, as all services in my area, are excellent to outstanding!

 

RE: In a few years, parcel handling and delivery will be done by robots, posted on January 31, 2015 at 11:44:41
soulfood
Audiophile

Posts: 3725
Joined: August 9, 2001
 "IIRC, Amazon has something like 30,000 robots already.'

I wonder what this means. 30,000 doesn't sound like a lot, unless they have capabilities like, out of a Marvel comic.

 

I think 30,000 were deployed before Christmas, posted on January 31, 2015 at 13:34:06
Jay Buridan
Audiophile

Posts: 10271
Location: Michigan
Joined: January 21, 2004
 Deployed in Fresno CA, which is Amazon's largest facility. They are capable of working 24/7/365. It was only the first deployment with more to follow. Meanwhile, the auto companies and Google are developing driverless trucks. At least 50% of the American workforce will be displaced in the near term.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

RE: I think 30,000 were deployed before Christmas, posted on January 31, 2015 at 13:50:02
soulfood
Audiophile

Posts: 3725
Joined: August 9, 2001
 It seems you're saying automation and robots are the same to you.

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 31, 2015 at 15:27:46
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15518
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 The best defense against any of these guys is to take photos, or better yet video, packages before one ships to another, then have the receiving end do the same.

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on January 31, 2015 at 15:35:39
skriefal
Audiophile

Posts: 117
Location: SLC, Utah
Joined: June 29, 2007
 How would that help? You couldn't prove that the package in the photo/video is the one that was shipped, or that the package was in that condition at the time that it was handed over to the shipper.

 

RE: Do you REALLY need the insurance?, posted on January 31, 2015 at 15:58:19
johns dad
 I think that you are correct about saving money over the long haul by not buying insurance. I dont know why I didnt apply my logic regarding extended warranties and such to my business.

 

RE: Do you REALLY need the insurance?, posted on January 31, 2015 at 18:20:20
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15518
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 Add insurance for big-ticket items or high-valued items.

 

RE: Do you REALLY need the insurance?, posted on January 31, 2015 at 18:34:32
The Dill
Audiophile

Posts: 2197
Location: Portland, Oregon
Joined: July 1, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 3, 2016
 Proper packing is more important than insurance.

 

I distinguish between automation, robots and cyborgs, posted on January 31, 2015 at 19:34:55
Jay Buridan
Audiophile

Posts: 10271
Location: Michigan
Joined: January 21, 2004
 Automation is as old as Fred Flintstone and is not necessarily digital.

Robot is a Czech or Polish word meaning worker. Robots were developed in the 20th century. They are primarily digital but not intelligent.

Cyborgs are robots with artificial intelligence. To be precise it's not robots but cyborgs that will replace humans in the latter half of the 21st century when humans, as producers and consumers, will become obsolete.

I didn't invent this scenario. It's being talked and written about in serious places like MIT. I'm just paying attention.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

RE: I distinguish between automation, robots and cyborgs, posted on January 31, 2015 at 20:38:25
soulfood
Audiophile

Posts: 3725
Joined: August 9, 2001
 "To be precise it's not robots but cyborgs that will replace humans in the latter half of the 21st century when humans, as producers and consumers, will become obsolete."

I would love be around to see fictional characters (cyborgs) come to life. Any insight on what they'll produce and consume for themselves, when they inherit the earth?

 

The only shipments I've received damaged..., posted on February 1, 2015 at 06:02:15
Neil49
Audiophile

Posts: 8850
Location: Northern Virginia
Joined: June 13, 2003
 were the result of less than adequate packaging. Of the dozens of packages I've sent, including heavy electronics, antiques, etc., I've never had a damage claim, no matter which carrier I've used.

 

Now you're being facetious because I used the term 'cyborg' :), posted on February 1, 2015 at 10:32:42
Jay Buridan
Audiophile

Posts: 10271
Location: Michigan
Joined: January 21, 2004
 Thanks for correcting me. Probably I should use the term 'robot with AI' because 'cyborg' implies something that has both mechanical and organic parts, whereas these things don't necessarily have organic parts, e.g., IBM's Deep Blue which defeated Gary Kasparov in May 1997.

In the popular mind of 1934, nuclear weapons were mere science fiction. Meanwhile, scientists, mathematicians and engineers were quietly developing bombs and reactors based on the patent of Leo Szilard. I was personal friends with some of the mathematicians involved, albeit much later in their lives and much earlier in mine,

Likewise, robots with AI are coming to take human jobs, if not human life. So, stay tuned...

PS. I don't pay much attention to popular culture, but I read things like the attached.






"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

Check out the wikipedia definition of cyborg, posted on February 1, 2015 at 10:46:45
unclestu
Dealer

Posts: 5851
Joined: April 13, 2010
 I'm one as i have a pacemaker......as per wikipedia's definition.

 

I'm one with an artificial lens in one eye, posted on February 1, 2015 at 11:04:20
Jay Buridan
Audiophile

Posts: 10271
Location: Michigan
Joined: January 21, 2004
 I think American football eventually will be played by robots or cyborgs because it's too damaging for the human body.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

Due Diligence? :^), posted on February 1, 2015 at 12:02:31
soulfood
Audiophile

Posts: 3725
Joined: August 9, 2001
 Actually, I did check out wikipedia but not pass the first sentence:

"A cyborg (short for "cybernetic organism") is a theoretical or fictional being with both organic and biomechatronic parts."

Let's not wake up the 'Aliens are us' support group, lurking in the wings.

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on February 1, 2015 at 12:16:08
A.Wayne
Audiophile

Posts: 2527
Location: Front row center
Joined: November 30, 2011
 You are wrong UPS IS the biggest GARBAGE , amongst the bad ......

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on February 2, 2015 at 06:25:02
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 4614
Joined: March 26, 2001
 My guess is you have absolutely no evidence, numbers if you will, to back up your claim.

 

4 claims in 14 years? , posted on February 2, 2015 at 09:17:52
JoeKool
Audiophile

Posts: 896
Location: NYC
Joined: May 9, 2003
 That is better than the roll of a dice imo.
Fragile items require extra care in packaging. Maybe a picture of your packaged item would reveal the 'whole' picture.

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on February 2, 2015 at 10:27:33
A.Wayne
Audiophile

Posts: 2527
Location: Front row center
Joined: November 30, 2011
 @Kentaja,

My guess is you dont have a business using UPS, anyone using UPS dont need data from me to know it's a waste of time. I cut them off a decade ago, scumbag operation and employee's, no use for them ...

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on February 2, 2015 at 10:43:21
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 4614
Joined: March 26, 2001
 Your guess would be wrong. My business ships everyday over 10 years of data.

The numbers clearly demonstrate that one service is no better than the other, i.e. UPS, FedEx, USPS. The chances of having damage is pretty much the same no matter the service carrier.

Overall they all do an excellent job of getting the box from point A to point B without damage if packaged properly. FedEx is by far the worst in terms of on-time delivery.

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on February 2, 2015 at 10:58:34
abs1
 kentaja,

You're using your personal experience only so it doesn't really count, does it?

My personal experience - USPS provides me with the best service of the "big three" followed by FedEx, with UPS far far behind them.

I won't waste any time with anecdotal incidents. They mean nothing when one considers the big picture.

Cheers,
Al

 

RE: USPS not paying insurance claims!, posted on February 2, 2015 at 14:16:05
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 4614
Joined: March 26, 2001
 Personal experience? I believe I clearly stated my business has been shipping for a decade.

Most of these comments are based on personal experience. Someone has something broke by XYZ carrier now XYZ carrier is bad. Few are based on thousands of shipments over years.

I have shipped thousands of packages over the last decade using all of the big three: UPS, USPS, FedEx. I keep good records and track cost, transit time and damage.

In terms of damage it is a bust. They are all the same just as likely with one as another.

 

Wow! That will be quite a leap in technology!, posted on February 5, 2015 at 15:50:35
Mr. Dick Hertz
 Deliveries handled by robots as opposed to present-day gorillas.

 

Gorillas who pay FICA taxes, posted on February 5, 2015 at 16:21:59
Jay Buridan
Audiophile

Posts: 10271
Location: Michigan
Joined: January 21, 2004
 What's coming is the 'detroiting' of the global economy when most people become obsolete and prey on one another. Those who can afford it will live behind razor-wire fences in gated communities. For more on this, see the Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University UK. Also, see attached link.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

Correct, I think that the population of Cyborgs is pretty huge, posted on February 6, 2015 at 10:24:42
Sordidman
Audiophile

Posts: 13665
Location: San Francisco
Joined: May 14, 2001
 I know that I'm one as well......



"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"

 

UPS doesn't tell you that they will not pay but...., posted on February 8, 2015 at 15:02:33
Cougar
Audiophile

Posts: 4574
Location: SoCal
Joined: June 25, 2001
 they will always ask for you to pay for insurance. I found out the hard way over 1 years ago when a vintage piece of audio gear was smashed by them and they said they were not going to pay due to poor packing. I had double box the gear with Styrofoam in the first and second box. plenty of large bubble wrap around the unit. So I don't take out insurance with ups cause it doesn't matter with them.

 

Technocalyps (2006), posted on February 15, 2015 at 11:43:18
Jay Buridan
Audiophile

Posts: 10271
Location: Michigan
Joined: January 21, 2004
 For a glimpse into to future of package delivery and most other human labor, see the three-part film at attached link.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields

 

RE: Cyborgs replacing humans, posted on February 16, 2015 at 08:54:59
Tubegroover
Audiophile

Posts: 246
Joined: May 18, 2000
 I doubt then that you watch much football if you really believe that. Few would pay to see cyborgs play, I sure wouldn't, what's the fun of that? It's the athleticism, physical contact and emotional element that makes it compelling to watch, and besides cyborgs don't bleed. As less kids play organized football over safety concerns by mothers it will likely become increasingly less popular and will be replaced by maybe soccer as the most popular sport in the USA.


 

Page processed in 0.055 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]