Crawford And Company And UPS UPS Insurance Denies Claims Unfairly Fort Worth Texas

Any problems experienced by one shipper are prone to happen when using any shipping company. The author of this letter, Mike, says he 'knows better', but gave no indication that he researched UPS or FEDEX websites for industry guidelines for packaging. An outbourd motor would definately be a shipment where those guidelines would be beneficial. Unfortunately, Mike stated the packaging would cost more than the motor was worth. For obvious reasons, shipping and packaging costs are not determined by the value of the item shipped and often will exceed the value of the item(s). Cutting corners to save on packaging costs do not make the shipping companies liable if the packaging does not meet industry standards. A water cooler box, as Mike used, does not have a strong enough edge crush rating for an outboard motor! The internal packaging is also just as critical. Even packing peanuts may crumble under the motor weight. Expandable foam and/or high density styrofoam is needed to protect heavy items. Depending on the weight of the motor, double boxing may be a requirement. Marking 'do not drop' on a box is assumed and not recognized by any shipping company. This includes other terms such as 'this end up', 'fragile', or 'do not bend'. The item(s) are protected only as good as the packaging and must meet industry guidelines.

Mike states it was "smashed to the pavement", then also states there was no box damage (sorry, but his grammar is a little confusing.) Shipment damage is common with all carriers, but almost always due to inadequate packaging. If the party that packaged the item followed the packaging guidelines, damage would actually be rare. People like Mike, however, prefer to put minimum effort into the packaging and then blame others when their own efforts (or lack of them) creates a problem.

For any reader here to accurately determine fault, we would need to know the condition of the used box before shipment, the rating of that box, what internal packaging was used, and the distance between the motor and the sides of the box. These requirements are dictated in the shipping websites and, yes, the shipping/insurance inspector is a trained expert on all types of shipments.

I am the owner of a brand name shipping outlet. Last quarter, of the over 2400 packages we shipped, we had one customer report damage. This is due to the fact that we DO know better, and meet all shipping guidelines. If Mike packed the same as we do, his motor would not have had a problem. When we put a claim through, it goes through the same channels that Mike used, and our claim IS approved. If we had packed it like Mike had, that claim would not have been approved. Occasionally we have customers like Mike whom object when we advise that better packaging is needed to safely transport their item(s). To help save the packaging costs, we are happy to tell them how to do it to industry guidelines so that they may consider doing it themselves. We actually get comments like, "You're just trying to get money out of me.", or "That's too much work to do it right...just insure it in case it gets broke."

If a person shipping a package is willing to spend so much time fighting a problem like Mike has here, then perhaps simple homework to avoid the problem should be done before the item is shipped. In Mike's case, though, he still hasn't done his homework to find out why the guidelines for his claim did not suit him the way he demands.

Incidentally, filing a complaint with the BBB does not merit overturning the reasons a claim was denied and will not alter the outcome of UPS or FEDEX claims. And maybe Mike should google up the company called Crawford. Even though Mike tried to undermine this company's reputation by saying he's never heard of them, Crawford is a major insurance corporation that works with many major corporations besides UPS.