UPS lost my Bikeflights shipment
#76
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Amazon and FedEx have delivered items addressed to me to the wrong city (Cedar Rapids for 'zon, Houston for FedEx). UPS screwed up one delivery so royally that they cost me $3,000 in lost income; I will never use UPS again if I have a reasonable choice. I live at #2324 on my street; some stuff is misdelivered, for example, to 2425 or 2320, and vice versa. IME, USPS has been the best.
#77
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Thats the problem with searching for the bikes. They could literally be anywhere. If the bikes were stolen from my garage I'd at least have a starting point.
#78
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FWIW, here's one of the bikes. The other is a 2005 Roubaix elite with an upgraded 3T wheelset.
Obviously a long shot, but if anyone sees one of the bikes, please let me know. The formers uniqueness should make it more conspicuous.
#79
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Report them on https://bikeindex.org as stolen (or lost).
It worked nearly immediately for someone I know well.
It worked nearly immediately for someone I know well.
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Perhaps some takeaways from this thread;
Use AirTags so you can have some indication of location
Insure with shipper
Have home/renter coverage which includes bikes
Say a prayer to Madonna del Ghisallo
If lost say a prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua
Use AirTags so you can have some indication of location
Insure with shipper
Have home/renter coverage which includes bikes
Say a prayer to Madonna del Ghisallo
If lost say a prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua
#81
Senior Member
UPS lost a bike I shipped. It was insured. I spent six months trying to find it, talked to dozens of UPS employees who understood it was a custom bike and I wanted it. They wanted to help. Some had seen the distinctive shipping case. One had been on the scene when the locks were broken and the contents examined. Contents included my business card taped to the lid in two locations, my name on the top tube, the name of the builder, who was local to destination, and two water bottles from a local to destination LBS. Waterbottles were complete with address and phone number and the shop knew the bike well.
After six months UPS was out of excuses to not pay the insurance. I called. Only a vice president could approve a payout that large. Took about an hour to get transferred to a VP. I talked to a VP who instantly put me on hold. Two minutes later he had found the bike. I asked how he had done that when the staff had spent six fruitless months. He said "I have codes they can't access." To which I replied "In other words you don't give them access to codes they need to do their job." He came back with "We don't trust them."
It would be another two weeks before I got the bike. UPS would not deliver. I had to drive to a regional center to claim it. I was treated like a terrorist. Surrounded by a flock of armed security. I opened the case to verify contents. I pointed to my name on top tube, pointed to my business cards taped inside the lid. The supervisor in charge of this operation at that time spoke to security and said "Get him out of here." I was manhandled and carried out the door by the goons. Once out in parking lot the goons put me down and literally begged forgiveness and asked me not to press charges. They said at least one of them was going to be fired before the day was over because the supervisor was that way.
I have not used UPS for anything since.
After six months UPS was out of excuses to not pay the insurance. I called. Only a vice president could approve a payout that large. Took about an hour to get transferred to a VP. I talked to a VP who instantly put me on hold. Two minutes later he had found the bike. I asked how he had done that when the staff had spent six fruitless months. He said "I have codes they can't access." To which I replied "In other words you don't give them access to codes they need to do their job." He came back with "We don't trust them."
It would be another two weeks before I got the bike. UPS would not deliver. I had to drive to a regional center to claim it. I was treated like a terrorist. Surrounded by a flock of armed security. I opened the case to verify contents. I pointed to my name on top tube, pointed to my business cards taped inside the lid. The supervisor in charge of this operation at that time spoke to security and said "Get him out of here." I was manhandled and carried out the door by the goons. Once out in parking lot the goons put me down and literally begged forgiveness and asked me not to press charges. They said at least one of them was going to be fired before the day was over because the supervisor was that way.
I have not used UPS for anything since.
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#82
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#83
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UPS lost a bike I shipped. It was insured. I spent six months trying to find it, talked to dozens of UPS employees who understood it was a custom bike and I wanted it. They wanted to help. Some had seen the distinctive shipping case. One had been on the scene when the locks were broken and the contents examined. Contents included my business card taped to the lid in two locations, my name on the top tube, the name of the builder, who was local to destination, and two water bottles from a local to destination LBS. Waterbottles were complete with address and phone number and the shop knew the bike well.
After six months UPS was out of excuses to not pay the insurance. I called. Only a vice president could approve a payout that large. Took about an hour to get transferred to a VP. I talked to a VP who instantly put me on hold. Two minutes later he had found the bike. I asked how he had done that when the staff had spent six fruitless months. He said "I have codes they can't access." To which I replied "In other words you don't give them access to codes they need to do their job." He came back with "We don't trust them."
It would be another two weeks before I got the bike. UPS would not deliver. I had to drive to a regional center to claim it. I was treated like a terrorist. Surrounded by a flock of armed security. I opened the case to verify contents. I pointed to my name on top tube, pointed to my business cards taped inside the lid. The supervisor in charge of this operation at that time spoke to security and said "Get him out of here." I was manhandled and carried out the door by the goons. Once out in parking lot the goons put me down and literally begged forgiveness and asked me not to press charges. They said at least one of them was going to be fired before the day was over because the supervisor was that way.
I have not used UPS for anything since.
After six months UPS was out of excuses to not pay the insurance. I called. Only a vice president could approve a payout that large. Took about an hour to get transferred to a VP. I talked to a VP who instantly put me on hold. Two minutes later he had found the bike. I asked how he had done that when the staff had spent six fruitless months. He said "I have codes they can't access." To which I replied "In other words you don't give them access to codes they need to do their job." He came back with "We don't trust them."
It would be another two weeks before I got the bike. UPS would not deliver. I had to drive to a regional center to claim it. I was treated like a terrorist. Surrounded by a flock of armed security. I opened the case to verify contents. I pointed to my name on top tube, pointed to my business cards taped inside the lid. The supervisor in charge of this operation at that time spoke to security and said "Get him out of here." I was manhandled and carried out the door by the goons. Once out in parking lot the goons put me down and literally begged forgiveness and asked me not to press charges. They said at least one of them was going to be fired before the day was over because the supervisor was that way.
I have not used UPS for anything since.
#84
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Threads like this pull me in two different directions. My heart goes out to people who get ripped off. I truly loathe a thief.
On the other hand, some people make it ridiculously easy. Shipping insurance is a relative bargain. I can't imagine declining it at the rates that are charged by major carriers.
#85
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UPS lost a bike I shipped. It was insured. I spent six months trying to find it, talked to dozens of UPS employees who understood it was a custom bike and I wanted it. They wanted to help. Some had seen the distinctive shipping case. One had been on the scene when the locks were broken and the contents examined. Contents included my business card taped to the lid in two locations, my name on the top tube, the name of the builder, who was local to destination, and two water bottles from a local to destination LBS. Waterbottles were complete with address and phone number and the shop knew the bike well.
After six months UPS was out of excuses to not pay the insurance. I called. Only a vice president could approve a payout that large. Took about an hour to get transferred to a VP. I talked to a VP who instantly put me on hold. Two minutes later he had found the bike. I asked how he had done that when the staff had spent six fruitless months. He said "I have codes they can't access." To which I replied "In other words you don't give them access to codes they need to do their job." He came back with "We don't trust them."
It would be another two weeks before I got the bike. UPS would not deliver. I had to drive to a regional center to claim it. I was treated like a terrorist. Surrounded by a flock of armed security. I opened the case to verify contents. I pointed to my name on top tube, pointed to my business cards taped inside the lid. The supervisor in charge of this operation at that time spoke to security and said "Get him out of here." I was manhandled and carried out the door by the goons. Once out in parking lot the goons put me down and literally begged forgiveness and asked me not to press charges. They said at least one of them was going to be fired before the day was over because the supervisor was that way.
I have not used UPS for anything since.
After six months UPS was out of excuses to not pay the insurance. I called. Only a vice president could approve a payout that large. Took about an hour to get transferred to a VP. I talked to a VP who instantly put me on hold. Two minutes later he had found the bike. I asked how he had done that when the staff had spent six fruitless months. He said "I have codes they can't access." To which I replied "In other words you don't give them access to codes they need to do their job." He came back with "We don't trust them."
It would be another two weeks before I got the bike. UPS would not deliver. I had to drive to a regional center to claim it. I was treated like a terrorist. Surrounded by a flock of armed security. I opened the case to verify contents. I pointed to my name on top tube, pointed to my business cards taped inside the lid. The supervisor in charge of this operation at that time spoke to security and said "Get him out of here." I was manhandled and carried out the door by the goons. Once out in parking lot the goons put me down and literally begged forgiveness and asked me not to press charges. They said at least one of them was going to be fired before the day was over because the supervisor was that way.
I have not used UPS for anything since.
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#86
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You are free to believe anything you wish. This all occurred in 1999 and 2000. At which time it was still possible to get live people on the phone and on a few occasions UPS workers called me. That part would not happen again in any large organization.
#87
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I get live people on the phone at FedEx, DHL, and UPS all the time. And, sometimes, they phone me.
#88
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Most carriers will give you the ability to increase your Declared Value (DV) or insure it. Always get the additional insurance. DV is just BS.
"Declared value coverage is not insurance, but it does raise the financial liability of the carrier. Depending on the shipping company that you use, the declared value might represent different things. As an example, UPS uses the declared value to establish its maximum liability in the event of loss or damage to the package."
"Declared value coverage is not insurance, but it does raise the financial liability of the carrier. Depending on the shipping company that you use, the declared value might represent different things. As an example, UPS uses the declared value to establish its maximum liability in the event of loss or damage to the package."
#89
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I spoke to UPS yesterday and they said they'd search their warehouses for the bikes. I received two emails from Bikeflights around 3am today stating both boxes had "shipped", but when I clicked for more information the status was listed as:
Prior to yesterday, the status was "We've yet to receive the package"
"WE'VE BEGUN AN INVESTIGATION TO LOCATE THE PACKAGE."
Prior to yesterday, the status was "We've yet to receive the package"
#90
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#91
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I spoke to UPS yesterday and they said they'd search their warehouses for the bikes. I received two emails from Bikeflights around 3am today stating both boxes had "shipped", but when I clicked for more information the status was listed as:
Prior to yesterday, the status was "We've yet to receive the package"
"WE'VE BEGUN AN INVESTIGATION TO LOCATE THE PACKAGE."
Prior to yesterday, the status was "We've yet to receive the package"
This is probably good news, in the sense that it means they haven't absolved themselves of responsibility. You have a reasonable expectation that your packages should be delivered competently, and that the tracking numbers are real. You shouldn't have to insure against incompetence and violation of contractual obligation.
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#92
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#94
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#95
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Have you asked UPS where their nearest lost package auction sites are? It may be worth having a look at them for your bike boxes.
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https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...9-a637d5eaaec2
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... it turned out, it would have cost ~$900 for the round trip to Ireland, with 7-10 days transit each direction. It would have almost been cheaper to buy a bike in Dublin and leave it there for the next time. In the end, I found a local bike rental for 200 Euro for 2 wk - a low-end Giant with 8sp Claris, but adequate to the task.
I've also packed my bike and taken through the airport. It was a huge pain, but it was nice to have my own bike. From here on out, if I need my own bike, I either drive or pack it as large luggage. Otherwise I rent.