71lbs Blog

Shipping Waivers… FedEx first, now UPS! Really?

Written by Ellen Riley | Feb 12, 2020 5:41:04 PM

Recently we wrote where FedEx placed an unscrupulous waiver on their customers. It seems like the "Big Two" are coordinating efforts now, as UPS started placing waivers on their guaranteed service refunds policy as well. It’s upsetting and disappointing to see “the other” shipping Fortune 100 corporation use unscrupulous tactics to preclude their own customers from collecting on their own policy! The UPS money-back-guarantee policy is displayed below for express, ground, and international shipments.

UPS is now also placing ‘waivers’ on their customer accounts, meaning that they have agreed to waive their right to file claims and get refunds for late deliveries. This is new and surprising, given that UPS has never had issues before regarding late delivery refunds or claims, unlike their rival FedEx, which is a different story and which is always a day-to-day struggle.

The cumbersome and somehow sneaky approach changes rejection notification messages after 15 days, and moves from ineligible due to shipper’s contract terms to ineligible due to 15 day window expired.

Here are two actions you can do now to get on top of this:

#1 Although the UPS waivers are happening at a much lesser pace than the FedEx waivers, be on the lookout from any notifications from us at 71lbs. We will notify you of the specific shipments being denied and suggest to you next steps in getting this addressed with your UPS rep.

#2 Speak up to your sales rep — if you are looking at renewing your agreement or negotiating a new one, you don’t have to accept a waiver! And most likely you can still get the same pricing. You HAVE to be aware, ask questions and don’t accept someone from the carrier telling you that that’s just the way it is — if the carriers do not deliver according to their guarantees, you should be able to make a claim for a refund. Simply put, they sell you on being able to get timely shipments, hold them accountable for what you are already paying for!