Any experiences with Loss Claims with Greyhound Package Express shipments?

Jim Williams · 05-17-2010, 04:22 AM

I recently shipped a nicely packaged early 911 front fender with Greyhound Package Express from Alabama to California. The item was shipped on March 28, 2010. On checking with GPX 6 weeks later, they say the status of the shipment is "in transit"! Let's see.... They say it got to Dallas, TX, a couple of days after being shipped, and it's not there now; it's still in transit. On the advice of the local Greyhound shipping agent, I formally submitted a loss claim and received a USPS Certified Mail receipt dated April 22, 2010. Checking further with Greyhound, they say that they have no record of the claim being entered into their data base, which can take from 30 to 60 days from when they receive it!!!???

Has anyone out there had any experiences with a GPX loss claim or have any advice to offer? The buyer of the fender has patiently cut me some slack, hoping to eventually get his shipment, but I am running low on hope that this will happen.

mike the snake · 05:56 AM

I have had a couple big packages shipped via Greyhound. From what I gether, the packages can sit at almost any depot along the way, waiting for a bus with enough room for it to fit.

My packages finally arrived, but Long after I had given up on actually recieving them, but they DID finally arrive.

As far as I'm concerned, Greyhound sucks for shipping, not even close to being worth the savings.

For really big, heavy stuff, check out Forward Air. They have depots near every big airport (no door-to-door) and the rates are really really good.

One idea I had was to find out the Greyhound depots along the route and try calling each one to see if they have the package.

Jim Williams · 05-17-2010, 08:36 AM

Mike,

Thanks for the input.

Some observations:

I have used Forward Air, in the past, with good results. Some how I recall that the item shipped needed to be strapped to a fork-lift pallet, and I presumed that the fender was too big for this, although I confess I did not check this with Forward Air.

The idea of determining the Greyhound depots along the way and calling each one might prove productive, except I don't know how the shipper knows what route Greyhound has chosen to get the item to it's destination. And if this would work, I would think that Greyhound would perform this service when they were asked to put a tracer on the shipment. But to paraphrase what they said when asked to trace the shipment - "we can confirm that it got to Dallas, but we don't know where it is now".

Tim K · 05-17-2010, 09:21 AM

About 5 or 6 years ago I bought a fender on evilbay and the guy was to ship with one of the OTHER carriers. He lied.

The story is:

-I got a call from Greyhound stating that my package was in town ready for pickup.
-Fender was badly damaged.
-I filed a claim.
-Greyhound has/had a maximum $100 insurance policy on all packages (in Canada anyway).
-They asked for proof of value AND cost of repair.
-Back to evilbay to gather info on some similar examples as proof and to the local body shop for a repair estimate.
-Replacement and repair costs far exceeded the maximum insured value.
-A couple of letters passed back an forth and they cut me a check for $100.

Hardly worth the time, but if it does not turn up, you might get a few buck out of them at least. Hopefully it does show up in good order.

Tim K

kycarguy 935 · 05-17-2010, 08:31 PM

I had a factory speedster bubble lost for about 30 loooong days. I got on the phone and started making phone calls. I gave them a description of the contents in the box. The next day they found my box sitting in a Columbus, Ohio GH depot with the label torn off.

Try calling a few managers and customer service people. I think the maximum insurance in the US is $300 unless you added more. The computer will sometimes allow you to add more insurance at a decent rate.

I just used GH to ship 2 factory slantnose fenders from Florida with no issue at all.

Good luck.

Geronimo '74 · 05-17-2010, 10:14 PM

shouldn't this be in OT??

Jim Williams · 05-18-2010, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geronimo '74

shouldn't this be in OT??

I suppose you could argue that it's not a technical question about a Porsche 911.

But I'll wager that if you were the one (me) that lost an $800 fender, you would be looking for help in the most likely places for someone who might actually read it. After all, it was a Porsche 911 part that was lost, and who goes to the OT forum to read about Porsche related subjects? (I know I don't.)

ratpiper71T · 05-18-2010, 04:39 AM

Quote:

shouldn't this be in OT??

yeah, what do all those angry at the world atheists know about car parts and shipping? Good luck finding your fender, Jim. I hope this story has a happy ending..
Shields ready!

Jim Williams · 05-18-2010, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kycarguy 935

I had a factory speedster bubble lost for about 30 loooong days. I got on the phone and started making phone calls. I gave them a description of the contents in the box. The next day they found my box sitting in a Columbus, Ohio GH depot with the label torn off.

Try calling a few managers and customer service people. I think the maximum insurance in the US is $300 unless you added more. The computer will sometimes allow you to add more insurance at a decent rate.

I just used GH to ship 2 factory slantnose fenders from Florida with no issue at all.

Good luck.

kycarguy 935:

Since there seems to be a question as to whether this topic even belongs here, I hesitate to say much more more, but I do appreciate the insights provided.

Greyhound provides very few phone numbers for assistance with shipping issues. The last time I had a telephone conversation with someone about this shipment, I requested to speak to a supervisor, but was told they weren't available, and they did not follow through with my request to have someone call me.

I think a contributor to this issue is that the GPX office printer, that normally prints out the billing invoice, was inoperable, and the agent filled out the invoice by hand, some of it nearly illegible and questionable on my copy.

Anyone with any direct experience with GPX claims or any other helpful info can PM me with any relevant information, and we can take the discussion off-line if need be.

ratpiper71T · 05-18-2010, 05:43 AM

I would try calling the dallas, tx depot where the last known location of your package was, don't know if you already tried this. Speak to those that handle the package express office there. Maybe you'll find a helpful soul that will find it for you. Try to be as polite as possible, ask questions about the process,- like- how is the the package checked in?, by baggage handlers or special package express people or what?, has someone physically checked that it's not in Dallas still? Maybe in an unclaimed luggage area? What depot should it have arrived in next, and call that office too. It will probably take a good bit of your time. Maybe be it's already reached it's destination, has the buyer checked with the description of the package at the office?

Jim Williams · 05-18-2010, 11:58 AM

ratpiper71T,

I had tried calling the Dallas Depot before and they said the package was nowhere to be found. I did this again today, same result. I asked about the route the package would have followed, and they essentially said it was made up as they went along. In other words, they seemed to be saying that there was not one set route to get a package from point A to point B. It depended on which busses were leading the path towards it's destination at which times. Seems like a haphazard way to get things where they needed to be going. They said a tracer on a package consisted of which ways something *could* have gone, and checking them all to see if they can track it down.

I then called the GPX main office, and found that my claim has been recorded in their data base, so I'm guessing they now will be paying more attention to tracing the shipment. The claim record in their data base seems to reflect that I have included everything they require, like proof of what the item cost me - cancelled check copy, bill of sale, etc. I guess that at this point, it'll be a wait and see.

Jagshund · 05-18-2010, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratpiper71T

yeah, what do all those angry at the world atheists know about car parts and shipping?

Hey! Get your facts straight: there's one guy over there who's professed to be a Christian but we're wearing him down.

Jim Williams · 06-24-2010, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim K

About 5 or 6 years ago I bought a fender on evilbay and the guy was to ship with one of the OTHER carriers. He lied.

The story is:

-I got a call from Greyhound stating that my package was in town ready for pickup.
-Fender was badly damaged.
-I filed a claim.
-Greyhound has/had a maximum $100 insurance policy on all packages (in Canada anyway).
-They asked for proof of value AND cost of repair.
-Back to evilbay to gather info on some similar examples as proof and to the local body shop for a repair estimate.
-Replacement and repair costs far exceeded the maximum insured value.
-A couple of letters passed back an forth and they cut me a check for $100.

Hardly worth the time, but if it does not turn up, you might get a few buck out of them at least. Hopefully it does show up in good order.

Tim K

Well, Tim's experience about sums it up. Except in my case, the fender has never showed up -- at all -- 3 months after it was shipped.

When I first started worrying about it, 3 weeks after it didn't show, the local agent suggested going ahead with a claim. I said that I hadn't declared a value as I could only get $100 coverage, and the fender was worth much more than that, and I had had good luck with shipping Greyhound anyway. He suggested that I file anyway which I did. Two months after filing the claim, I get a letter saying they were going to pay $100, and the check would be in the mail (haven't seen it yet).

First of all, I now know that it was a bad choice in my part not to declare a value. But for those not knowing the details of the Greyhound rules (I didn't find all this out until too late), read on:

They will let you declare a value of up to $1000, provided that it is not being shipped "a long distance". What defines a long distance, you ask? It is defined in their computer. How do you know what that means, you ask? You give them the destination of your shipment, they punch it in, and tell you. In general, anything over 800 miles is "long distance", but you have to ask. Apparently the computer figures it out depending on the specific circumstances; if it's not "long distance", you can declare up to $1000, if it's "long distance", you can only declare up to $300. Also, you have to make sure that the declared value is spelled out on the busbill. If you don't declare anything, $100 is their maximum liability, no matter how much your claim is for, or how much detail you put on the claim form. Tough nuggies.

Fair warning; Sender beware...