!!WARNING!! don't ship UPS

six days ago on nov 22 i Purchased female chocolate BP from an add on kingsnake.com and it was shipped that day via ups overnight. i was told that it would be arriving the next day at 4:00pm... the next day at 4:00pm i called ups to ask what the problem was sense my package was nowhere to be found and they told me that there had ben mechanical problems somewhere in Kentucky and it was probably nearing its destination now. the next day at 4 i reseved the package and after opining it i fount to be empty except for the usual fome sides and wadded up news paper but no snake. i agin called ups and after 15 minutes of giving this lady all this information and having to repeat this 20 digit tracking number over and over she finally told me that i could not file a claim because
''WE DON'T SHIP SNAKES''
someone new what it was and new that their is nothing i can do about it because they ''DON'T SHIP SNAKES''

just a warning
i don't recommend ups

I hate to say this, but the "Don't Ship UPS" sort of generates an automatic response in me of "Well, duh!"

But besides that...a package with no content in it demands a lot more investigation than just a mere assumption that a UPS employee somehow "knew" what was in there and figured he couldn't get in trouble for stealing it. (At least that's what it seems like you're implying.)

NO, you can't make a claim against loss for a package that should not have shipped in the first place. But, if I were to somehow find myself in your shoes, you can be darned sure I would be all over the seller saying, "Where's the snake?!?" It seems far more likely that you were scammed out of the animal than someone stole it.

Was the box labeled? Was the strapping tape tampered with at all? If the box wasn't labeled, how would a UPS employee know what was in it to steal? If the box WAS labeled, how did it get past the UPS nazi's in the first place? Is the box damaged with a hole that would allow the snake to escape?

I thought it was well known that UPS didn't ship snakes, I'm sorry that happened to you but for the safety of the animals you should only go through services that actually allow snakes

Who was the snake from?

I'd also like to know who the seller was.

Who is the seller and why did they ship UPS in the first place? Lots of questions need to be answered, we can't just assume the facts by what you told us, we need more information.

Sounds like a bad situation, we just need more information.

Sad to say, pretty much everyone who wants to get a snake shipped should do enough homework to know that shipping UPS is in fact, illegal.

As well as wanting to know where the snake went, I'd ask UPS about filing a complaint against the seller. After all he/she knowingly broke the law.

As to your claim of someone there knowing there was a snake inside and deciding to steal it, that is far-fetched at best. Unless the box was plainly labeled as containing a snake, how would anyone know what was in it? And just as Judy said, if it were labeled as containing a snake, why on earth did they accept the box in the first place ?

I'd be a lot more concerned about why on earth a seller was using UPS in the first place, since they should ALL know not to do that. That would be the equivalent of shipping a pipe bomb through the post office in a box labeled "explosives". No body in their right mind would try it.

So I'd be contacting that seller, and demanding to know why they used an illegal shipping method. If that method was stated in the ad, then I'm sorry to say, you should have done some more research. I'd never accept a live animal being shipped to me unless I knew for a fact it was being sent to me legally and safely.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

Sad to say, pretty much everyone who wants to get a snake shipped should do enough homework to know that shipping UPS is in fact, illegal.

As well as wanting to know where the snake went, I'd ask UPS about filing a complaint against the seller. After all he/she knowingly broke the law.

As to your claim of someone there knowing there was a snake inside and deciding to steal it, that is far-fetched at best. Unless the box was plainly labeled as containing a snake, how would anyone know what was in it? And just as Judy said, if it were labeled as containing a snake, why on earth did they accept the box in the first place ?

I'd be a lot more concerned about why on earth a seller was using UPS in the first place, since they should ALL know not to do that. That would be the equivalent of shipping a pipe bomb through the post office in a box labeled "explosives". No body in their right mind would try it.

So I'd be contacting that seller, and demanding to know why they used an illegal shipping method, and asking for proof of shipment.

Gale

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Shipping a snake UPS is NOT illegal - it's against their policy.

However, not labeling the box correctly indicating what is inside the box is a violation of the Lacey Act and a federal violation.

You may be thinking of shipping USPS, in which case, shipping snakes through them IS illegal.

sounds to me like you got scammed from the start.

If UPS took your snake due to infractions, they would have told you. I also HIGHLY doubt someone stole it out of the box. sounds like what most likely happened is your breeder took your money and sent you a empty box so you would have "track shipment number" while he waited for the payment to clear and scam complete.

This has never happened to be but has always been a fear every time I order. Make sure you do a little research and know who your getting your animals from, Any one can find a picture of a snake, put it on the internet, and send you a empty box.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BbyBoa

sounds to me like you got scammed from the start.

If UPS took your snake due to infractions, they would have told you. I also HIGHLY doubt someone stole it out of the box. sounds like what most likely happened is your breeder took your money and sent you a empty box so you would have "track shipment number" while he waited for the payment to clear and scam complete.

This has never happened to be but has always been a fear every time I order. Make sure you do a little research and know who your getting your animals from, Any one can find a picture of a snake, put it on the internet, and send you a empty box.

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I agree... :(