Fedex Delays/Refund?

I've recently made my first long distance reptile order of a Spotnose ball python and I was curious about how many people have run into issues with Fedex Priority Overnight shipments not arriving on time? I have a Spotnose on the way right now, and Fedex is telling me that it likely won't be delivered today as scheduled. It says on the Fedex site that if your package doesn't arrive by the time they guarantee (4:30 PM for me), that the shipment will be free.
If it doesn't get delivered by the time they guarantee, do you think it's fair for me to ask the breeder for my shipping cost back, since he will receive a refund for it? I was also wondering if you can you purchase insurance on a live reptile shipment as with other shipments, and will they generally pay the stated amount if the animal arrives deceased (assuming proper packing & certified shipper)?

I suggest that you contact the breeder who shipped the animal and see what they can do on their end. Many times the breeder can talk to their account rep and have the animal delivered and not wait until tomorrow, which could potentially be a problem.

Policy when it comes to Live shipment are very different in other words no refund.

Exert from my Fedex Certification regarding delays and money back guarantees.

http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...FedexDelay.jpg

Now delays are very serious hopefully your breeder is on the top of things and being pro-active.

I contacted the breeder as soon as I saw that it was delayed. Unfortunately, it had already been placed on the plane from Dallas to Memphis (after sitting in Dallas from 5 PM yesterday until 8 AM this morning) so it was too late for him to go retrieve it. It's sitting in Memphis right now and is not expected to leave until early morning. He placed 2 - 40 hr heat packs just before drop off at 4:45 yesterday so they will be totally inactive by morning. Right now it's basically looking like my Spotnose is almost certainly going to die sitting in the 20 degree holding yard either tonight or early tomorrow morning. I am hoping for the best but the outlook is bleek at this point.

It seems as though this "Fedex Certification" is merely a way of them fleecing customers.

If it was supposed to be delivered by 4:30 then I think the shipper got it wrong. I could be wrong but they offer priority overnight (guaranteed by 10:30) or standard overnight guaranteed by 4:30. Looks like the shipper tried to save a couple dollars but I could be wrong depending on the location he is shipping from and your location. Maybe someone with a little more shipping experience can chime in.

Well, two 40 hr heat packs is a problem already...

Depending on how big the box is and how big the animal is, that may be too hot in the box for the animal, no matter how long it sits in it.

And yes, depending on where you live and the weather patterns (which should have been accounted for anyway, especially shipping on the East Coast right now), if he was trying to get the package to you by 10:30AM, there is a possibility due to the weather again that Fedex could not guarantee the arrival until that evening.

Bottom line is this is bad news, but I really hope everything works out.

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Originally Posted by mdjudson

If it was supposed to be delivered by 4:30 then I think the shipper got it wrong. I could be wrong but they offer priority overnight (guaranteed by 10:30) or standard overnight guaranteed by 4:30. Looks like the shipper tried to save a couple dollars but I could be wrong depending on the location he is shipping from and your location. Maybe someone with a little more shipping experience can chime in.

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There are three overnight options with FedEx, FedEx First Overnight (only available in metro areas), FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx Standard Overnight. The package was sent priority overnight. Priority Overnight delivery times are based on the destination. There are three categories of locations AA, AM, and PM. If you live in an AA area they are guaranteed by 10:30, if you live in an AM area they are guaranteed by 12 Noon, in PM areas they are guaranteed by 4:30 PM. I live in the boonies, ie PM area. Either way, it wouldn't have mattered if he was delivered today at 4:30, but he wasn't. In fact, they aren't even specifically saying it will be delivered tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by mdjudson

If it was supposed to be delivered by 4:30 then I think the shipper got it wrong. I could be wrong but they offer priority overnight (guaranteed by 10:30) or standard overnight guaranteed by 4:30. Looks like the shipper tried to save a couple dollars but I could be wrong depending on the location he is shipping from and your location. Maybe someone with a little more shipping experience can chime in.

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Nope a package can be shipped priority overnight and still get at destination by 4.30 PM, depends on where you live, remote locations are not guaranteed by 10.30 AM

I have shipped many packages, and had many delays. With that siad, I have also received many refunds. I can tell you that if FedEx logged the delay as weather related, you cannot get a refund. I spend a fair amount of time on the phone with the Billing Departnment. They are the ones that issue a credit. In %75 of cases, I end upo getting a full credit on boxes that were delivered late.

With that said, I do refund the shipping to my customer, minus the packaging costs (boxes, paperwork, snake bag) and any fees incurred due to the method of payment by the customer (i.e. PayPal fees or Credit Card transaction fees). The previous sentence should be precluded by the fact that the snake made it safely even in light of the delays (I have yet to lose a snake due to a delay, so I don't have a response for that). Or, I offer free shipping on the customers next order. That is up to them.

As many have stated, you need to contact the seller, and find out their policies and go from there. The FedEx Billing Department phone number is 1-800-622-1147, in case you need it.

The delay was logged as weather related, though I have excellent news. My wife picked him up this morning from the local FedEx facility so it wouldn't spend all day on the truck. He seemed a bit lethargic, as would be expected, but he is alive and seems to be doing well. She didn't have the heat gun with her when she picked him up, but said he felt pretty cold. I'm quite relieved and happy that a wonderful animal didn't die as a result of this. It seems having two heat packs may have ended up saving him from the 20 degree temps in Memphis last night, we picked him up at 41 hours after the heat packs were put it; one of them was totally cold the other one was still fairly warm. One of these days I'm going to have to grab a data logger from work and monitor the internal heat with 1 and 2 heat packs of a package left in cold weather. All in all today is a good day, I'm not even worried about getting refunded shipping and just glad he arrived safely.

That's great news! Glad to hear he made it ok!!:D

I didn't really see if anyone specifically answered my question about insurance, can you purchase insurance on live reptile shipments the same way you can if you were shipping something else, or does the Certified Reptile Shipper waiver prevent that as well?

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Originally Posted by NewParadigms

I didn't really see if anyone specifically answered my question about insurance, can you purchase insurance on live reptile shipments the same way you can if you were shipping something else, or does the Certified Reptile Shipper waiver prevent that as well?

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fedex does not offer insurance but rather declared value with some limiations.by there own terms live animal shipments are not covered,however as Tim stated they will often issue shipping refunds if the delay is caused by fedex.you have a better chance of getting a fedex refund if you do a lot of business with them (high volume shipper).

so often people ship THEN try to figure out the details,arrival time etc. why not ask fedex for a service guide so you know what to except.you know the old " a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

personally when weather is a bit cold or hot and the pkg. is going to a afternoon area i won't ship unless the buyer agrees to pick up at the fedex station,this usually can be at 8 or 9 AM.hope this helps.

I think that requiring facility pickup on an order to a PM location is reasonable, and I may use the same policy. I'm also am seriously considering the use of 60 hour heat packs instead of 40 hr. That will give plenty of time for a two day shipment should Fedex botch the overnight delivery. They are only about $1.00 to $1.50 more and will sure help me sleep better at night if a shipment gets delayed in cold weather.

Glad to hear everything turned out alright.

Good news. I'm happy for you as well. Post some pics after he settles in.

I'm SO glad. When I first saw this thread my heart was sinking for you and the snake.

What a relief :)

Here's a picture of the Spotnose that we were lucky to get alive. We named him Anubis.

http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/a...Anubis2-13.jpg

That is a very nice looking bp. I am glad everything worked out for you...

Nice name *wink*

We got very lucky with him, now I'm hoping for some more luck that he'll thrive and in a couple years he'll be ready to breed to a cinnamon and a pastel. Eventually I'm hoping to end up with a pastel or cinny powerball.

FedEx policy on any live shipments (plants, reptiles or aquatics) is NOT to offer a time guarantee refund. They also do not offer live arrival insurance.

As a breeder, we offer the live arrival guarantee, but that is offered and enforced by us directly. FedEx does not pay any of the replacement cost. But we have tremendous confidence in our ability to safely pack a live shipment, and confidence in FedEx to get the package delivered the next day, and we can offer the live arrival guarantee with little concern.

After nearly 20 years of shipping live reptiles, hundreds of packages a year, 1-2 DOAs may happen each year, but I have also gone for a number of years with zero.

As for the time guarantee, any shipment booked through ShipYourReptiles.com is covered with a time guarantee refund, with a couple of stipulations (weather and such). If the driver simply didn't make it in time, then you can get a refund (and offer that refund back to your customer) with a phone call or email to Walt at ShipYourReptiles.

That policy is also not paid for by FedEx, that comes out of our own funds, and again because we have the confidence in timely, safe delivery.

When it comes down to it, there is little reason for the breeder or seller NOT to offer a live arrival guarantee, and now they can offer a time guarantee refund as well.