Fedex lost shipment >.<

Those :expletive:!

I was having 2 adults sent to me overnight, and they are *somewhere* at the facility in Indianapolis. I called this morning (TWICE!) to see what the deal was when the tracking showed this info, and they assured me that everything was on time. I accidentally shipped them to my old address, so i literally ran over there to wait. After two hours of waiting, i called again and was informed that my tracking info was correct after all, and they *are* still in INDIANAPOLIS.

:::string of expletives:::

...anyone know what to do?? They put a trace on the package, which means they'll have more concrete info in the next 24 hours (TWENTY FOUR HOURS!).

What if they die because of FedEX clumsiness???? I'm freaking out.

If the person who shipped them packed them properly taking into account temperatures between the two cities (putting in a cool pack using an insulated box for example), then they should be fine. Doesn't make the worry any less. Hope they find them soon for you!

Have you asked the shipper to get involved on his end, to contact his account rep to see what they can do to expedite finding them?

Do contact the person you bought them from!!!!

They should be fine, if the person packed them well. I know of a person who shipped snakes via USPS. Yes the snakes were in transit for 4 days and made it.

Keep us updated

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Have you asked the shipper to get involved on his end, to contact his account rep to see what they can do to expedite finding them?

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I am hoping that he packaged properly. He has been a good seller so far, so i have no real reason to expect that he did anything but the right thing for the little dudes.

I had them put a trace. I've left the seller a message asking that he do whatever he can, but I'm not sure what else could possibly be done. They know there's a problem, they've mobilized in order to solve it, and they've flagged the shipment as an emergency case. All i can do is wait.

...time to practice being patient.

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Originally Posted by lillyorchid

Do contact the person you bought them from!!!!

They should be fine, if the person packed them well. I know of a person who shipped snakes via USPS. Yes the snakes were in transit for 4 days and made it.

Keep us updated

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Four days! I must say that is encouraging.

Wow - i would be furious and so worried. I really hope they get to you safely!! :worry:

please keep us updated on them!!!

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Originally Posted by Morphie

Four days! I must say that is encouraging.

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A well packed snake will be just fine for an extra day or two. I had a shipment get delayed two days. While it's frusturating and nerve-racking; I'm sure they'll be ok.

Well, after all day of waiting for the lady to call me, i call her and find out she has left for the day. They're allegedly going to deliver tomorrow between 9 and 10:30, but i'll probably wait from 8:00 onward just to be sure.

I better get, like, free shipping for a year. This ordeal has been ridiculous.

(turns out the package lost its label and was sent to the lost and found facility, and it has been there all day. It has been opened and looked through by the crew, who then had to verify it was indeed mine. They can't put snakes on commercial flights so it had to wait for tonight to ship and should be here tomorrow.)

:angered: :mad: :confused: :crash: :stab: :worry: :please: :rage: :absolut:

did they know what was in it before they opened it up?

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Originally Posted by CntrlF8

did they know what was in it before they opened it up?

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nope! crazy huh?!

You post this the day my snakes are shipped...lol. Im glad they found them!! Good luck to you.:D

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Originally Posted by stangs13

You post this the day my snakes are shipped...lol. Im glad they found them!! Good luck to you.:D

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Thanks and good luck to you as well. Who is your carrier?

I dunno about FedEX as I haven't worked for them, but I DID work for UPS. And any packages that were lost or delayed due to UPS's fault were put on private planes to make sure they were still delivered when they said they would of been. I have seen an entire plane get upgraded to over night cause they screwed up and it got to our hub either late, or in the wrong plane (some planes can hold certain size cans, while others have to be changed to smaller ones). I am pretty surprised FedEX doesn't have planes on standby for cases like this.

You did mention that they could put it on a commercial plane, I know UPS will buy seats on a plane for packages to speed up their shipping, but in cases like this, UPS has private planes they own so they don't have to wait.

Hope they get to ya safely.

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Originally Posted by Morphie

Thanks and good luck to you as well. Who is your carrier?

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FedEx...lol.

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Originally Posted by sw204me

You did mention that they could put it on a commercial plane, I know UPS will buy seats on a plane for packages to speed up their shipping, but in cases like this, UPS has private planes they own so they don't have to wait.

Hope they get to ya safely.

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Thanks. What they told me was that if it weren't live animals, they could do the passenger plane thing - but since it was, they can't put my package on anything but fedex planes, which only move at night.

I'm pretty nonplussed.



Also, Stangs, based on my experience, the tracking info that you get by using a tracking number with their website is pretty accurate. I had a successful fedex shipment, and it showed the happenings every step of the way. If it looks like a package is stuck somewhere in the midwest (at 8 o'clock, it's still showing that it's nowhere near its destination, but scheduled for a 10:30 am delivery), it probably is, even if the agents you talk to are more optimistic.

UPS tracking seems to be a bit more delayed, as in I will often get the box before it shows "out for delivery", but that's okay because they haven't screwed up this bad before.

Also, people, if you can, cover your labels with extra clear tape. Having people you don't know, hundreds of miles away (who don't know what the hell they're doing) handling your animals because the stupid label fell off is not a fun feeling :(

Sad thing is they were probably passed around as all the people there probably thought they were 'cool'. :( :(

The last 2 times I shipped it was a succes. They did deliver to the wrong address...just down the street.... but that is the worst.They update every hour or so...from what they told me.:D

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Originally Posted by sw204me

Sad thing is they were probably passed around as all the people there probably thought they were 'cool'. :( :(

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Better that, imho, than being startled by what's in the bag and dropping it :worry:

WOW that totally sucks. I have had like 18 -20 snakes delivered overnight and never had a problem. Best of luck!

What a fiasco! They told me last night, again, on TWO separate occasions ( i called multiple times to try and get a straight, believable answer which seems impossible for this company ) and got a *promise* from a higher-tiered woman who seemed to know exactly what she was talking about, that they would be HERE by 10. 30. AM.

The tracking information showed they had departed IN, which was encouraging. I update later to see if they're coming and... are they coming?? NO. They're being returned to sender!

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHH.

at least (hopefully) they're okay.

I called my case manager and had a few words. I told them that their information systems are dysfunctional - no two individuals seem to have the same story with that company and it's maddening. Being a reptile-shipment recipient regularly, it will be difficult to avoid using that company, but believe me, I will when possible.

:mad:

Awww

Thats to bad. This time next week, though.:D


Mines doing ok.
7:07 AM


At local FedEx facility


HOUSTON, TX

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Originally Posted by Morphie

What a fiasco! They told me last night, again, on TWO separate occasions ( i called multiple times to try and get a straight, believable answer which seems impossible for this company ) and got a *promise* from a higher-tiered woman who seemed to know exactly what she was talking about, that they would be HERE by 10. 30. AM.

The tracking information showed they had departed IN, which was encouraging. I update later to see if they're coming and... are they coming?? NO. They're being returned to sender!

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHH.

at least (hopefully) they're okay.

I called my case manager and had a few words. I told them that their information systems are dysfunctional - no two individuals seem to have the same story with that company and it's maddening. Being a reptile-shipment recipient regularly, it will be difficult to avoid using that company, but believe me, I will when possible.

:mad:

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Wait, somethings just not right here. I've had snakes shipped in through FedEx, the box is covered in "perishable handle with care" "this side up" "live harmless reptiles" notations. How could FedEx not know what's in the box? Is the person that shipped to you actually FedEx certified to ship live reptiles through them? Did they not mark the box correctly or use the right box for live animal shipments? Obviously they didn't get the shipping label down well enough if it fell off.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Wait, somethings just not right here. I've had snakes shipped in through FedEx, the box is covered in "perishable handle with care" "this side up" "live harmless reptiles" notations. How could FedEx not know what's in the box? Is the person that shipped to you actually FedEx certified to ship live reptiles through them? Did they not mark the box correctly or use the right box for live animal shipments? Obviously they didn't get the shipping label down well enough if it fell off.

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I was wondering the same thing Joanna. Was the shipper FedEx certified?

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I was wondering the same thing Joanna. Was the shipper FedEx certified?

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Doesn't sound like it. I am fedex certified and you have to mark the box "Live harmless reptile" and also note the species. I don't understand why people don't get certified??? It is free and very easy to do.

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Originally Posted by pfan151

Doesn't sound like it. I am fedex certified and you have to mark the box "Live harmless reptile" and also note the species. I don't understand why people don't get certified??? It is free and very easy to do.

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I suppose it's possible he wasn't :/


::headdesk::

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Originally Posted by Morphie

I suppose it's possible he wasn't :/


::headdesk::

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This situation really sucks, I'm sorry to hear all the nonsense you've gone through. Its a shame but shows the importance of really knowing who you're doing business with. Good luck sorting through the rest of your fiasco.

In all fairness, the guy has been straightforward, friendly, responsive, communicative, and helpful throughout, and it sounds like shipping uncertified isn't uncommon. I don't applaud him for it, I am rather annoyed, but FedEx gets most of my wrath for not being able to give me a clear answer consistently, and the seller will get my business again if he becomes verified.

Maybe i'm naive to cut people this much slack. Shrug.

While I certainly think FedEx carries the responsibility to ship live animals correctly and quickly, if the box is not properly labelled as such, how can you blame them? If they don't have a label affixed with a delivery location, if there's no indication of what's in that box....well with the world being as it is these days...what else can they do but open it and then in the end send it back to the only verified address on it...the senders.

Personally if breeder shipped a snake through FedEx to me, I would assume that he/she was certified to do so and knew exactly how to both pack the snake and label the box appropriately. Anything less than that, when it might impact on the welfare of a living creature....well that breeder and I would be having a little chat.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

While I certainly think FedEx carries the responsibility to ship live animals correctly and quickly, if the box is not properly labelled as such, how can you blame them? If they don't have a label affixed with a delivery location, if there's no indication of what's in that box....well with the world being as it is these days...what else can they do but open it and then in the end send it back to the only verified address on it...the senders.

Personally if breeder shipped a snake through FedEx to me, I would assume that he/she was certified to do so and knew exactly how to both pack the snake and label the box appropriately. Anything less than that, when it might impact on the welfare of a living creature....well that breeder and I would be having a little chat.

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I understand that perspective, and as i tried to say before, the reason i'm angry with FedEx wasn't that this horrible ordeal occurred, which indeed sucks, it's that they couldn't give me a straight, accurate answer at any point, ever.

As in, last night, i had managers *promising* eventual delivery this morning. This was after the problem site had made a decision on what to do. What happened? It was returned to sender! Here i am waiting for the package instead of getting my work done, and the damn thing's not even coming! The same thing happened yesterday - two people told me it was on the way even though it showed no progress since indiana. I wait for 2-3 hours, and lo, it never left indiana! Just like i had suggested!

(not yelling at you, just expressing frustration)

Like i said, their information systems are extremely lacking and it's the customer who gets shafted. I don't care to deal with a company who can't get their story straight and make good on their damn promises (or at least bite the tongue until they know for sure they can deliver what they're promising).

Morphie,

I use to be a Q&A FedEx employee... I can understand why you are so frustrated. Q&A is where all the packages go when they don't have or have unreadable labels, broken objects, illegal packages, etc. ALL the problem packages get dealt with by Q&A. Let me tell you. You are not the only one who has had this happen. *Normally* IF the package lost it's label, and when Q&A personal open up the package... and it has a print out of the label inside, they normally will call the sender & the receiver... let them know what has happened and just use that piece of paper to send the package out the next day. Do you know if the sender placed a print out of the shipping label inside with the snakes?

I know it's very frustrating when this type of thing happens. I've had it happen to me more then once, thankfully never with a live animal. But it does happen a lot daily. Packages aren't always handled or shipped with care and in the process labels come off, labels get scratched up and are unreadable, etc. Also some of those cheap lables don't stick at all and aren't worth a darn! So sometimes it can be FedEx's fault, other times it's not. It's the senders who choose what kind of lable they stick on the package. Hopefully you can get the sender to resend them and tell he/she that you shouldn't have to pay for shipping again OR ask he/she to get on FedEx's case and tell them to ship it again for free since they are the ones who messed up. They WILL do that, just have to really nag at them, ask for higher up's in the company, file a claim against them, etc. You should get your way because they don't want you going and doing any of those things.

why did they send it back? thats pretty f'n bunk. Well, not much you can do. Everyone knows that fed-ex sucks. my brother had an expensive set of headlights shipped out. Box said fragile ALL over it. they still managed to crack the housing AND refused to pay my brother or the buyer.

was the sender a verified live animals shipper. if not that could also be the problem

VERY good question Joe!

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Originally Posted by anthrpicdecadnce

why did they send it back?

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Who knows. It could be any of the many problems that happen. If the box had a shipping label inside then I don't understand why they sent it back if the label had fallen off, unless the sender requested it be shipped back OR the sender wasn't certified to ship live animals.

Your best bet now is to just talk to the person you are getting them from who shipped them.

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Originally Posted by lovepig78

was the sender a verified live animals shipper. if not that could also be the problem

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pls see page 3 of this thread.

lilly, i assume there was nothing like an inner packing slip denoting ship-to location, because they took everything out and the package had to be identified by packing materials and descriptions of the animal.

The seller is working with me - I'm not concerned with that part specifically.

I'm just annoyed with the fact that, well, i figured such a big company would have it more together, no? I shouldn't be getting this flip-flopping information. it just isn't professional, and i want nothing to do with it.

Sorry to hear about those headlights, Anth. I thought FedEx insured everything to a certain degree? Argh.

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Originally Posted by Morphie

pls see page 3 of this thread.

lilly, i assume there was nothing like an inner packing slip denoting ship-to location, because they took everything out and the package had to be identified by packing materials and descriptions of the animal.

The seller is working with me - I'm not concerned with that part specifically.

I'm just annoyed with the fact that, well, i figured such a big company would have it more together, no? I shouldn't be getting this flip-flopping information. it just isn't professional, and i want nothing to do with it.

Sorry to hear about those headlights, Anth. I thought FedEx insured everything to a certain degree? Argh.

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i did too! but i guess that doesnt hold any water.

Well, they've arrived safely. They appear healthy but a bit stressed, which is understandable given what they've been through.

It's time for a tub, clean substrate, a nice bowl of water, and a nice dark place to hide. We'll get to know eachother later.

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Originally Posted by Morphie

Well, they've arrived safely. They appear healthy but a bit stressed, which is understandable given what they've been through.

It's time for a tub, clean substrate, a nice bowl of water, and a nice dark place to hide. We'll get to know eachother later.

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:rockon: :rockon:

Glad to hear all worked out well in the end. :)

glad to hear they made it ok!!!

Can we see pictures of the long-awaited poor guys when you get a chance and they relax and settle in a bit? :)

Yup, on my two occassions of getting BP's shipped to me, I've had my first snake packed in a very small 6inch x 6inch box, with the tag "live harmless reptile" on it. The second BP I got was in a bigger box, maybe 12inch x 12inch, and was in a regualr box, with no marking on it. It seemed to have been a recycled box and I don't think the shipper was certified. I think thats' a give-a-way from what I've experienced.

I am SO glad to hear your shipment arrived safely. Cant wait to see pictures!

Wow, sounds like quite a fiasco, glad it turned out all right.

When I got my first bp shipped to me, I think the box only said "perishable" or something like that, when my mom called to me and said "hey your snake is here" the lady delivering it was like "WHAAAATTTT?????" :rolleyes:

The company I got her from doesnt even exist anymore I don't think.

The moral of the story is that buyers need to ask their seller if they are FedEx certified, and get the contact info of their account rep to confirm. Otherwise, I'd pass on purchasing from that seller. This story, although it ended well, is real world proof that buyers need to be more careful with who they choose to do business with.

:) This seems to be a perfect example of why I'm so worried about getting anything shipped!

I had a friend who worked at UPS in the states and I'd hear horror stories about the stuff that was done to people's packages... The view of the employees there seemed to be that they were insured anyway... So who cared.

A friend in BC and I used to mail eachother odd ball things all the time, clearly marking fragile or perishable on the boxes... 80% of the time they arrived in multiple peices... I have very little faith in our Postal Service here... I have to check 6 different mail boxes daily just to find my own mail!

I can understand on the frustration with them..I haven't had much problems with FedEx, but UPS in Indy sucks!! I sat up there for 4 hours while they looked for my package for them to turn me away and say that they know what truck it is in, but can't find the truck! I didn't have a snake in the mail, but it was a Friday and it was a tire for my truck. I had a car show to go to that weekend so it kinda pissed me off. It's pretty ridiculously though. I won't do business with anyone that ships with UPS anymore.