Fedex Delays/Refund?

[NewParadigms]

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)?

[tonkatoyman]

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.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

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.



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

[NewParadigms]

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.

[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.

[LadyOhh]

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.

[NewParadigms]

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.

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.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

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.

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

[muddoc]

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.

[NewParadigms]

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.