Forward Air, Inc. FSI - Freight Services International BAD FAITH - Their employee was responsible for a totally destroyed antique museum piece table and they denied the claim Phoenix, Arizona
I paid several hundred dollars to have a table shipped to me in AZ. Their employee refused to slit open the box or even allow me to do it to put it in the back seat of my husband's truck, which he had already put down to make room for it. The employee put it in the back of the pick up and said it is staying where it is and it would be fine there. We argued. He held himself out as an expert shipper, said he does this all the time. We argued for probably 20 minutes. He refused, was very nasty and, finally, I asked him to at least remove the pallet so that it would sit lower in the truck. he refused to do so. He said they have enough of them and he didn't want to. We continued to argue. The occasional table was very special to me, passed down in the family. He insisted the table was going nowhere because it was so heavy. He was nasty and kept insisting it would be fine. He was the only one in the warehouse, except the clerk behind the window who handled the paperwork. I was stuck when he eventually left and I had no choice but to trust his expertise as a shipper, as he had held himself out to be. The table was not fine. Barely out on the freeway, at a very moderate even speed, it flew at least 20 feet in the air and smashed to smithereenes. It is a wonder it didn't kill anyone or cause cars to crash. Forward Air denied any responsibility. Talk about bad faith! Those greedy bas___rds. My mouth isn't usually foul but, when it comes to people like this, it runs to where they ought to go when they die. I will be filing a lawsuit, whatever the cost.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
babyboomer1001
Sun Lakes,Arizona,
My only option was to not take my shipment - no option at all
#3Author of original report
Sun, October 13, 2013
What this guy says is ridiculous! I was given no option. I insisted he allow me to put my table in the back seat of my truck. Forward Air's employee refused to do anything and he insisted that because of the weight, it would be fine. He said he knew it would be fine just the way it was. I since learned that the wood below it is called a pallet and he refused to remove that too, after I asked. My only option was to leave the table. Why would anyone pay for an expensive antique, museum quality table to be shipped from another country, drive all that way to pick it up and then just drive home and leave it behind? This guy claimed to be a shipping expert. I am not in the shipping business and I relied on his expertise, which turned out to be a lie. He couldn't have been an expert. He was probably just some flunky loser. He certainly was arrogant. Putting the blame on the customer is just typical of how these guys operate and they only care about getting our money, not just Forward Air but the guy who wrote the rebuttal to my original posting. I am disgusted.
Jerry
Gilbert,Arizona,
Not a rip off by Forward Air
#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, October 10, 2013
I've been in the trucking industry for over 45 years. Both as a shipper and a consignee. I was also the transportation claim manager for a major corporation.
I have no connection with Forward Air and have not used them in the past. The complaint lodged against Forward Air is the culmination of poor judgement by the consignee/receiver. The responsibility to transport shipments in good order ends at the point of DELIVERY. In the case stated above, that would be the end of the loading dock or the end of the Forward Air truck's tailgate. That is the unequivicable definition of delivered. Forward Air has no responsibility to load the cargo into or onto the consignee's vehicle. Nor does Forward Air have any obigiation to secure the cargo with straps, chains, etc. on the consignee's vehicle. "Loading" cargo for a customer is purely a kind, voluntary gesture but not an admission of any liability on the part of a transportation company.
The lengthy complaint written by the consignee conveniently overlooks his or her responsibility to properly secure the cargo for transit on their private vehicle. If this same cargo were a pallet of diamonds worth millions of dollars, wouldn't the consignee have made an effort to keep the cargo secure and not splattered all over the freeway? I sure as hell would. The excuse that the cargo could not or would not be taken off a pallet for loading inside the customer vehicle fails too. If you're forced to load a palletized piece of cargo on an un-enclosed vehicle then the consignee, not the transportation company, should supply adequate means to secure the cargo. The consignee always had the option to return to Forward Air with an enclosed trailer or vehicle.
Lastly, if this antique was so valuable, intrinsically or otherwise, why wouldn't any reasonable person pay Forward Air for home delivery?
The customer's complaint originated from ignorance regarding liability. Read the fine print on the back of a long form bill of lading or airbill. It clearly states liability for loss and damage.
Run the consignee's complaint against ABF, Yellow, FedEX, DHL, etc. and they will smile and laugh at the suggestion to pay for this consignee's carelessness.