mail house plus charged almost 3 times the standard rate for ground fedex, and blamed fedex's computer program castro valley, California
Grieving loss of my nephew who committed suicide in Mar, 2011, I sent 3 boxes of his possessions to his sister in Utah via Fedex through this authorized shipper. Extraordinarily high($114+) charge, but told overweight, and sent them on. Owner also said that Fedex figures not accurate on their site.
At home ran sizes and weight thru Fedex site and found out charge less than $40. Did this twice, and also called for amount. Still came in at less than $35 total. Went back and asked why Fedex site said different amount. Not his fault, he said, Fedex sets program on weight/rate scales.
Fedex said not true, totally controlled by vendor. Filed complaint with Fedex, and was told that "authorized" locations can set own price, unlike at Kinko's. But they would look into issue.
Went back again and was told this time that he would have to wait until invoice arrives to see actual charge. 2 weeks later went to see him again, after having filing complaint with Fedex.
Told him I knew exactly how much Fedex charged. Constant lying every time I went there. Told me to return in week, as he still hadn't received invoice. Another lie.
Came back ready to go to small claims court for fraud. He offered me $40 back. I hesitated for a minute or so, weighing the energy needed to pursue this in court. Decided to take it. He jumped on it. I cashed his check immediately at his bank. Upon leaving the store, he wished me "have a good one".
Lie, lie ,lie, all the way along. This guy was just a total ripoff, and I'm sure he never expected me to pursue a remedy, especially with a complaint to Fedex. I'm sure that's what motivated him to return some money to me.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
UOmenothin
Mesquite,Texas,
USA
You're fortunate you didn't go to court. You would have lost.
#2Consumer Comment
Tue, July 26, 2011
You went to a business to perform a service. They quoted you a price and you agreed. With hindsight, you wondered if it might be less expensive elsewhere. That shipping outlet has every legal right to quoted you $1000. If the market acommodates a business mark up, then that mark up will continue. If persons like yourself question the mark up and will not patronize that business again, then that business will have to adjust their pricing. This business operated under common commerce practice and did nothing illegal.
A common error that likely would have partially closed the gap in the price discrepancy would be the variables used to determine the two quotes. Did you use the identical dimensions and weight that the shipping outlet used? Larger package rates are determined by dimensional weight which overrides the actual weight. Larger packages also often have bulging sides which need to be added to the dimensions. Perhaps the business was waiting to see if the bill included the actual dimensions with bulges. It would be very unusual if it was not, but he was trying to work with your complaint.
It sounds like if the package happened to be billed for less, he would have been able to refund as a courtesy service. I happen to disagree that he should do that. If FEDEX rates are $50, and a middleman takes on the responsibility and charges the public $100, or $150 for that matter, that would be legal and normal business similar to anywhere else that you shop. $100-150, however, seems much to high for that business to maintain return customer patronage. Also, if FEDEX retail is $50, the independent shipping business may be billed only $30 or so, as they receive a bulk shipper discount. This discount should keep the markup to only 25-30%, a range that most people are willing to pay for the service. Again, check out the dimensions the business used and be sure you used the same, or your low quote comparison would be inaccurate. That inaccuracy would be unfair to both that business as well as yourself.
There is one detail that I believe the business could have handled better. The business should have verified the dimensions you were using to verify the rate. He should NOT have said that the FEDEX rates on the FEDEX website are inaccurate, if that claim is true. Obviously, if FEDEX quotes a rate on their website based on the input variable, that rate is accurate and will be the precise rate billed. Invoices are received once a week and can be monitored online with automatic billing. If you were told otherwise, that was indeed untrue. I still feel a business shouldn't refund on their standard rates, unless an error was made. A successful business may adjust rates, but not refund every time a customer has buyers remorse for a service already rendered.
Complaining to FEDEX was no motive for that business to offer a partial refund. That business has a right to set any rates at any amount and would have not lost that frivolous lawsuit. It would have been a waste of time for both you and that business. If you want the same service at genuine shipper rates, you should use FEDEX Office or The UPS Store's. All other locations mark up the rate to cover their middleman costs.