Oct. 26th
This is a picture showing the condition the computer arrived in. There was dust on the metal screens that I brushed off prior to taking the pictures but other than that this is the exact condition the computer arrived in Oct. 26th 2010.
There were other little specks of blue plastic that I did not included in the picture. I only mention this to make it clear the computer was not damaged prior to being boxed and shipped. Oct. 26th 2010 Damage
Note that the main hinge is bent, which prevents me from opening the computer to see the extent of the damage inside. I do hear loose parts moving inside so I know there is some damage. Also note that the ON/OFF button in the top right is smashed; so I could not turn it on to test it out even if I wanted to. I wouldn’t turn it on anyway; I do realize that could cause further damage.
Oct. 26th 2010 Damage
The Whole front of the unit broke off, which does not bother me, if there were no further damage to the inside of the computer or the hinge and ON/OFF button you would have never heard from me. Oct. 26th 2010 Damage
A closer look at the damage from the top view.
Note the label below the top shipping label. It is the label that I emailed. The package was supposed to be picked up and shipped using my label. When the driver came to pick this up he brought his own label. When I called in to have FedEx pick this up I made it clear at least 3 times that the package already had a label, and all they needed to do was pick it up. (Not a big deal but it did complicate things for me, and added to the frustration.)
Oct. 26th 2010 Damage
Detailed summary of events related to this claim:
Oct. 26th
My Dell computer arrived today. The computer was very damaged. The front and top front corner were broken. The computer looked like it had been dropped on the top front of the computer.
I called FedEx at about 6:PM and explained that the computer had been damaged. The rep told me to issue a call tag and they would pick up the computer to inspect it. I informed her that I did not want the computer out of my sight again, so either I would drive it where it needs to go or someone could come inspect it at my location. She told me that someone would come out to my location to inspect the computer the following day.
Oct. 27th
I canceled my plans for this day and stayed around home all day waiting patiently for the FedEx rep to come and inspect my computer and packaging. Late in the day I began to wonder if someone was really planning to show up.
Late in the day I called FedEx to ask why the rep did not come by to inspect the damaged computer
I called 800.go.fedex at 5:07 PM to ask why the rep. did not come by to inspect the damaged computer and the packaging. Amy told me that they don't have people go out on site to inspect damaged packages. Amy told me I would need to contact the sender and have them issue a call tag. I told her that I was the sender and the receiver. I told here I did not want to let the computer out of my sight again. She said I would need to take the package to quality control myself to have them inspect the damage. I asked to speak to the people at my local terminal, she said that information was "private".
I asked to speak to the manager. Amy placed me on hold while she explained things to the manager. When the manager picked up the phone she already knew the situation. The manager called the terminal for me and let me speak to Cordillia at my Local FedEx terminal. Cordillia told me that I needed to issue a call tag and they would keep it on hand there at the terminal and wait for me to bring the computer in myself on the following day. She said that Kim Kidd and Carrol Muscle would inspect the computer and the packaging. I told her I would bring the computer in the next day in the afternoon.
Oct. 28th
I drove to the FedEx facility in Raeford. When I got their at about 3:30 PM the first person I met was Kimberly Kidd who seemed to be the Manager. I told Ms. Kidd that I had spoke w/ someone on the phone and they told me to come in myself with the package, packaging and the computer.
Kim asked me why I brought the computer in myself. I recounted what had happened up to that point as quickly as I could. She told me that they need to do a damaged package report, then she asked me if the package looked damaged. I told her it looked fine and that's why I opened it. If It had looked severely damaged I would not have touched it. It was not until I had unwrapped the computer that I saw the extent of the damage. She seems suspicious of my statement that the packaging did not look damaged. She next asked me if I had talked to the person who sent the package. I said that I had, and their reply to me was that they were not surprised "the guy who picked up the computer looked like a skinny little 18 year old." Kim Kidd seemed irritated by this and said well that's not true because you have to be 21 to work for FedEx. I tried to explain that I was not accusing anyone of doing the damage. I also wanted to point out that a person could still be 21 and look 18. Kim Kidd walked out of the room quickly as I tried to explain these seemingly obvious points.
All the while I was talking to Ms. Kidd she was walking in and out of her office. When I did answer her questions she cut me off many times. The information I was able to share with her as she dominated the conversation was not sufficient. She did not allow me to say all that needed to be said so that she could have a proper understanding of the situation.
I never go the chance to tell her that there were bits of blue dust and tiny specs of plastic in the packaging that would not have been there had the computer been damaged prior to packaging it.
To conclude our visit Ms. Kidd told me that they simply must keep the computer there. After confirming that it would be covered by insurance on my call tag I reluctantly agreed Kim Kidd told me they would call me when they were done with it so that I could come and pick it up. Here is the Call tag Number that Kim Kid gave me. 997028350194580
Oct. 29th
The driver just came to the door with a call tag to pick up the computer. I told him the terminal told me they were going to hold onto the call tag. The FedEx driver gave me the terminal phone number. I called the terminal and spoke to Carrol Muscle I explained to her the situation quickly since Ms. Kidd had not seemed to be listening to me very well. I told Carrol Muscle that there were little fragments of blue plasic and dust inside the packaging that would not have been there had the computer not been damaged prior to packing it. I also explained that the reason I had said that the package looked fine is because it did not look badly deformed. I had no certain way of knowing that the computer inside was damaged. Had the package appeared to be extremely damaged I would have left it alone, so that they could see how it was packed. She said "I'm taking notes". Notice the “notes” on the label.
Nov. 1st
The Computer arrived on my door step today. No one called to tell me it was ready to pick up. I opened the top of the box and saw how poorly the computer was packed. I was so disgusted by the way the computer had been packed that I left it in it's packaging so that I could take pictures of it later, and possibly have another person from FedEx see it in person. I have since heard that Carrol Muscle sent out a note saying the the packaging was insufficient. If she felt that way it would make sense for here to call me and have me pick up the package. As it turns out she or someone who packed my computer tossed it in the box with the packaging poorly protecting it. The package only had to travel about 45 miles to get to my house. The computer arrived damaged even further that what it was prior, simply because someone decided to improperly pack my computer and send it back to me instead of calling me so that I could come pick it up, as was the plan. Obviously Ms. Muscle felt the packaging was sufficient even when used improperly to pack the computer or she would have never sent it through the mail again.
 |
The above two pictures are to show how the computer was improperly packaged, and sent back to me, by the FedEx Rep. |
The top and side panels were completely broken off and loosely sitting in place when the computer arrived after being sent back by Ms. Muscle at the Raeford, NC FedEx Facility.
Nov. 2nd
I called 800 Go FedEx to file a claim. The rep I spoke to asked for the tracking number and then tried see if the claim had already been filed. She said "it looked like the claim may have already been started." I asked "Do you see Carrol Muscles comments on the state of the packaging for the computer? She said I do see that they are waiting for you to contact them, "let me see if I can connect you to that area." After a short wait a lady came back on the phone and told me that she had just spoken w/ someone in NC who told her to tell me that I should "hold on to the package in case they wanted to do a follow-up inspection. She said the claim had definitely already been started and all I needed to do now is sit back and wait for someone to contact me. She said that she would make a note to indicate that I had followed-up on the claim.
Nov. 8th
I called FedEx since I had not heard from a FedEx Rep. regarding my damaged computer. I gave the Rep. the tracking number. She said that there was a note in the system saying that "Today the document was delivered to the claims center." and she said that "A letter went out for inadequate packaging." She said that there was no claim form, and that I needed to submit a claim form and an invoice showing the date of purchase of the computer. Linda said I should take pictures and she said that they still "might do an on site inspection." I explained that the package was unwrapped, because I did not know it was damaged until it was unpacked. She said that was fine and that I should package it as it was originally packaged and take a picture. She gave me her email address which is as follows: 428876@fedex.com
Nov. 10th
Nov. 10th
Proof of value is difficult for this computer since it was purchased in 2005 and has had an unknown number of upgrades and updates over the years. The last and most expensive rebuild and overhaul was the one it was returning from in California when the damage occurred. The easiest way to have the value assessed would be to have a couple third party professionals take it apart to see what it is worth. I estimate it's worth to be well over $2000. This is not counting the cost of the thousands of pictures and 3 web sites that are only on this computer's hard drives. Note: all these files will be lost if a professional is unable to retrieve the data off of the computer hard drives. The cost of paying a true professional to retrieve the data off of the possibly damaged hard drives could be over one thousand dollars. If the data is unrecoverable then the loss would be $6700 for web sites alone. The loss of the pictures, and art work is priceless. Note that I estimated the value of my computer itself to be $2000 going to California. While in California my computers value went up substantially but I made a mistake and kept it's value at $2000 for the return trip. Also notice that I insured the computer on the call tag even though I was not planning on letting the computer out of my sight again. After being convinced by Kimberly Kidd to leave the computer overnight for inspection I reluctantly agreed. I was told by her that I would get a call when the computer was completed. I fully expected to return to the facility to retrieve the package after it was inspected.
As seen above the computer was not handled properly physically or administratively. The notes that Ms. Muscle said she was making related to my case were nothing more than scribbles on the label. Ms. Muscle ultimately concluded that the packaging was insufficient and sent out a letter to this affect. She then packed the computer (or had someone else do it) improperly. In fact she packed the computer so improperly it was extremely offensive to me. Not only had she not called me to pick up the package as she was supposed to, she said the packaging was inadequate then she dropped my computer in it's box and stuffed the packing material on top of the computer, leaving the corners and one side unprotected. The end result of this poor packing was that in the 60 minutes it took the package to get to my house it was damaged nearly equal to the damage that occurred from the shipment from California. The damage that occurred from California was clearly due to some tremendous accidental drop of my package. The 2nd damage that occurred from the Fedex facility to my house confuses me. I don't know how this could have happened. I can't imagine it would have been dropped again, but at some point it must have been.
Nov. 10th
I have cut through the layers of neatly wrapped bubble wrap to show the detail as best I can.
This picture shows the computer as it was originally packed. Notice that it is packed so well that a drop from the waist will only cause the box to bounce and remain undamaged. This is also the way the computer professional in California packed my computer for its return trip to me. The way computers should be packed using bubble wrap is as follows. First the computer should be laid on it's side and wrapped to the depth of about 1 inch the the computer should be flipped over and wrapped again in a similar way for another 1 inch each of these wrappings would overlap the sides of the computer. Next the computer should be stood up on end and wrapped around and around until top to bottom is covered in 3 inches of bubble wrap. Note that wrapping in this method would give the for main corners over 4.5 inches of bubble wrap which fits nicely into the box. The top and bottom of the box are covered in more bubble wrap and packing peanuts providing about 6 inches of protection on either side of the computer; which is more than enough to protect the computer against a fall from waist height.
Nov. 10th
Proof of value is difficult for this computer since it was purchased in 2005 and has had an unknown number of upgrades and updates over the years. The last and most expensive rebuild and overhaul was the one it was returning from in California when the damage occurred. The easiest way to have the value assessed would be to have a couple third party professionals take it apart to see what it is worth. I estimate it's worth to be well over $2000. This is not counting the cost of the thousands of pictures and 3 web sites that are only on this computer's hard drives. Note: all these files will be lost if a professional is unable to retrieve the data off of the computer hard drives. The cost of paying a true professional to retrieve the data off of the possibly damaged hard drives could be over one thousand dollars. If the data is unrecoverable then the loss would be $6700 for web sites alone. The loss of the pictures, and art work is priceless. Note that I estimated the value of my computer itself to be $2000 going to California. While in California my computers value went up substantially but I made a mistake and kept it's value at $2000 for the return trip. Also notice that I insured the computer on the call tag even though I was not planning on letting the computer out of my sight again. After being convinced by Kimberly Kidd to leave the computer overnight for inspection I reluctantly agreed. I was told by her that I would get a call when the computer was completed. I fully expected to return to the facility to retrieve the package after it was inspected.
As seen above the computer was not handled properly physically or administratively. The notes that Ms. Muscle said she was making related to my case were nothing more than scribbles on the label. Ms. Muscle ultimately concluded that the packaging was insufficient and sent out a letter to this affect. She then packed the computer (or had someone else do it) improperly. In fact she packed the computer so improperly it was extremely offensive to me. Not only had she not called me to pick up the package as she was supposed to, she said the packaging was inadequate then she dropped my computer in it's box and stuffed the packing material on top of the computer, leaving the corners and one side unprotected. The end result of this poor packing was that in the 60 minutes it took the package to get to my house it was damaged nearly equal to the damage that occurred from the shipment from California. The damage that occurred from California was clearly due to some tremendous accidental drop of my package. The 2nd damage that occurred from the Fedex facility to my house confuses me. I don't know how this could have happened. I can't imagine it would have been dropped again, but at some point it must have been.
