Sold R8 Stock on AH- UPS damaged, trouble get insurance claim

[Justbryan]

I sold an R8 stock on AH a month or more ago. The stock was damaged in shipment by UPS. They are so difficult to work with and getting claim filed, rifle evaluated for damage, and claim paid.

The stock is a Blaser R8 classic which is impossible to find. They want to have the cracked stock repaired when it is split badly. I cannot even find a price on the stock because they are so hard to find.

I am the seller, and the buyer is waiting on a settlement (AH member). We are both tired of fooling with UPS.

Any advise, they are now sending documents to original FFL shipper to fill out on a stock that is almost impossible to replace.

 

[Bonk]

If the seller was a business it would be incumbent on the seller to make sure the product was delivered undamaged. It's gets a little stickier when it's a private sale. Who paid for the shipping and insurance? Good luck to both of you.

 

[JoninCO]

Sorry for your troubles, UPS has really taken a backslide over the last couple years.

I am lucky to have a large UPS account so they are very responsible when anyone from my office has any issue.

That said, it's like any other insurance, the more of a pain (cost) you make it for them, the more likely they are to pay you to go away. Elevate until you get what is fair.

That is a bummer on the stock, I have been looking for one for a while now.

 

[Justbryan]

If the seller was a business it would be incumbent on the seller to make sure the product was delivered undamaged. It's gets a little stickier when it's a private sale. Who paid for the shipping and insurance? Good luck to both of you.

FFL actually paid for the insurance.

 

[Justbryan]

Sorry for your troubles, UPS has really taken a backslide over the last couple years.

I am lucky to have a large UPS account so they are very responsible when anyone from my office has any issue.

That said, it's like any other insurance, the more of a pain (cost) you make it for them, the more likely they are to pay you to go away. Elevate until you get what is fair.

That is a bummer on the stock, I have been looking for one for a while now.

We have not elevated it yet. Maybe we can do that next.

 

[JPmbogo]

Usually a letter from an attorney gets their attention. Might cost a few bucks, but most likely worth it.

 

[TTundra]

I am the buyer on this one, and as @Justbryan has said, UPS has made it a nightmare. I've spend more time on the phone with them in the last few weeks than I'd care to admit. Consistently getting bounced between divisions in what I can only assume is an effort to make your drop the claim.

Luckily, @Justbryan and the sending FFL have been on board from the start to get this resolved and we are almost at the payment point, but as mentioned, they want to know repair or replacement costs on an out of production item. Why? Pay what it's insured for as that's what it was purchased for.

For anyone interested, the handlers cracked the ebony tip, cracked out a piece of the ebony tip, gouged the side of the side breaking the wood fibers in a few spots. The box looked as if it had been bend in half and dropped hard on a corner.

 

[JPmbogo]

Usually a letter from an attorney gets their attention. Might cost a few bucks, but most likely worth it.

I should add in here that I am a retired attorney with considerable professional experience in the insurance industry. One of my favorite stories is personal. Many years ago I sold a valuable watch through an ad in the Seattle Times. I accepted payment via a cashiers certified check from a well-known local financial institution. A week later or so I was informed that the check was counterfeit - I hasten to add a damn good one at that. I filed a complaint with the local PD to cover my butt. I then filed a claim with our homeowners' insurance policy as a theft, specifically "theft by deception." The claims agent offered only $1,000 because he called it "counterfeit cash" which was the policy max on such a claim. He took the position that such a check was the same as cash. After I got done laughing, I wrote a letter on my legal letterhead to the insurance company legal department explaining the claim. Within a week I received not only the full amount of my claim (several thousand dollars) with no deduction ($500 according to the policy) plus a little "extra" for my trouble (call it my attorney fee).

 

[Challer]

That said, you can get an R8 classic style stock made up, as I am now. https://www.riflestocks.eu/
That may provide replacement value

 

[RR 314]

No help other than keep on them and hope you have a friend with pretty letterhead

I buy a lot of parts but am very hesitant to sell and ship a nice rifle due to all the horror stories. I know a lot of guys do it all the time without issue—I would just be a guy with issue.

 

[R.M.C.]

That said, you can get an R8 classic style stock made up, as I am now. https://www.riflestocks.eu/
That may provide replacement value

I think that's the answer.

 

[Ray B]

I'm not sure if it's a change in management or what with UPS but I have noticed a difference in service. for years I've been receiving a shipment of wine from California and up to about a year ago I'd get an e-mail that included the GPS of the truck on which the shipment was being delivered. I could tell when it was just down the street and as it pulled up to our house. Now it gets here when it gets here.

Secondly, our neighbor was receiving a large wall mirror being shipped by the store. He wasn't going to be available so asked that it be delivered to us. When it arrived it was in a box 4'x3'x3". In the box were 3 large gouges. Any of the three could have easily broken the mirror. Fortunately the mirror had enough packing material that the mirror escaped injury- but not because of any care of handling by UPS employees or equipment.

 

[Rimbaud]

Most major companies have people/team in the CEO’s office who deal with difficult complaints/issues that the front line staff cannot or will not resolve. Try to call the main UPS number in Atlanta and see if that gets you connected. Also, the Board of Directors’ Audit Committee of listed companies generally has an email listed on the IR subsite. An email to Audit is generally read in real time, and will almost certainly get routed. Good luck.

 

[Justbryan]

Thanks, let's see if they respond to FFL letter. Just venting my frustration.

 

[HuntingGold]

I sold a very nice rifle to a member about 2 years ago. Shipped from my ffl by FedEx to the buyer and the rifle arrived with damage to the aluminum case and snapped stock at the wrist. A very long story short, FedEx paid out a very small amount and told me to sue if I wanted more. After a quick discussion with an attorney, the costs would rack up so fast that I really needed to do some soul searching on whether to take it further or not. The FFL was wonderful and filed an insurance claim and paid out a little more. Ultimately I decided to take the loss and move on. All I can say is that if you have a friend that is an attorney, maybe buy him a beer or two and see if he'll send a threatening letter for you and perhaps that can help. Otherwise you'll need to go all in on a lawsuit or just take the hit (as I did).

 

[Firebird]

My last three purchases have gone terribly because of ups. Two rifles arrived without the box they were mailed in. One had to be returned as it contained no paperwork. They must run over them with trucks in the warehouses in order to damage stocks so badly

 

[deewayne2003]

I went through this years ago with a UPS damaged stock-file report, wait on investigation, get repair/replacement quote and submit everything with their report # ….

All they are trying to do is get you to give up!

I waited the 30days after submitting their endless information requests and then called the assigned agent and stated that I would be filing larceny charges if they didn’t make good on the insurance….. 4 days later I get a check in the mail.

 

[rookhawk]

I sold an R8 stock on AH a month or more ago. The stock was damaged in shipment by UPS. They are so difficult to work with and getting claim filed, rifle evaluated for damage, and claim paid.

The stock is a Blaser R8 classic which is impossible to find. They want to have the cracked stock repaired when it is split badly. I cannot even find a price on the stock because they are so hard to find.

I am the seller, and the buyer is waiting on a settlement (AH member). We are both tired of fooling with UPS.

Any advise, they are now sending documents to original FFL shipper to fill out on a stock that is almost impossible to replace.

You just need to speak claims lingo with the adjuster. I’m sure for $1000 you can glue and pin the stock, strip the finish, apply a new hand rubbed oil finish, and it will appear good as new. The residual value of such a stock post repair will be about $100 as it will likely fail again.

So option 1 is cheapest: total loss, UPS owes you full market value.

Option 2 is more expensive: Full repair back to functionality with like-for-like quality of workmanship, plus the loss in residual value from it being a repaired product.

 

[flatwater bill]

UPS insurance is essentially worthless IMO......................best of luck.............FWB

 

[Challer]

The best insurance is... A proper rifle shipping box from Fulton Armory. I have two from my M14s. Without a doubt the very best shipping carton. They sell them by themselves. Most rigid cardboard and thickest foam I've ever used - many times now. https://www.fulton-armory.com/shippingboxdelivered-1.aspx