Damage to Bella 3205 by UPS

kallitype · « **on:** 10 Apr 2007, 03:59 am »

Any word to you from UPS? I can't seem to get any satisfactory answer, they have had the amp since 3/30
and supposedly it is on the way back to you??????????????

Terry in Seattle

denjo · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Apr 2007, 09:03 am »

The amplifier or the musical instrument?

Bill Baker · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Apr 2007, 01:08 pm »

Hi Terry,
The amp is on it's way back to you according to my phone concersation with UPS yesterday. IN all honesty, I don't have to deal with many claims with UPS but when I do, they are always a headache. Especially if they take the package.
As soon as I hear anything, I you will be the second to know.

kallitype · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Apr 2007, 03:22 pm »

SO----they damage the amp, keep it a week, and send the damaged amp back to me? What is that supposed to solve? No monetary reimbursement??? I would have thought it would be sent back to you, so you can evaluate the damage and fix or replace the amp, or they would pay you the insurance amount and I'd get a new amp. So I'm supposed to return the amp to you at my expense???
I see what you mean about UPS. totally FUBAR!!

What do I do next?

Ter

Bill Baker · « **Reply #4 on:** 10 Apr 2007, 04:05 pm »

HI Terry,
They admitted they messed up. They brought the amp in to evaluate the damage and for some reason, looked at the label and thought it was to be shipped to you. This is why I never like them removing a piece and always request on-sight inspections.

Can you tell me if the damage was only cosmetic to the bottom plate where the cones were attached or does it extend into the chassis itself.

When the amps gets back to you, please let me know as we will be going about this a different way. I cannot do anything until the amp is back in your possesion. You will not have to send the amp back at your expense. They will cover this. If it is strictly bottom plate damage, I will simply send you a new one with cones and have you send the old one back to me (at my expense).

kallitype · « **Reply #5 on:** 10 Apr 2007, 04:30 pm »

I believe one of the chassis corners might have been bent as well, there was something rattling around inside, sounded smalll, like a nut. Amp powered up OK and sounded good but looks terrible with one badly bent cone.

I'll check the photos I took and see if it's only the top plate, but it will probably be here today or tomorrow. Will call you when I get it. Thanks for your concern and your help---

TR

Bill Baker · « **Reply #6 on:** 10 Apr 2007, 05:09 pm »

Hello again Terry,
I just got off the phone with them and they said the amp was sent to you and refused. They said it is now on it's way back to me. The claim is still pending with no information yet.
I guess I am lucky as I have had only 2 of 300 of these amps damaged in transit after switching to UPS. With Federal Express, I was experiencing 2 damage claims a month with these amplifiers.
They are suppose to call me by tomorrow afternoon with the claim results. I will let you know what I hear from them and/or find with the amp.

kallitype · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 Apr 2007, 05:16 pm »

That's an interesting twist---the amp was dropped off on the porch, literally. Wife took it into the house,
I opened it when I got home from work, and discovered the damage and immediately notified UPS for a damage claim, as well as emailing you.

Saying I refused the amp is a fabrication, as it was dropped off, not delivered to us personally. The next day our regular UPS guy came and picked up the amp in the box and took it to Seattle for inspection, the rest you know.
Can you tell from the pix I mailed you whether the chassis is bent???

TR

kallitype · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 01:57 am »

Was called by "Tara" of the UPS claims dept, she left a message asking me "what the package looked like". I left her a message saying it looked like it had been dropped!! Ref # 30956n584

Bill Baker · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 02:05 am »

I don't have a problem with this as long as it doesn't bother teh other party involved or anyone else. As long as it is within my own forum I don't think it is breaking any rules? If it does, I would remove the thread.

One one hand, it provides others that read this thread some insight on what can be involved in dealing with damage claims with carriers. Kind of a public service?

Bill Baker · « **Reply #10 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 02:09 am »

By the way, the other party and myself are discussing this further in private communication. There is obviously a lot more to this than is being indicated within this thread.
I think people would be amazed of some of the messed-up stunts and misleading information being provided by UPS about this situation. I cannot believe the runaround they are trying to pull.

Meicheng · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 02:42 am »

My limited experience has been that UPS makes every effort to deny damage claims, and often make the parties concerned go through a long appeals process. One simply cannot believe the headaches related to shipper damage until you experience it. It is a royal pain.

kallitype · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 04:43 am »

I am grateful to BIll for his persistence in following up on my damage claim, and to other Circle members for their insights and support. I notified Bill immediately, as well as UPS. Guess who was more responsive?? They picked up the amp on April 30, despite Bill asking for an on-site inspection, and it has neither been returned to Bill, nor to me.
The hard part is not having the amp to go with the nice Manley Shrimp preamp I bought to feed my 4 line sources to it, I am listening to my tunes (well, if you call Mahler by Zander and Bach by Gould "tunes") with my old Amber 70 ss amp.
The reason I mentioned it on the Response Audio Circle is because I saw that Bill was signed on and my fone was up on blocks....sorrry if it offends you.

TR in Puget Sound

RAW · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Apr 2007, 06:25 pm »

Well the best of Luck

Took me over 7 months of paper work and telephone calls ,threw the roof to get payment for 2 pairs of RA8's that UPS damaged.

All I can say.
Stay on the phone demand all the information be processed and call back with the persons name you talked to before to ask the status a day after you talk to them.
Did I say call back again and again.Document names ever call as you will still have to explain who you have talked to ect.
Do not take well the claim is being looked at

UPS does nothing but make the process so hard and misleading in processing a claim, they want you just to walk away.

All the best.

FED EX paid a claim in 6 weeks from start to finish

kallitype · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Apr 2007, 11:23 pm »

Thanks RAW----we're settling in for the seige, I guess.

according to the tracking message, the amp made its way to NY:

VESTAL, NY,      04 /13/2007    1:50 A.M.    OUT FOR DELIVERY
   04/13/2007    12:50 A.M.    ARRIVAL SCAN

E. SYRACUSE, NY,    04/12/2007    10:34 P.M.    DEPARTURE SCAN
   04/12/2007    7:39 P.M.    ARRIVAL SCAN

Fortunately, the amp powered up and sounded OK, so the damage apppears to be confined (I hope) to the bottom plate and the Audio Point. Probably best to ship with the points uninstalled....

RAW · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Apr 2007, 03:37 am »

Keep your head up it will come with persistence and FORCE aa

AS a fact we just received a demo pair of LX II back from Calgary (we are in BC the next province over) and the LX II were packaged in 3.5" thick top and bottom solid foam with 2" solid foam lining double walled box's.
Then the cabinets were wrapped in 4 wraps of 1" bubble wrap.

What happened.Well the shipping company dropped them do hard the MDF 1.5" thick bases (that were attached to the cabinet came off in pieces

This was the last pair of speakers we had out on demo.And no longer will we be doing demo's.

Shipping is just nuts.
If you package speakers in over 4" of material in double walled box's and the shipping companies can damage them this shows what is needed to package speakers plus amps.
Really I would say crates but I even had them tear apart a pair of crates.

Last thing we have done.
2X2 framed crates with 3/8" plywood held together with 3" screws ,lined with 2" solid foam with the cabinets wrapped in a thin bubble pad to stop scratches.
This adds 2 things.
More cost for shipping.
And believe me people do not want to pay for high costs of custom crates and freight shipping.
Plus more labour and materials to build crates and line the crates with solid foam.Then having to charge customers for this packing as to prevent the monkey's that do all the damage to our products ,we all work so hard to get to our customers (right Bill)

Business is business but shipping in another WORLD.
-The shipping companies charge money for a service that they can then damage your products.
-Then these companies toy with you threw paper work to no end hoping for you to drop claims which you pay money for insurance as well

Bill Baker · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 Apr 2007, 04:11 pm »

You are absolutely correct Al. Crates are the way to go but it is difficult to justify the added cost on the less expensive products. To be honest with you, I have had great luck with these amps over the years after switching to UPS. I ship well over 100 of these a year and have maybe 2 or 3 get damaged.

I am working on crates for out larger, more expensive units such as the Bella EXtreme 100's and EXtreme Hurricanes (which now way 95 lbs. each)

One thing I have learned is that most carriers will decline the first 2 claims so you have to be persistant with the. With Fed. Ex., I use to have to go through the process 3 or 4 times and they were damaging close to 10 pieces a year. That's why I switched.

I once had a customer order 3 pair of EXtreme Hurricanes and Fed. Ex. damaged 3 of the amplifiers. What a battle that was.

With UPS, I have not had any claims on EXtreme hurricanes with a dozen pair going out each year since we started these.

The worst part about damage claims is the time lost more-so than the cost of repair. (sometimes) This claim appears to be minor in damage but will cost me more time and additional shipping. Even if they don't honor the claim, I will still repair the amp for Terry and send it back to him. Sometimes fighting with them is not worth the added frustration.

One thing most people do not realize is that if a product has an insured value over $5,000, the package never sees a conveyor belt and is ventured by hand throughout it's journey. Obviously we cannot pay such high insurance rates on the less expensive products but I will NOT ship and EXtreme Hurricanes without this insurance.

I also have another claim on a pair of Adagio speakers that were sent in for Extreme mods. Let's see how this one plays out

RAW · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 Apr 2007, 05:22 pm »

I agree with you Bill some times you just walk away.

We have on the last pair of demo LX II damaged, not worth the hastle at all to process a claim.As this was a demo pair returning to us.

Shipping with high dollar value like you said gets handled differently and the added cost of the higher insured values at $1.00 per hundred looks like a bargin in the end.We started doing this with some of our shipments just to play the handling game.Less hands the better

Bill Baker · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Apr 2007, 03:38 am »

Well, it looks like after the third submission, they are honoring the claim

I was able to speak to someone who actually cared and after telling them about the obvious handling of the product, they have pulled through.

kallitype · « **Reply #19 on:** 30 Apr 2007, 10:28 pm »

Excellent news, hope they are covering the shipping to me as well!!!
They should cover 2-day!!

TR