A FedEx account is an invitation for fraud. I had not used my account for several years and got a bill for shipment of a package to some random address in NY that was an abandon building a block from the NY FedEx office. It took weeks as they sent me back and forth between two departments. I eventually think the charge got dropped after hours on the phone with them. I couldn't figure out how to close the account so I assigned all the user info including name, email, address, phone and other information on the account to that of a FedEx office. So they can bill themselves for what ever they want from here on out.
I am completely satisfied with FEDEX.
In addition, the delivery lady was very pretty and cute! 🙂
In addition, the delivery lady was very pretty and cute! 🙂
I've often wondered about that sort of thing. When you ship a package there is a simple option to bill to a third party account. I wonder how many businesses get things charged to them and don't audit enough to notice. It should be a simple checkbox to opt out of any bill to receiver or third party on your account.
I'm currently quite unsatisfied with Fedex.
I ordered $110 worth of parts for my DIY guitar amp project from Digikey and chose the Fedex shipping since they have been the fastest path from Digikey to middle of nowhere West Virginia. Delivery was supposed to be yesterday but was still "out for delivery" last night at 9 PM. No delivery service will come down our frozen dirt road after dark in the winter. Sometime before 10 the tracking showed "delivery delayed due to weather conditions." It was rescheduled for today between 10 AM and 2 PM.
According to my doorbell camera I was outside shoveling snow off my driveway and front porch from 10:15 AM to 10:27 PM. Nobody but my wife and I were seen by the camera all day. Shortly after I started clearing snow, I see the Fedex delivery truck stop at the entrance of the dirt road, then back up and continue on the paved main road that goes further out into the hills. I thought that he missed his best chance to traverse the road since the garbage truck had just been here and compressed all the snow. I had no problems walking on it in flip flops.
About 11 AM I get a message on my phone that my package had been delivered at 10:47 AM, but it is not here. Their "delivered" notice even had a picture of the box sitting next to the front door of a house that I have never seen before. I instantly called the Fedex 800 number while filling out the rate our delivery form with the "you delivered it to the wrong house" message. I never could get a human on the 800 number but got multiple requests to look further for my package as it WAS delivered. So far the only thing I have is a two line response generated by an AI machine.
"Thank you for contacting FedEx. We appreciate your business. We are researching your case regarding tracking number 437690635736. If you have located your package click here.
FedEx Customer Experience
Please do not respond to this message. This email was sent from an unattended mailbox."
The house with the red door is mine. The parts were left at the tan brick faced house.
I ordered $110 worth of parts for my DIY guitar amp project from Digikey and chose the Fedex shipping since they have been the fastest path from Digikey to middle of nowhere West Virginia. Delivery was supposed to be yesterday but was still "out for delivery" last night at 9 PM. No delivery service will come down our frozen dirt road after dark in the winter. Sometime before 10 the tracking showed "delivery delayed due to weather conditions." It was rescheduled for today between 10 AM and 2 PM.
According to my doorbell camera I was outside shoveling snow off my driveway and front porch from 10:15 AM to 10:27 PM. Nobody but my wife and I were seen by the camera all day. Shortly after I started clearing snow, I see the Fedex delivery truck stop at the entrance of the dirt road, then back up and continue on the paved main road that goes further out into the hills. I thought that he missed his best chance to traverse the road since the garbage truck had just been here and compressed all the snow. I had no problems walking on it in flip flops.
About 11 AM I get a message on my phone that my package had been delivered at 10:47 AM, but it is not here. Their "delivered" notice even had a picture of the box sitting next to the front door of a house that I have never seen before. I instantly called the Fedex 800 number while filling out the rate our delivery form with the "you delivered it to the wrong house" message. I never could get a human on the 800 number but got multiple requests to look further for my package as it WAS delivered. So far the only thing I have is a two line response generated by an AI machine.
"Thank you for contacting FedEx. We appreciate your business. We are researching your case regarding tracking number 437690635736. If you have located your package click here.
FedEx Customer Experience
Please do not respond to this message. This email was sent from an unattended mailbox."
The house with the red door is mine. The parts were left at the tan brick faced house.
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Yeh fedex rubbish here in nz.they dont give a rats backside.DHL awsome.fast,efficient and reliable.highly recommended.
Tubelab is not the only one having a package delivered somewhere else. Luckily a package of mine had a phone number so the person a mile away could call and have me collect the package. Seems to happen to others using FedEx.
I receive a few packages each month from Mouser shipped by FedEx. My experience has only been positive. It likely helps that I live in a city of 1.6M people. My house was built in 1912, so the road has been here a while... 🙂
UPS seems just as reliable, but they deliver later than FedEx and unlike FedEx they can't bill the GST (sales tax) directly to my account, so they charge a billing fee. I'm not a fan of fees, so I go with FedEx.
DHL is an odd duck – at least around here. Unlike UPS and FedEx they will sometimes sit on a package for a few days even though it has arrived at the local sorting centre. UPS and FedEx just deliver a day or two early. OTOH, DHL is the only company where the delivery driver would call me before making the delivery just to make sure I was home to receive the package. That's pretty stellar service. They also charge a billing fee, but at least they can charge my account automatically for the most part.
Canada Post, USPS, postal services in general are slow but reliable – at least in most places.
I've shipped a few thousand packages since 2010 when I started my business. I can still count on one hand the number of packages that have disappeared in the mail. Some have taken a while to arrive, but they did get there eventually.
Tom
UPS seems just as reliable, but they deliver later than FedEx and unlike FedEx they can't bill the GST (sales tax) directly to my account, so they charge a billing fee. I'm not a fan of fees, so I go with FedEx.
DHL is an odd duck – at least around here. Unlike UPS and FedEx they will sometimes sit on a package for a few days even though it has arrived at the local sorting centre. UPS and FedEx just deliver a day or two early. OTOH, DHL is the only company where the delivery driver would call me before making the delivery just to make sure I was home to receive the package. That's pretty stellar service. They also charge a billing fee, but at least they can charge my account automatically for the most part.
Canada Post, USPS, postal services in general are slow but reliable – at least in most places.
I've shipped a few thousand packages since 2010 when I started my business. I can still count on one hand the number of packages that have disappeared in the mail. Some have taken a while to arrive, but they did get there eventually.
Tom
"... My experience has only been positive. It likely helps that I live in a city of 1.6M people. My house was built in 1912, so the road has been here a while...."
Well, you live in a small town. Maybe the Canadians are more responsible?
Over here, my urban county alone is 3+ million... the metropolitan are is more than 18.5M people! The street in front of me has been around since '67 and we don't get snow... yet, Fedex and UPS seem to forget where I live.
At least, Tubelab had a clear picture of where the package was dropped, during Christmas UPS took a "picture" that was like the driver's thumb... smeared... very artistic I must day, almost surrealistic.
Then years ago, Fedex dropped my A2s on my neighbor;s doorstep. They couldn't get out of the house. I mean, more than 100 lbs of two big boxes... the fool had to carry them further as my door is closer to the street than my neighbor's.
The best one though was USPS dropping off a US Dept Of State envelope with my neighbor's passports.... on my doorstep!
Well, you live in a small town. Maybe the Canadians are more responsible?
Over here, my urban county alone is 3+ million... the metropolitan are is more than 18.5M people! The street in front of me has been around since '67 and we don't get snow... yet, Fedex and UPS seem to forget where I live.
At least, Tubelab had a clear picture of where the package was dropped, during Christmas UPS took a "picture" that was like the driver's thumb... smeared... very artistic I must day, almost surrealistic.
Then years ago, Fedex dropped my A2s on my neighbor;s doorstep. They couldn't get out of the house. I mean, more than 100 lbs of two big boxes... the fool had to carry them further as my door is closer to the street than my neighbor's.
The best one though was USPS dropping off a US Dept Of State envelope with my neighbor's passports.... on my doorstep!
I live outside of a city so FedEx won't deliver. UPS hands off to a local courier whose driver for my area knows where I live and I get shipments. When he's gone, I'm screwed. Ebay, through its Global Shipping Program (should be called the Global Ripoff Program), and Amazon.ca have both abandoned Canada Post for a courier called Intelcom/Dragonfly who only seems to employ immigrants who struggle with the language and locale. I hate to think of the shitty wage, hours, and conditions these drivers have to cope with - I suspect they're not 'employees' but 'private contractor's' who have to provide their own vehicles and aren't subject to labour laws regarding hours worked, etc. Regardless, they can't find me, nor do they have a site where I could go to receive an item, so I no longer shop for anything (usually camera, or computer, equip) from the US on eBay. Amazon seems to have issues, as due others, shipping to a post box, even though there's a nice, big, shiny, group box where parcels can be safely left. Now, all of our Amazon crap has to go to a 'pick up location', ironically at a post office, which involves a city trip. DHL is useless here because they hand off to another, Canadian courier, who can't deliver where I am, and whose facility, with limited hours, is located as far from me as possible, resulting in two hour round trip.
Since I'm on a rant ... I had a Samsung tablet which had reached the end of its life, so after checking for Android based tablets, I decided to order a Lenovo from Lenovo's Canadian site. I used my post box address, 'cause a tablet isn't big and it would fit in my group box, or, it would require a signature in which case I'd get a card from Canada Post, and would drive to the city to pick it up.
They sent it, from North Carolina, by UPS. I tracked it and could see that it reached the city. And then it sat. I actually had email correspondence with UPS and asked them to give it to the local courier so it could be delivered. No, their contract with Lenovo said they couldn't do that. Could they send it to my friend's city address? No, their contract with Lenovo said they couldn't change the address. They said I should contact Lenovo. (You know where this is going, don't you?) I contacted Lenovo by 'chat' and emails. Could they contact UPS and change the shipping address? No, I'd have to arrange that with UPS. I informed them that UPS couldn't do that. They apologized, but said there was nothing they could do. I said UPS could then return it, which again they apologized for, and gave me code for a discount on the item I would order once they received the returned item. It took them about a month and a half to issue me a refund after they'd received it in North Carolina (at least UPS let me track the return).
I now use a Google Pixel tablet, because there was a snowball's chance in hell I'd order from Lenovo again (same odds Canada becomes the US 51st state).
They sent it, from North Carolina, by UPS. I tracked it and could see that it reached the city. And then it sat. I actually had email correspondence with UPS and asked them to give it to the local courier so it could be delivered. No, their contract with Lenovo said they couldn't do that. Could they send it to my friend's city address? No, their contract with Lenovo said they couldn't change the address. They said I should contact Lenovo. (You know where this is going, don't you?) I contacted Lenovo by 'chat' and emails. Could they contact UPS and change the shipping address? No, I'd have to arrange that with UPS. I informed them that UPS couldn't do that. They apologized, but said there was nothing they could do. I said UPS could then return it, which again they apologized for, and gave me code for a discount on the item I would order once they received the returned item. It took them about a month and a half to issue me a refund after they'd received it in North Carolina (at least UPS let me track the return).
I now use a Google Pixel tablet, because there was a snowball's chance in hell I'd order from Lenovo again (same odds Canada becomes the US 51st state).
Once upon a time... a birthday was approaching and I had to send a gift.
I sent it in a package to Seattle.
Fedex
It was supposed to get there on Friday. I sent it the Friday before... plenty of time.
By the next Tuesday the package was still somewhere in LA County... Why? Three days to go 15 miles North?
So, I called the "hello may I help you my name is David" phone number. They knew less about the package than I could see on the website... so I just quipped, "WTH, might as well ship it back to me and I'll drive with it"..... "Wait! Wait! I was just joking...."...
The next Friday AM the package showed up in Tacoma, WA but was held up... for return to shipper
Sure enough, on Sunday they returned it to me....
On Monday, I called the credit card company and put a stop to the payment, I also took the package to USPS... it got there in three days.
Then FedEx sent me a bill, I kept calling them, they would say they'd fix it... eventually I got a letter from a collection agency. After a few phone calls we were getting nowhere. I had a Fedex manager in charge of "customer affairs" actually yell at me on the phone... I was actually being polite and firm... but she thought she could intimidate me.
So, I wrote a long letter addresses to the "Office Of The Chairman".... sent it registered, signature required. The letter was detailed with chronological description of what had happened with who, when, how... with copies of their correspondence and my own notes. I had full notes on the "Customer Affairs" manager, of course.
Within a week, I got a letter from FedEx informing me that the matter was solved and apologizing for my inconvenience.
I sent it in a package to Seattle.
Fedex
It was supposed to get there on Friday. I sent it the Friday before... plenty of time.
By the next Tuesday the package was still somewhere in LA County... Why? Three days to go 15 miles North?
So, I called the "hello may I help you my name is David" phone number. They knew less about the package than I could see on the website... so I just quipped, "WTH, might as well ship it back to me and I'll drive with it"..... "Wait! Wait! I was just joking...."...
The next Friday AM the package showed up in Tacoma, WA but was held up... for return to shipper
Sure enough, on Sunday they returned it to me....
On Monday, I called the credit card company and put a stop to the payment, I also took the package to USPS... it got there in three days.
Then FedEx sent me a bill, I kept calling them, they would say they'd fix it... eventually I got a letter from a collection agency. After a few phone calls we were getting nowhere. I had a Fedex manager in charge of "customer affairs" actually yell at me on the phone... I was actually being polite and firm... but she thought she could intimidate me.
So, I wrote a long letter addresses to the "Office Of The Chairman".... sent it registered, signature required. The letter was detailed with chronological description of what had happened with who, when, how... with copies of their correspondence and my own notes. I had full notes on the "Customer Affairs" manager, of course.
Within a week, I got a letter from FedEx informing me that the matter was solved and apologizing for my inconvenience.
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I'm trying my best not to get too pi$$ed off, but I'm failing. These guys seem to have no clue. All day yesterday they stood fast to the "it was delivered, so we are done" theme. This prompted me to take the picture of my front porch and repeatedly bomb their "rate your delivery" link with pictures and ranting. That was the only avenue that I could find. Their AI powered chat bot on the other end of the 800 number would continue to go down the same "please continue to look for your package" loop. I tried asking them to tell me where to look, but that sent the chat bot back to square one.
This morning I had an email from Fedex. Now they want me to contact Digikey for assistance. Really? F this!
"Our research is currently in progress. If you have located your package, please click here. If you have not located your package by (1/20/2025 10:02:00 AM), please contact your shipper and advise of the situation so they can further assist.
FedEx Customer Experience
Please do not respond to this message. This email was sent from an unattended mailbox."
I ran the tracking number again. I was quite surprised to get an error message proclaiming that there were TWO SHIPMENTS associated with that tracking number. "Please verify the number and try again." I just kept clicking refresh and every once in a while, it would indeed show the original "delivered" tracking data complete with picture. There was also a second shipment that made no sense. The status shows "Out For Delivery" but the scheduled delivery date is Monday. It's about an hour's drive from Cambridge Ohio to my house, so they must have a crap load of stuff to deliver ahead of me. This shipment only shows tracking for two points, both in Cambridge.
Did Fedex realize their mistake and get me a new order from Digikey? No, the original order on Jan 10 was the last order sent to me.
Did they do what I asked and send the driver out to retrieve the misdelivered package? Maybe, but if they did why do they keep asking ME to find it? Is the package really out for delivery? Well it's 8:15 PM and I still don't have it. Let's try the tracking number again for the 400th time. We are back to the duplicate results page. Click a few times and I find that my package was delayed due to dangerous weather. F! Yes, it has rained a bit today, the temperature was ABOVE freezing at 6:00 AM for the first time in over a week, peaking at 44 degrees in mid afternoon and has now dropped to 35. Today was the first day in almost two weeks that I did NOT need to move some snow. Monday it will be F'ing cold with a high of 12 degrees and a low of -2. Tuesday is worse with a high of 17 and a low of -10! If they wait for a better day than today, I'll never see my parts.
This morning I had an email from Fedex. Now they want me to contact Digikey for assistance. Really? F this!
"Our research is currently in progress. If you have located your package, please click here. If you have not located your package by (1/20/2025 10:02:00 AM), please contact your shipper and advise of the situation so they can further assist.
FedEx Customer Experience
Please do not respond to this message. This email was sent from an unattended mailbox."
I ran the tracking number again. I was quite surprised to get an error message proclaiming that there were TWO SHIPMENTS associated with that tracking number. "Please verify the number and try again." I just kept clicking refresh and every once in a while, it would indeed show the original "delivered" tracking data complete with picture. There was also a second shipment that made no sense. The status shows "Out For Delivery" but the scheduled delivery date is Monday. It's about an hour's drive from Cambridge Ohio to my house, so they must have a crap load of stuff to deliver ahead of me. This shipment only shows tracking for two points, both in Cambridge.
Did Fedex realize their mistake and get me a new order from Digikey? No, the original order on Jan 10 was the last order sent to me.
Did they do what I asked and send the driver out to retrieve the misdelivered package? Maybe, but if they did why do they keep asking ME to find it? Is the package really out for delivery? Well it's 8:15 PM and I still don't have it. Let's try the tracking number again for the 400th time. We are back to the duplicate results page. Click a few times and I find that my package was delayed due to dangerous weather. F! Yes, it has rained a bit today, the temperature was ABOVE freezing at 6:00 AM for the first time in over a week, peaking at 44 degrees in mid afternoon and has now dropped to 35. Today was the first day in almost two weeks that I did NOT need to move some snow. Monday it will be F'ing cold with a high of 12 degrees and a low of -2. Tuesday is worse with a high of 17 and a low of -10! If they wait for a better day than today, I'll never see my parts.
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It's possible that FedEx have changed their phone system. It's equally possible that I get a different customer service centre when I call. But I have had good luck with asking the AI for a representative. I used to have to scream (literally) and curse at these systems to get a human on the line, but recently I've gotten through within the first few minutes. I'm guessing you've tried this already.
I'm wondering if you could trick the AI into getting you through to a human. Any human. Try the billing department or customs department. Once you have a human on the other end life becomes easier as long as they don't dump you back in the AI queue.
-10 Murica Degrees is about -23ºC. That's a bit nippy but manageable as long as you dress for it. FedEx here wouldn't bat an eye. But I suppose their definition of "dangerous weather" varies by location.
Tom
I'm wondering if you could trick the AI into getting you through to a human. Any human. Try the billing department or customs department. Once you have a human on the other end life becomes easier as long as they don't dump you back in the AI queue.
-10 Murica Degrees is about -23ºC. That's a bit nippy but manageable as long as you dress for it. FedEx here wouldn't bat an eye. But I suppose their definition of "dangerous weather" varies by location.
Tom
Scream on the phone?
I usually threaten the computer voice with a complete removal of its heart, spleen and various other bodily parts.
Several times.
Not to mention the threat to perform certain, ahem!, acts on it that would normally get you thrown in prison for a few consecutive lives...
Most of the time, I figure out a way to get a human.
Sometimes, BTW, it helps to select the Spanish Option... you see, the Spanish Speakers also speak English, and somehow you can get a person within five minutes or less.
Shhh... Eso es un secreto, OK?
It's cold outside now... about 48F I think.... I'm sure Fedex is gonna hold things up..
BTW, I got a box that was received by UPS at my local office last night (early Saturday morning). Now they claim they'll deliver it by Tuesday by 7PM. My understanding is that it got very well packed this time, with plywood or something like that. So, obviously, UPS needs to get a bigger sledgehammer so they need the extra days to do their thing. Maybe they need to borrow it from FedEx and Fedex lost it the delivery...
It would be supremely ironic if Fedex lost a package for UPS. I'd love to here that conversation....
I usually threaten the computer voice with a complete removal of its heart, spleen and various other bodily parts.
Several times.
Not to mention the threat to perform certain, ahem!, acts on it that would normally get you thrown in prison for a few consecutive lives...
Most of the time, I figure out a way to get a human.
Sometimes, BTW, it helps to select the Spanish Option... you see, the Spanish Speakers also speak English, and somehow you can get a person within five minutes or less.
Shhh... Eso es un secreto, OK?
It's cold outside now... about 48F I think.... I'm sure Fedex is gonna hold things up..
BTW, I got a box that was received by UPS at my local office last night (early Saturday morning). Now they claim they'll deliver it by Tuesday by 7PM. My understanding is that it got very well packed this time, with plywood or something like that. So, obviously, UPS needs to get a bigger sledgehammer so they need the extra days to do their thing. Maybe they need to borrow it from FedEx and Fedex lost it the delivery...
It would be supremely ironic if Fedex lost a package for UPS. I'd love to here that conversation....
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These guys must have fired the AI bot and replaced it with some AS (artificial stupidity). On second thought, only a dummm human can get this F'ed up.
All day yesterday my package was "out for delivery" which never came. I got the usual "don't call us, call Digikey" email yesterday at about 6 PM. Like Digikey can or will help.
OK, if Fedex will not bring me my package on Saturday when it is lightly raining (dangerous weather conditions) they certainly aren't bringing my parts on Sunday when it is 25 degrees F and snowing all day long. But the USPS DID deliver my prescription from Amazon Pharmacy. It took me about 20 minutes to get from my front door to the mailbox (about 100 feet) due to the fresh snow on top of some frozen mud and ice from yesterday's rain.
Tonight at 9:24 PM I got the exact same email that I quoted in post #56, "find your own package, or call Digikey." So I decided to run the tracking number again. The email came today, Sunday the 19th at 9:24 PM, but it is scheduled for delivery today by end of day. The delivery was updated in Cambridge Ohio at 1:12 PM on the 18th, but was already out for delivery at 8:09 AM. Since they keep asking me to find the package, I'm beginning to think that they don't actually have it, and have no clue where it is.
One thing is for certain, no matter how this turns out, I will never use Fedex again if I have the choice of shipper. Digikey shipped the parts on the 10th. They have been lost for 10 days. My project has been pushed off the workbench and I may lose interest by the time I get the parts.
All day yesterday my package was "out for delivery" which never came. I got the usual "don't call us, call Digikey" email yesterday at about 6 PM. Like Digikey can or will help.
OK, if Fedex will not bring me my package on Saturday when it is lightly raining (dangerous weather conditions) they certainly aren't bringing my parts on Sunday when it is 25 degrees F and snowing all day long. But the USPS DID deliver my prescription from Amazon Pharmacy. It took me about 20 minutes to get from my front door to the mailbox (about 100 feet) due to the fresh snow on top of some frozen mud and ice from yesterday's rain.
Tonight at 9:24 PM I got the exact same email that I quoted in post #56, "find your own package, or call Digikey." So I decided to run the tracking number again. The email came today, Sunday the 19th at 9:24 PM, but it is scheduled for delivery today by end of day. The delivery was updated in Cambridge Ohio at 1:12 PM on the 18th, but was already out for delivery at 8:09 AM. Since they keep asking me to find the package, I'm beginning to think that they don't actually have it, and have no clue where it is.
One thing is for certain, no matter how this turns out, I will never use Fedex again if I have the choice of shipper. Digikey shipped the parts on the 10th. They have been lost for 10 days. My project has been pushed off the workbench and I may lose interest by the time I get the parts.
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I get wines from a couple of wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley.
I told both of them to ONLY ship UPS and to hold it at their warehouse. Normally, they call me in the morning by 8AM so I drive down to pick it up.
Now get this... their hours of operation for customers are 10AM to noon and 4 to 6 PM.... No weekends. They used to be opened six days a week... from 8AM to 6PM.
IMHO, the likes of UPS and Fedex just don't give a $$h!!!tt. One of these days, Amazon Logistics will open up for private shipping and UPS, Fedex and DHL will go out of business.
If Amazon Logistics EVER goes into its own IPO, we're gonna put a million bucks into it. Seriously.
I told both of them to ONLY ship UPS and to hold it at their warehouse. Normally, they call me in the morning by 8AM so I drive down to pick it up.
Now get this... their hours of operation for customers are 10AM to noon and 4 to 6 PM.... No weekends. They used to be opened six days a week... from 8AM to 6PM.
IMHO, the likes of UPS and Fedex just don't give a $$h!!!tt. One of these days, Amazon Logistics will open up for private shipping and UPS, Fedex and DHL will go out of business.
If Amazon Logistics EVER goes into its own IPO, we're gonna put a million bucks into it. Seriously.