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OT- Fedex billing me $4,200 for buyer ordered shipping !

Milacron

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Dec 15, 2000
Location
SC, USA
The shipment happened about 6 months ago... the sale was a normal size electric pallet jack, sold on eBay.

The buyer called Fedex and set up the pickup with Fedex... I had zero to do with ordering the freight.... all I did was sign the BOL when Fedex arrived to pick it up. I presumed the buyer had an account with Fedex or they would never have agreed to pick it up in the first place (I have no account with Fedex). But turns out apparently the buyer did not have a Fedex account... and because I did not check the "COD" box on the BOL they are coming after me for the (outrageous) charge and it's to the point of collection agency pestering.

And FWIW, it took months after the shipment to even find out about this, as I have no Fedex account and all they had was my business address, where I never get mail.

Naturally the buyer never responds to my phone calls or emails. I will never pay this but it could eventually go on my credit record so any suggestions as to resolving this before that happens ?

(as an aside, freight for something like that pallet jack to his state via the regular carriers would normally be about $650, so the insane amount they charged adds to the irritation of the saga)
 
If you can prove the buyer ordered the freight I would try to contact a manager at Fedex via email and plead your case, create an "exchange trail" for a future small claims case. Since (technically) you're on the hook for it you might have to pay to save your credit rating then sue either Fedex or the buyer to recover the money. A judge would probably see that you're not the guilty party here and award in your favor.

I'm in the process of suing UPS for an overnight shipment that took four days, funny they jerked me around for months then tried to ignore me but now want to settle. I'm not happy with their offer...
 
I had this happen with yellow freight. Except I checked cod on laiding. Took 6 months to get straight. The buyer even paid the correct $250 bill. They chased me for some ridiculous amount.
 
It would seem the person who called FedEx would be fist in line.

If you did not sign a document agreeing to be billed you should be fine.

Seems like FedEx would not do a blind pickup, they would need an account to bill against when scheduling or have a bill to sign on pickup.

Call yourself to schedule a pickup someplace and see how they handle the who pays part.

A bit of recon does not hurt.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
 
I'm pretty sure the fact is simple...you did not contract with FedEx. The buyer did. That means you are third party to the deal and have no liability. That said, we live in an age where once a booger is wiped on you, everyone (including the law) seems content to leave it there.
 
Who provided the BOL? In my case someone named Ping Ping from Indonesia ordered a US$1200.00 tool and paid by wire. We got the money and told customer to arrange pickup. Fedex showed up and wanted some paperwork. Nope, we have no paperwork. Fedex driver made paperwork, signed it, picked it up and shipped it. Fedex came after us months later and wanted us to pay for it because Ping Ping somehow skipped out. GFYouyself reply. Not signed by anybody here.
Reality, Ping Ping was the name she gave us, and in a moment of freak-a-zoid, wifey gave her my cell. Had to tell her several times to bug off. She worked the system and got free freight from Mass to Indonesia as far as I know.
 
and because I did not check the "COD" box on the BOL they are coming after me for the (outrageous) charge and it's to the point of collection agency pestering.

If that is the case then I believe that Fedex has already sold off the debt to the collecting agency. My guess is they are chasing any name they can find on the paperwork hoping someone coughs up some money.
 
This does touch on the problem that exist with 'credit ratings'. Someone with good credit is more susceptible to getting fleeced than someone with poor credit. The person with poor credit has nothing to lose by running out on a debt, Just another example of how we've become a society that rewards failure.

My 'friends' in town...an entire family of deadbeats that I enjoy keeping tabs on ....have no issue with credit ratings. They will buy anything that anyone will give them credit on. That's because they know they won't actually pay for it, and they already have shitty credit ratings. You'd think as a result no one would extend them credit, but you'd be wrong. The real gravy is medical care....they run to the ER for any reason, knowing they won't be turned away. They get fast service and their bill gets added to their tab.

So what FedEx will do, eventually, is write this off and pass the loss on to you and I the next time we pay to ship something. All is well.
 
I have been told (never had to find out certain) federal law has the shipper ultimately responsible for the freight cost if the receiver won't pay. This was under the old ICC rules, don't know if it has changed since the ICC was put out of our misery.
 
If you are dealing with a collection agency, you might try documenting what you can and filing a written complaint with your state’s consumer protection division with a copy to the collection agency and to FedEx. That often gets it dropped, and if not creates a paper trail that can be used to have any negative report removed from your credit.
 
The mention of collection agency makes think, oh, yeah, who says this is a legitimate bill?

They will do anything to collect.

Look online for solutions to collection agencies.

Most likely they have no idea about anything, they bought a package of bad debts from Fedex
 
Make a fake receipt that shows the bill was paid to FedEx then give it to the collection agency and tell them they need to go collect from FedEx.
 
The first thing I would do is to call Fed Ex personally to find out if this is legit.
DO NOT use the phone number in the emails, use the one on the official website.
 
I do have emails from the buyer at the time of the sale of the jack where he says he ordered the pickup from Fedex.

Perfect!

I would email Fedex asking to be referred to a manager so you can resolve the issue, in my experience with UPS you won't get anywhere with the front line troops, their sole purpose is to frustrate you into going away.

Copy the email to the manager, keep all the conversation in one exchange and be clear and concise so it's easy for someone else to look at it and determine the facts.

With any luck the manager will admit fault (as was in my case) and it'll be a done deal.
 
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I was on the receiving end of a cheap (assumed because in included a sleazy "govern yourself accordingly" line) collections letter several years ago. Our friends at Allstate (who I have never had business with) were kind enough to swap my DL# for someone with the same (uncommon) name that they insured, then start putting that person's collisions and debts with me.
For the debt, I first called Allstate and then the local agent, they were both firmly in the camp of "Yep, looks like it wasn't you, but once it goes to collections we've already removed it from our system and can't help you". After that I placed a quick call to the number on the collections agency notice, explained that I could prove it wasn't me they wanted, and that the time for me to resolve their unjustified action against me was starting to add up. They quickly and politely agreed to remove my contact info and never contact me again, and from what I can tell are living up to their end.

Might be worth simply calling and saying "Someone else arranged it, and are responsible for it as specified by the terms of the sale, go away before I bill you for my time."
 
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Might be worth simply calling and saying "Someone else arranged it, and are responsible for it as specified by the terms of the sale, go away before I bill you for my time."

+1

Also follow this up with a letter to the collections agency, stating that you do not believe this debt is rightly owned by you, and you specifically contest the entire amount. Send this letter to them, registered, return receipt requested. Keep a copy of all correspondence, and if there is a follow up letter needed, include copies of all the correspondence to date, and their replies if any.

You want to build up a paper trail if this ever goes to adjudication, to show that you are serious about the matter and won't just pay and go away.

At one time I had a paper trail from an insurance company in boston that went to collection, the file was about an inch thick by the time it was done.

They understand paperwork. Not much else. Also a different person looks at the correspondence each time a new one shows up.
 
Carefully read all the fine print in the document you signed. Also, the debt collection agency could be a law firm hired by the shipper, so you could end up court where the judge quickly rules against you and tells you to read the fine print next time.
I've seen it happen. It has absolutely nothing to do with morality or right/wrong but everything to do with the LAW, even if it's obviously unjust.
If there is something in the fine print that traps you into paying, negotiating maybe your best option.
 
Brian at versamil got hit with a bill that old reliable tool never paid (he had paid reliable....) when they went upside down. Might see what he did.

It took me a dozen calls when this happened. Talked to people higher up the food chain. Everytime they said it was taken care of. Then a bill would show for a different amount for the same shipment. I would call again and restart the process. Eventually bills stopped showing up.
 
First time I looked at PM for two months, weird for you to remember that. Yep I PAID Reliable for shipping a couple of large Torit Mist Collectors
pretty much at the end of their business. I got a bill MONTHS later from the shipping company trying to get me to pay the shipping, because obviously
Reliable pretty much grenaded. I refused, I didn't SHIP the items, didn't even arrange the shipping, just told the shipping company to go pound sand.

Without a Fed Ex account, I wouldn't pay the bill. You didn't arrange the pickup- just because you loaded it on their truck doesn't make you responsible for paying the bill, your BUYER arranged the trucking.

I don't know where Milacron is financially, but at some point in your life, who cares if they ding your credit. It's a totally BS charge- $4200.00 bucks?? That's practically a truckload charge to haul a real machine. Sending a bill for that amount is just absurd- WTF has happened to Fed Ex.
 








 
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