posted on December 10, 2002 10:10:13 AM new
Call me blonde, but I've been shipping and paying for FedEx online for a couple of months. And I lost a credit card on the way to the FedEx office the other day so I called and canceled that card which triggered my FedEx packages to be billed to me directly....I understand that part.
But while I was talking to the agent, they said I had ANOTHER invoice from a month ago (which I had not received in the mail!!) which was a considerable amount! Looking at the invoice and talking with the service rep, from my understanding what happens is, AFTER I make the payment online to ship and check the cost per package, they start tacking on $$ once I drop the package off.
So to me...what looked like a reasonable amount for shipping turns quickly into a much HIGHER cost than if I had shipped it USPS! Some packages almost DOUBLE in price.
posted on December 10, 2002 10:14:09 AM new
Yeah, that's the hazard of using any of the courier companies. They all do that, as far as I know, even my favorite Airborne Express.
I felt stung the first time I got one of those bills, too.
That IS one advantage of using USPS.
The downside of USPS is that they have tightened up on dropoff times for Express Mail (around here it's 3 pm for most destinations) and for many destinations they charge you the full fee for what turns out to be second-day service. That's a ripoff, too.
posted on December 10, 2002 10:51:35 AM new
i jsut got off the phone with FED EXP.
back in october,one of their service reps said there will be no pickup fee if they come to pick up the package.
so i started using their air and ground service,now they said no such thing,there is a 4.00 per pickup for air and 11 dollars weekly for ground.
of course i do not have a tape recorder when i talked to that rep who said no pickup fee and i did not get her name.
so after complaining to the billing dept clerk,he agreed to waive one of the charges which is air plus pickup plus credit card declined etc worth 23 dollars.
yes,if it is too good to be true,then it is too good to be true,how could they come and pick up the packages for free and deliver to your customer residential address for as much as usps mule service.
we are better off using usps services-first class,media and priority mail and if have to,drop off at fed exp or ups locations.
of course it gets clumsy if you need signature receipt if you use usps,well,the cost of doing business is sure going up for small sellers.
IF YOU ARE USING A CREDIT CARD,GO ONLINE AND CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD CHARGES AT YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY SITE,YOU WILL SEE THE FED EXP CHARGES LISTED SEPARATELY.
posted on December 11, 2002 09:57:54 AM new
About a year ago I called Fedex to talk about Fedex home delivery. The agent told me to open an account, after all, it's free. I found out that the only way to ship with them is either pay a pickup fee or go to a store a few miles from my house to leave it. So in the end, I never used them. Then I started getting bills for $11. I called them and they said they are now charging the pickup fee just for having an account. So I told them to cancel immediately. Despite calling them once a week, I have been getting their invoices for about a year, at least one a day and sometimes 2 a day. They probably spent more on postage than they even think I owe them. Last week I called and told them I had a full time job and calling FedEx wasn't in the job description. Maybe something in my tone got through because the invoices have stopped coming. I'm glad I never actually used them.
posted on December 11, 2002 10:32:50 AM new
invoices you can ignore,but if they charge it to your credit card,then you have to file chargeback,wasting 37 cents each time you see a 11 dollars charge.
11 dollars charge is per week for ground pick up service.
4 dollars is air pickup per pickup.
there are other things they do which can be considered sneaky-one time one us company was billed for overseas freight which is shockingly high,when he complained,the fed exp customer service noticed his overseas vendor also have an account with fed exp and does higher volume,so she suggested flipping the charge over to this sucker vendor for lower freight fee.
of course the us customer never mention this to his overseas vendor and his overseas vendor never catch it.
posted on December 11, 2002 11:59:44 AM new
I hjave had a direct billing account ever since it was known as RPS. I was really upset when I started getting these surcharges. I only live about a mile from the FedEx main dropoff center. When I bitched about it, the explanation was logical. They don't know if it is a home delivery, rural or what until the driver delivers the pkg. & note on the billing what was the reason. Since then, I charge an additional $4.00 over base rate. This CYA & pays for the box & my time. I have never been charged for a week that I didn't ship. I have been chaerged for P/U service that never happened, but they have always reversed it when I call.
[ edited by sanmar on Dec 11, 2002 12:01 PM ]
posted on December 11, 2002 08:34:19 PM new
Another thing to be aware of - if you have a credit card on file and for some reason they charge to it but the charge is denied (closed credit card account, or cc overlimit, etc), they will send you an invoice but add $5.00 or even $10.00 to each invoice - I had problems with that when I updated a credit card but my old one got billed and denied (was actually expired).
But in my experience, Fed Ex Ground doesn't fleece as badly as Airborne - Airborne was constantly charging "rural delivery" etc, and I was never ever aware of how in the heck to find out what places were considered "rural" before I charged my customers. So, I gave up on Airborne.
Lucky for me I live in a dense area, and have my choice of nearby Fed Ex Ground drop off counters.
