Disputing a FedEx smartpost overcharge

[hideawayaqua]

I'm wondering if anybody had any success with disputing a FedEx overcharge?

I shipped an item to a buyer on Oct 12, using the ebay shipping calculator. It was a light weight women jacket, the package weighted 1.3 lbs, dimension was 12" x 9" x 1". I was quoted for $8.45. Dropped off the package, delivered, done. Then I got a surprised bill - $39.21 charge for FedEx shipping fee. Please note the item was sold for $18, and I offered free shipping to the buyer.

I called eBay cs many times. The filed a dispute request to FedEx and it got denied. They mentioned dimensional weight. But the package was within normal size range and I just couldn't justify myself to this charge. I spoke to a supervisor earlier today and he's going to appeal this dispute request one more time.

Original quote from eBay:

What I got billed for:

I looked up the tracking number on fedex.com, shown the correct weight but incorrect dimensions...

Any suggestions on disputing this charge would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

[berserkerplanet]

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CS asked me to call USPS - "It's a smartpost service and USPS was the one who billed me... ??? Another company involved? Speechless... I then called USPS. I was informed the postage for my package was only $2. So, who got the big chunk of this $39.21 shipping fee?  

FedEx gets the big chunk.

USPS is a subcontractor, and is paid (I assume) a reduced rate for the last mile delivery via the Parcel Select service (you said they quoted $2).

USPS is out of the loop as far as the shipper is concerned, and has nothing to do with the billing (and there is no insurance on the USPS leg so if they lose it, destroy it, misdeliver it, steal it, set it on fire, you have no recourse) The receiver might have some dialog with the carrier and postmaster if misdelivered same as regular USPS stuff, but no thing else.

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

I just had the EXACT thing happen. I checked my last invoice because I wondered why it was so high. I had a FedEx Smartpost charge me $88.77 to ship a women's jacket in a polybag. It should have cost me $9.61 from Oregon to TX. The price of shipping was more than the buyer paid for the jacket! The jacket with the polybag weighed 2.6lbs. That is accurate. What is not accurate is the dimensions. I shipped it in a 14.5" x 18.5" ebay branded polybag. It is the biggest one they have; they do not have bigger. The polybag with the jacket in it measured approximately 15" x 13" x 7"...overestimated a bit as I usually do. I was charged for 38" x 25" by 13". That would be a HUGE box! I do believe a box that big would have weighed 2.6lbs alone.
I called ebay on Wednesday and they said they would look into it and get back to me within 72 hours. I am not hopeful as it looks like this is a very difficult overcharge to fight. It seems to happen ALL THE TIME too, as evidenced by complaints on the ebay boards and other places. Something stinks about the whole thing.

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Hi @droppoint10, I want to start out by letting you know that I've shared this thread with the appropriate team and we have submitted a dispute on your behalf. While we aren't provided with an update on the decision of this investigation, you would see a credit on your invoice within two billing cycles if this was approved by FedEx. In the meantime, I can suggest that you review the measurements in your listings to ensure that they are as accurate as possible, as this can help to minimize surprising charges like this.

@hideawayaqua, since your sale was back in October we would not be able to review the details of the label further. I believe that the conversation you had with Customer Service is our best hope of having this reviewed again, and I wish you the best of luck in your appeal.

[droppoint10]

Trinton@ebay.com

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, I am a bit incredulous at the response you gave above. You told me that an appeal has been opened for me, but that I will need to wait at least another 6-7 weeks (2 billing cycles) to find out if FedEx will give me a credit.  Meanwhile, you told the other member basically, "sorry, it has been too long".

So if I have to wait until nearly April to find out if I am getting a credit, will it not be "too long" at that point for me also? Once again, something really stinks here. FedEx and eBay are playing "pass the buck" and buying time until the tracking is deleted...therefore no evidence. Hmmmmm....

I realize that eBay is a customer of FedEx. Technically, we sellers are customers of eBay. Then we sellers have customers of our own, who purchase our listings. Let' say that I sold a defective widget to my customer. What would eBay expect me to do? Well, refund them. I would then have to take the defective widget to the place I purchased it from to get my money back. As eBay reps would say" It is the cost of doing business".

Once again, the sellers are eBays customer. We have received "defective" shipping. Shouldn't then eBay give us a credit and then go after the FedEx reimbursement themselves? That is the expectation by them, for sellers. It seems hypocritical at best for them to not adhere to the same standard they provide to their customers, US. At worst, it is quite the racket and somebody is quietly pocketing a substantial amount of money. I have had other overcharges before, but since they were 3 dollars or less, it really wasn' worth my time to dispute them. I'm guessing that most other sellers have also, but feel like I do and small overcharges are overlooked. 

This needs to be investigated, and I am talking about at a much higher level. I will be reaching out to some very popular eBay sellers who have a large presence on social media and see if we can get this exposed at a viral level. It may behoove the cause if others do the same. This is internet fraud...on a level that could send people to jail if they are caught in an underhanded scheme.

Trinton, I do weigh and measure my packages carefully. I have been a seller since 2005. I really don't have time to deal with issues like this, but someimes you have to stand on principle. They say FedEx shipping charges are just an estimate. How would you feel if you were quoted 800 for car repair and were charged 3000 instead without your approval? Think about it. Let's use a bit of common sense here.

[hideawayaqua]

@nswboogy  Agreed. If you need any help and support, please don't hesitate to let me know. Whether it's on a social media level or legal level, please count me in. I have hard copies of tracking numbers and all related paperwork printed and stored. They won't get away with it.

trinton@ebay With all due respect, I'm very disappointed by how eBay handled my appeal. For 3 months, eBay has been passing the buck around, kept me waiting and waiting. Nothing got resolved and now tracking info is no longer available online. It's unfair to say eBay can't review details due to the timeframe. "There's nothing we can do." "FedEx said it's a valid charge and eBay won't issue a credit." Sellers don't get any protection when it comes to a matter like this, at all. This needs to be addressed and fixed. 

[droppoint10]

I have reached out to a well known, social media ebay Rockstar. More to come....

[*eponymous*]

I didn't read the entire 8000 word posts, but have you set up your own fedex account and connected it with your eBay account so you can put in your own disputes?

I take that back.  Read the user agreement/TOS for smartpost - you're not getting anything back, and smartpost is not responsible for any losses in transit.  Put that together with BUYERS HATE SMARTPOST AND THE OTHER LAST-MILE CARRIERS and you might choose to not use them.

eBay didn't overcharge you...

Further, FedEx quotes an estimate when you print a label.  They have surcharges, zip code surcharges, zone surcharges, and everything else they add-in.  Maybe it would be advisable to learn how a process operates rather than trying to hold eBay's feet to the fire for your choice.

And just in case somebody wants to call me a cheerleader or eBay apologist?  Har har har, that would be hysterical.

[carlmarxx]

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wrote:

I didn't read the entire 8000 word posts, but have you set up your own fedex account and connected it with your eBay account so you can put in your own disputes?

I take that back.  Read the user agreement/TOS for smartpost - you're not getting anything back, and smartpost is not responsible for any losses in transit.  Put that together with BUYERS HATE SMARTPOST AND THE OTHER LAST-MILE CARRIERS and you might choose to not use them.

eBay didn't overcharge you...

Further, FedEx quotes an estimate when you print a label.  They have surcharges, zip code surcharges, zone surcharges, and everything else they add-in.  Maybe it would be advisable to learn how a process operates rather than trying to hold eBay's feet to the fire for your choice.

And just in case somebody wants to call me a cheerleader or eBay apologist?  Har har har, that would be hysterical.

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Well  I never  Had any buyers  get upset over smartpost  .   I  swtiched  to smartpost few years ago over USPS  sending  packages to wrong  surting hubs  way to  offen   . as a small seller  I kept track of the tracking scans .

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

@droppoint10  Agreed. If you need any help and support, please don't hesitate to let me know. Whether it's on a social media level or legal level, please count me in. I have hard copies of tracking numbers and all related paperwork printed and stored. They won't get away with it.

@Anonymous With all due respect, I'm very disappointed by how eBay handled my appeal. For 3 months, eBay has been passing the buck around, kept me waiting and waiting. Nothing got resolved and now tracking info is no longer available online. It's unfair to say eBay can't review details due to the timeframe.  "There's nothing we can do." "FedEx said it's a valid charge and eBay won't issue a credit." Sellers don't get any protection when it comes to a matter like this, at all. This needs to be addressed and fixed. 

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Hi @hideawayaqua, I apologize for the confusion - eBay does not issue the credit for a FedEx overcharge, that would be up to FedEx themselves to provide. It would be issued to your invoice, as the charge was paid through your invoice. This is not something we can override for you and if FedEx has made a decision to uphold the charge, then they have determined it is valid. I only mentioned the timeframe that has passed as I was unable to offer you additional clarify since the label is not available any longer. If it were, I may be able to speak to it more specifically but I would not be able to submit for an additional review from FedEx nor would we have alternative options. I completely understand that this is not the answer you were hoping for and why you would be disappointed. eBay is not updated of FedEx's decision, and the only indication we receive would be if you see a credit on your invoice within two billing cycles.

[berserkerplanet]

FedEx claimed a breadloaf sized package was a small dorm fridge sized package, and charged 5X the correct charge as a result. They mismeasured (intentionally or not). Has nothing top do with the TOS, or OP's character.

The other poster was upcharged by a factor of 10 ($80 overcharge) for the same reason. In both cases, the package sizes FedEx claims are physically impossible even if empty boxes - there is no merit to their claims.
 

[dtexley3]

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wrote:


And there is no reason for you to be commenting just to denigrate OP.

I knew I mostly ignored you for a reason.

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I  replace mostly with always.

Haven't had any time to run the 3 tracking numbers I have over to the PO and request the detailed shipping history yet, but I'll try to make some time.  After I started having the FedEx drop site weigh all the packages none of them mysteriously gained weight, but it's a fairly small sample size as I stopped shipping anything over 2lbs for the moment.

[berserkerplanet]

Great. The more data we can gather, the more likely we are to stumble on some understanding of what and why.

And you seem to ship in fair volume, so can be a wealth of input.

[dtexley3]

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wrote:
Great. The more data we can gather, the more likely we are to stumble on some understanding of what and why.

And you seem to ship in fair volume, so can be a wealth of input.

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heh, only in the 4th quarter of the year, the other 9 months? not so much.

[hideawayaqua]

Thanks for your reply @Anonymous. I've read some old threads on this forum, a few sellers had gotten eBay to credit them back overcharges in the past. However things may have changed; the point is why did it happen at the first place? I haven't not yet received an answer.

Why and how does it happen all the time? From all the posts I've read either on this forum or elsewhere online, the FedEx overcharge clearly is an issue that had happened, and is currently happening, most likely it will happen again in the future, if nothing changes. 

Thanks for your response @berserkerplanet.

[jbbowers12012]

HI, i may be way off base on this one as i dont' use fed-ex / smart post when shipping my ebay sales. on one instance of shipping some things to a friend (not ebay related) i did use fed-ex to ship. what happened was, i packed my items in a sturdy box a took to fed-ex to ship & pay (i didnt' pay for my label ahead of time) the fellow at the fed-ex counter informed me that my box was not fed-ex approved & that i could buy a box from them which i did. we then just put my box inside of the fed-ex approved box & shipped a-ok. this likely would have added to the original dimensions & weight......again probaly way off base, but just a thought.

[dcintennessee]

Just wow @jbbowers12012. You probably paid $5-6 extra for that blasted box!! 

What SO annoys me is that one of the people who touched each of these packages was able to get away with fraud - all fun & games for them. @jbbowers12012  can identify who made him spend extra for no reason, but the others can't. With the sophistication of the FedEx tracking system, I'm certain they can at least identify the stations where the re-rating occurred.

@hideawayaqua & @droppoint10 & @kottagechic, I'll repeat that USPS may be an excellent source for refuting the charges. Surely USPS records show the dimensions of packages they received? Isn't each of the revised box sizes MUCH larger than allowed for SmartPost? That would/should have been noted by USPS, who also would have been due an extra payment. 

Unless considered buyer harassment, I'd also seek a statement from each buyer regarding the approximate size of box/envelope they received. They'd remember if getting a GIANT package for their small shipments. 

And finally, then I'll hush about this. Forget about the automated claims process - it failed you. Here's the corporate address, and the only person I'd contact at this point. Note the last full sentence at the bottom of the pic I'm sharing. 

FedEx Corporation

942 South Shady Grove Road
Memphis, TN 38120
USA