UPS Called me Today

You sure she didn't say, "The alcohol you were trying to ship has me destroyed. I like this drak lort. *hiccup*"

 

You should probably head down to Mexico until this whole thing blows over...

 

Fixed it. Anyway, don't worry about anything other than getting more beer for your trading partner.

 

Fedex has caught me, and people shipping to me. They re-wrap it and return to sender. I guess they truly are the more beer-friendly shipper then. Damn. Sorry for your loss(es).

 

I foresee the most interesting "Most Awesome Trader in the Whole Wide World Alert!!!!!!!!!" thread if this happens.

 

Yeah, sometimes accidents do happen and it is entirely possible that the box took a pretty serious fall, suddenly started leaking and then was sent to the damaged packaging office. I think they'd rather take your money and return your package and let you ship again than steal your box and have you switch to a competitor.

Also, USPS is going to allow for alcohol to be shipped by licensed senders (just like UPS/FedEx).....or so I heard from the internet.

 

When you create a label online for FedEx, you can arrange for a pickup as well. Set it on your porch and they'll come get it. I think it costs an extra buck or two, but it sounds like it'd be worth it to save the gas and time to drive across town.

 

I had a package that was "damaged" once.It was going from OK to VA and it was in VA just a few miles from its destination. They refused to deliver it and sent it all the way back to Oklahoma. When It got to the area they called again and told me it had been damaged again! Went to the warehouse to pick it up. They had broken a bottle(which was probably a local near the bottom of the box). They unpackaged the box, took a BCS that was at the top that was very well packaged and was in no way damaged IMO, and just set the bottles vertical without wrapping. No wonder another bottle broke on the trek back. Pretty frustrating but what can ya do...

 

Am I the only one that thinks it's bullshit that they destroyed the beer? I understand returning the package, but I fail to see how UPS has the right to destroy your property. Violating a TOS doesn't give someone the right to just destroy your shit.

 

Actually, it does:

http://www.ups.com/media/en/terms_service_us.pdf
Page 5, section 3.4

 

I don't care if they say it. You still can't just go destroying people's shit like that. If they write into the TOS "We reserve the right to kick you in the nuts if try to ship alcohol," it doesn't mean they can just kick you in the nuts. Plus, it's often held that it's not a reasonable expectation for a customer to have read every word of these lengthy TOS's.

Not only is that thing 37 pages, but I'd be curious if the OP ever even specifically agreed to them.

 

I'm not arguing whether it's "right" or "wrong" but they at least legally have their asses covered should someone take them to court.

 

That's my point. I don't think their asses are legally covered. In a contract like that, you're going to have a tough time persuading a court that the customer signed away a legal protection to which they're otherwised entitled.

 

They shouldn't destroy it, I agree, but the terms are pretty clear. And you agree to the terms when you use their service. There is not some constitutionally protected right to not have your box of goods destroyed that would make the terms illegal, so they can do it if they want.

Nobody ever reads the terms for anything, but, people genuinely should, because there are often some very nasty clauses that people agree to. And the courts certainly expect that people do, so when you get caught on something, you don't have a lot of right to complain.

That said, I would of course raise holy hell with UPS if they ever destroyed a box of mine. All it takes is the right person in the chain of command to eventually consider the lifetime value of a customer vs the cost of a box of beer, and it shouldn't be hard to get a refund.

 

Huh? As soon as you use their service you agree to their TOS. As long as they have destroying your contraband written in their TOS they're golden.

Could you fight it legally? Sure. Even if you did win would you have spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees? Yes.

 

You clearly do not understand how the law works.

 

LOL wut? You don't have a legal protection against people destroying your shit? Of course you do.

For someone to legally destroy your shit, they'll have to show that you either gave them persmission to do so or waived that protection. They'll argue that you waived that right by agreeding to the TOS, but I think they'd have an uphill battle arguing that. It's no simple thing to just waive a legal right. You'd need to show that the customer knowingly and intentionally waived that right. I don't think clicking "I Agree" on a 37 page TOS will satisfy that burden.

If they (UPS and the customer) sat down and hammered out a contract together, and a term in that contract was that the customer's shit could be destroyed, then yeah, UPS would have firmer ground to stand on here. But this is basically a boilerplate contract here -- an extremely lengthy one that 99% of people don't read. UPS knows that most people don't read it, and a court would know that most people don't read it too.

 

You could go pro se in small claims court. It's also unlikely that UPS is gonna spend thousands defending a complaint that could be settled for $150 + court costs.