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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    server damaged in transit

    My company recently shipped a $3000+ Dell R710 server via FedEx. During shipping, the machine suffered quite a bit of damage even though it was very well packed. When it shipped out, the box was in perfect condition. When it arrived, the box looked like somebody had played soccer with it.

    First, the end of the power supply was crushed:
    http://i.imgur.com/6TvhB.jpg

    Then, the rear of the chassis was shattered:
    http://i.imgur.com/yjywQ.jpg
    http://i.imgur.com/DzwBy.jpg
    That rear panel is actually made of aluminum (not plastic) so there has to be some pretty severe trauma to cause that.

    And of course, the rack ears were bent way out of shape:
    http://i.imgur.com/mhmZz.jpg
    Those ears are very strong, I wasn't able to bend it back. Hopefully, the machine will still be rackable.

    Does anybody have any experience dealing with this? We did declare a value of $3000 with FedEx, is there any chance of filing a successful claim? I don't know of a single person who has successfully filed a claim, even in situations where FedEx is clearly at fault.

    How much do you try to get for claims like this? Will a second hand server with this type of damage even sell? Also, will Dell honor the warranty on this machine in the future?

    If the warranty is gone and there's zero resale value, then I should declare this a total loss and try to recoup $3000 from FedEx...
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  2. #2
    I think is the responsibility of Fedex, you may have some agreement for the delivery. I see there's some Chinese on the lable, are you with a Chinese company? just curious...
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  3. #3
    Yes it is the responsibility of shipping company. Ask them for user agreement.
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Hmm... I am going to bet that someone signed for the delivery (that signature means that everything was fine when you took the package from the delivery person) as opposed to filing a claim with the delivery person.

    If delivery was accepted and signed for it will be assumed that the damage happened after delivery - your responsibility.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
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    If I'm not mistaken which I shouldn't be... There is a limit to the amount they insure up till a certain limit only which should be around $100. If you go anything above that, then you'd have to buy extra insurance which would cost you additional to ship it. If you did buy it then you'll be able to claim back from them if not I guess you're on your own.

    Better go check with them to be 100% certain.

    Also signing on their consignment note doesn't mean you're taking 100% responsibility. Because the box might look nice on the outside, but the inside is totally messed up. That couldn't be seen and you should not be blamed for that.
    Last edited by aodat2; 05-13-2011 at 05:37 AM.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
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    As above, by default most shipping companys only provide a insured limited of a small figure and you typically have to pay extra to cover the true value.

    If you did not take extra cover is it most likely you will not have any luck getting back the value of the damaged equipment.

    Do you have business insurance? Im not sure on the exacts of everyones policys but you may have some luck with claiming some money back as it was shipping for business purpose.

    Regarding selling on the damaged machine; your best bet will be either selling as a whole unit for a knock down price (for spare/parts). Or splitting the machine yourself and either storing the parts (mobo/cpu/ram) etc for spares or selling them on. You may even have luck sourcing a new/used chassis.

    You could always contact Dell and ask the price for a replacement chassis only.
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  7. #7
    Join Date
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    That is sad.

    Anyone noticed that every time FedEx is engaged, there is always damaged in the equipment?

    I guess UPS is better?

    Specially 4 U
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  8. #8
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    From FedEx TOS under what they will not be liable for:

    Damage or loss of articles packaged and sealed by the sender or by person(s) acting at the sender's direction, provided the seal is unbroken at the time of delivery, the package retains its basic integrity, and the recipient accepts the shipment without noting the damage on the delivery record.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Remember also; If you receive a settlement from any insurance and ultimately receive money through sale or disposal of the equipment, you will be liable to reimburse the insurance company.
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  10. #10
    Join Date
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    That's crazy! I would have raised cane when it was delivered personally. Hopefully it was insured and they will work with you but I don't know if I'd hold my breath (I've never dealt with FedEx in this capacity).
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by net View Post
    That is sad.

    Anyone noticed that every time FedEx is engaged, there is always damaged in the equipment?

    I guess UPS is better?
    Nope, no better, no worse. People have to realize that standard retail packaging will often not stand up to the rigors of package delivery.

    Having the delivery company package equipment and having a good handle on claims procedures are good policies for anyone entrusting equipment with any worth to any package delivery company.
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeDVB View Post
    That's crazy! I would have raised cane when it was delivered personally. Hopefully it was insured and they will work with you but I don't know if I'd hold my breath (I've never dealt with FedEx in this capacity).
    How many times do we hear "That's crazy!" when someone finally takes the time to read the TOS?
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Holy buckets. That's ridiculous! I've never had a package damaged that badly. Hopefully you've got the extended insurance.
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    I received some rackmount rails for a Supermicro server, bent the rackmount ears out. The delivery guy left the packages at my house (didn't ring door bell), which annoyed me. Thankfully I was able to pretty much return it to a normal position. I will concede that the rails were only shipped in the small boxes that Supermicro puts them in. Things would have been better had the vendor I purchased the rails from put the boxes inside of another box.

    That said, I find that more of my packages that are delivered by Fedex include some type of damage to the box, vs UPS where it has been less likely. For now, I try my best to always ship by UPS when given a choice.

    I also wonder how somewhat rugged metal like that gets damaged.
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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by jzukerman View Post
    That said, I find that more of my packages that are delivered by Fedex include some type of damage to the box, vs UPS where it has been less likely. For now, I try my best to always ship by UPS when given a choice.
    Exactly.

    This is the 2nd thread I read about damaged equipment via FedEx. Not sure if there are more of these :-)

    Specially 4 U
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  16. #16
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    I am sure that the stats on the amount of damaged equipment that is shipped with the intent of filing a claim on the other end would be an eye opener.
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  17. #17
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    I've also found that Fedex is usually less expensive to ship a package than it is with UPS. So maybe the mantra of "cheaper isn't always better" fits here.
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  18. #18
    Join Date
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    Location
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    Just a little advice.

    First file your claim with Fed Ex. You insured the package and the contents. If they refuse to compensate your loss your loss move to step two which is to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office. What this does is jumps all other avenues to get faster results. When a person files a complaint with Attorney General's office the company the complaint is files against must answer that complaint by either settling or buy answering the complaint in court. My wife worked for the Sears legal department for years handling such complaints. Large companies do not want to waste time in court handling small claims when it is cheaper to settle these types of cases. If they fail to answer the complaint they are then forced to settle your claim.
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  19. #19
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    Oh goodie, we can get all the taxpayers in on paying for this server, really now...
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  20. #20
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    Thanks for the responses everybody.

    When we shipped the machine, we declared a value of $3000 and paid extra for that. Thus, we should be able to file a claim up to $3000 (the server is actually worth a bit more than that).

    The packaging was done by FedEx and we double checked it to make sure it was done properly. It is very ironic, but the box is covered with "Fragile" stickers and tape that reads "FedEx Office, Let us pack it for you". The FedEx guys must be dyslexic, "Fragile" doesn't mean "Please throw me until aluminum shatters".

    Unfortunately, the box was signed for and I am not sure if damage was reported. It came in through a large loading dock so I'm guessing they just dump off all the packages (or throw off in my case) and the dock supervisor signs something for all the packages.

    I feel this case is pretty clear cut and they shouldn't have a reason for denying the claim. I will keep updating this thread with my experience filing my claim with FedEx.

    If they try to screw me on this, it is safe to say I will never be using FedEx again and will not recommend it to anybody else.
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  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by nocloud View Post
    Thanks for the responses everybody.

    When we shipped the machine, we declared a value of $3000 and paid extra for that. Thus, we should be able to file a claim up to $3000 (the server is actually worth a bit more than that).

    The packaging was done by FedEx and we double checked it to make sure it was done properly. It is very ironic, but the box is covered with "Fragile" stickers and tape that reads "FedEx Office, Let us pack it for you". The FedEx guys must be dyslexic, "Fragile" doesn't mean "Please throw me until aluminum shatters".

    Unfortunately, the box was signed for and I am not sure if damage was reported. It came in through a large loading dock so I'm guessing they just dump off all the packages (or throw off in my case) and the dock supervisor signs something for all the packages.

    I feel this case is pretty clear cut and they shouldn't have a reason for denying the claim. I will keep updating this thread with my experience filing my claim with FedEx.

    If they try to screw me on this, it is safe to say I will never be using FedEx again and will not recommend it to anybody else.
    Sorry to hear that, the R710 is a pricey server.

    Hopefully you can get most of the money back but from our experience with 1 damaged server before, it's like pulling teeth trying to get money out of FedEx
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  22. #22
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    I've had to file quite a few fedex claims. I've seen all sorts of stuff happen to servers. From minor stuff like displaced addon cards to cases utterly destroyed. Fedex is usually pretty good at claims. As long as you had insurance you should be fine. Just don't take any **** from the claims guy. At one point since the company I was working for was filing so many claims they had a guy come out and show us how to package our boxes.

    Don't ever send a system in the cases original packaging. It should be double boxed.

    When double boxing it should be secured in all 8 corners by expandable foam packaging (http://www.sealedairprotects.com/Ins...Packaging.aspx) . and ONLY secured on the corners. If a jolt can be transferred to the corners no damage should occur. They have different sized bags. I cant remember what we used but there was about 3-4" of foam between the outer and inner boxes.

    Incidents after shipping this way reduced dramatically.
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  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by senselt View Post

    Don't ever send a system in the cases original packaging. It should be double boxed.

    When double boxing it should be secured in all 8 corners by expandable foam packaging (http://www.sealedairprotects.com/Ins...Packaging.aspx) . and ONLY secured on the corners. If a jolt can be transferred to the corners no damage should occur. They have different sized bags. I cant remember what we used but there was about 3-4" of foam between the outer and inner boxes.

    Incidents after shipping this way reduced dramatically.
    Add-on cards are usually out of place and need to be re-seated. Motherboard cables often pop loose as well.

    We also like to remove the hard drives and ship them separately.

    Totally agreed on the double-boxing and expanding foam.

    It's late for the OP but for anybody else who reads this thread, hopefully you can avoid the problems.
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  24. #24
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    So, the machine wasn't double boxed, but we did use the expandable foam packaging on all the corners and used other packing material to fill in all the empty space so the server could not move around. The server was also wrapped in multiple layers of the 1/2" bubble wrap.

    I think the only way this damage could have occurred was if they threw the machine off the back of the truck and it landed on the rear end.

    I just don't understand how somebody can pick up a box clearly labeled fragile and just chuck it.

    It is just really annoying because we really took all of the preventive measures that we could and this still happens.

    Does anybody have any insight into how FedEx claims work? Are they going to send somebody to inspect the machine? Do I need to hand it over to them or will they just cut me a check and let me keep the machine. This is important because there's some potentially sensitive customer information on the hard disks (which may or may not be working anymore) and I don't trust handing those disks over to FedEx.
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  25. #25
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    I have only had issues with stuff missing out of the box
    did a lost claim and got nothing fed ex

    usually don't have issues with fed ex damaging anything
    UPS on the other hand is a different story the will do anything to get out of paying a insurance claim both times a server box in pristine condition (new) came delivered like it was dragged behind the truck. if its not packed by UPS or a ups partner your **** out of luck one server was under warranty replaced the damaged parts the other was older we had to cough up the repair costs
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