Left at door

What to do in this instance?

[MLHmptn]

I have an alarming amount of customers lately (I'm supposing due to the economy) that are denying anything has been left at their door and when I place a claim with Fedex they deny it because they say delivery was made. How does everyone else handle this? Do you require a signature on residential deliveries? I have implemented a new program but I wonder if it deters business. My new policy for residential delivery is as follows:

Unfortunately we will no longer take the responsibility of merchandise left at your door. Merchandise shipped to a residence will require a signature upon delivery. If for any reason you cannot sign for your package and the merchandise is returned to us we will be forced to charge for the shipping and handling charges both ways (this will be reflected in any credit issued). However, if you put in your comments below that you are releasing us from all responsibility (with merchandise being left at your door) we will ship to a residence without a signature.

I don't know if it sounds harsh or not but with the increase in claims that are not being paid due to shipments left at doors I have had to implement this strategy. Does this seem too harsh? Will it deter business? How do you all deal with this? Is anybody else noticing an increase in failed (supposedly) deliveries since the economy took a nose dive? I'm convinced it's fraud and nothing but because I've always used FedEx and never had this problem until the last 6 months or so.

Love to hear the feedback.

Mike

[edited by: MLHmptn at 3:59 am (utc) on Jan. 20, 2009]

[sun818]

If you think it is fraud, you can take the side of FedEx. Buyer may be able to win a charge back depending on the bank, but that is your risk. Banks may be less generous in tough economic situation, so you may actually win as the retailer. If you believe the buyer is fraudulent, you do not want them as a customer anyway.

I personally ship more quantity with FedEx Ground than UPS Ground, so my experience is not scientific. But any time there is a "left at door" with buyer claim of non-receipt, it has been FedEx.

[ken_b]

I don't know if it sounds harsh or not but ...

...it's probably far more than many will bother reading. And those bent on mischief probably won't care even if they do read it.

[MrHard]

Signature required is not the same as in person signature required. Signature required they can leave a post it, the customer signs, the carrier collects it the next day, and leaves the item on the doorstep, or they check hold for pickup and they drive to carriers warehouse to get it.

As a reasonable person I actually like this better then just dumping it on the doorstep. That way I can be sure nobody steals it.

[enigma1]

Not sure how you handle the shipping options with your online store but perhaps you should place a link or info next to each shipping option you offer. Customers can the select the one they like. The info or link to info helps because they can see/read the requirements if any.

And you could also send the information of the selected carrier/option with the order's email or electronic invoice.

In my opinion how you structure the store and present information, helps a lot to avoid misunderstandings with your clients.

[HugeNerd]

I contract with UPS, so I cannot speak towards FedEx. However, when I've run into such situations, I file a damage/loss claim with the carrier. I make sure to note any claim number. I then inform the customer of the claim and let them know that my payment is contingent on the findings of the carrier -- if I feel they are trying to con me, otherwise I ship a replacement immediately.

In some instances, if I am at all unsure, I contact the customer and give them the name of the person I spoke with at the carrier and the claim/tracking number and urge the customer to call on their own behalf. You'd be surprised what a carrier will do when confronted by an irate "package recipient" who didn't actually receive any package, despite a delivery confirmation.

This also helps deflect any anger and frustration away from you as the customer knows that you are being active and lobbying on their behalf...and that you absolutely gave a carrier a package. That knowledge is key as you keep your client's trust; they know what they paid was shipped in good faith and that the problem occured during the carrier's watch and not yours.

[Corey Bryant]

It sounds harsh, but I think it costs a bit more to get a signature on delivery. Unfortunately, the merchant is responsible for these charges. If you attempt to charge the customer on the credit card, it could potentially be charged back - simply saying "services not rendered" or "product not delivered at the specific time".

In these instances, the card association will favor the customer and return the money.

[jecasc]

I ship everything with signature required. However I am in Europe and the EU distance selling regulation apply. That means if I sell to consumers I carry the full risk of shipment and I am not allowed to pass on the risk to the customer. So if I have no prove of actual delivery - my bad.

I am wondering if there are no such rules in the US.

[gangadevi]

I saw a news report of people following delivery trucks in several cities and stealing items left at the door after the carrier drove off. There was a lot of this going on around Christmas and thefts were caught on surveillance cameras.

We have an option on our site for signature confirmation or insurance so items aren't just left at the door. We also note that we are not responsible for uninsured items after shipping. I don't think it's harsh, just responsible.

Good luck sorting out your problem.

[Bewenched]

Anything of value we ship has signature required via UPS or Fedex. Postal is another story... since we only ship to confirmed addresses and if it's small enough to go in a normal mailbox then we dont. The upside is that if you send something via the postal service within the US and they claim non receipt, then the postal inspector gets involved and it is a federal crime.

We had thought about giving people the option for signature required however even if they check that no signature is required and they dont sign for it and decide to charge it back with the credit card company then you do not have a leg to stand on.

[MLHmptn]

Thank you to all who have submitted a response. After much thought we are going to stick with the new home delivery signature policy. The way we see it is if the customer releases us of responsibility, we have all that we need in case of a chargeback. If the customer has faith they can leave it at their door without a signature we will follow suit and ship it at their discretion with no signature but only with the release of our responsibility. With the way the economy is going and the increase in theft/fraud we just can't take the responsiblity of their brother/sister/friend/whoever picking it up and committing fraud for them at our expense. Honestly the sad part about all of this is that we have all these dishonest people in the world that commit these crimes at everyone elses expense. What really is this world coming to?

Once again, thank you to all of you...I really do appreciate the feedback.

With Regards,

Mike

[jecasc]

The way we see it is if the customer releases us of responsibility, we have all that we need in case of a chargeback.

But make sure that such a release is even possible where you live and where you send to. In the European Union such a release of responsibility is not possible when you send to consumers. This also applies when you send to the European Union.

[bwnbwn]

MLHmptn making it a signaure required adds 2.00 bucks to the cost of the delivery and with our small profit margin and fixed shipping it is a real problem. The market I am in is beyond competitive so we have to be really careful on any added cost to the customer.

We have continued to not require the customer to sign as the ones we do it causes them problems getting the package as well.
There really isn't a good fix for me but will continue to monitor our delivery requirements.

[JohnRoy]

MLHmptn,

If the customer has faith they can leave it at their door without a signature we will follow suit and ship it at their discretion with no signature but only with the release of our responsibility.

If you refer to chargebacks, this "release" won't help too much. You can only charge if you have proof it was delivered. On the other hand, as the others pointed out, the fee for signature-required, plus the loss of potential business, may lower your profit long-term.

[buckworks]

Slow delivery is a very real problem.

I received a package in my mail today that was mailed from New York, via USPS express mail, on December 22!

Part of the postage fee must have been for storage.

[MrHard]

Not sending something signature required is pretty irresponsible since things can be stolen or lost. It's for your own good as well as the customers. You could just send it that way and not mention it at all.

People who don't want to sign for an item are a little iffy anyway, especially since they can leave a sticky note which can be signed allowing them to leave the item at the door the next day at the customers discretion. That way any stolen items become the responsibility of the customer.

[MLHmptn]

MrHard

Not sending something signature required is pretty irresponsible since things can be stolen or lost. It's for your own good as well as the customers. You could just send it that way and not mention it at all.
People who don't want to sign for an item are a little iffy anyway, especially since they can leave a sticky note which can be signed allowing them to leave the item at the door the next day at the customers discretion. That way any stolen items become the responsibility of the customer.

JohnRoy

If you refer to chargebacks, this "release" won't help too much. You can only charge if you have proof it was delivered. On the other hand, as the others pointed out, the fee for signature-required, plus the loss of potential business, may lower your profit long-term.

I contacted Visa/MC/AMEX/Discover yesterday and found out that our new policy saves us from any chargeback dispute relating to delivery if the customer releases us of responsibility at time of order. Also, if the customer signs the door tag and says to leave the package its not FedEx's problem or ours. So all in all, I'm happy to say since we implemented this policy we have not had one customer disputing delivery(17+ days now). Also, we haven't really noticed a drop in business, in fact it's picking up again. So who knows, maybe the customer realizes they too are getting insurance that their order will show up for sure. Dunno! :>~

Thanks to all of you for your feedback....I really do appreciate it.

[edited by: MLHmptn at 6:51 am (utc) on Feb. 11, 2009]