Burned on UPS Shipping Charge

How'd he do that?

[martyt]

We recently got an urgent order for a $6 item from a fellow who wanted it shipped out by UPS Next-Day Air using his UPS shipper number. We were happy to oblige him and shipped the order out that same day. We billed the order to his shipper number exactly as he requested.

Today, the UPS bill shows up and the dude has refused to pay the third-party billing, so UPS bills me for it instead and tacks on a $10 surcharge!

Is this a slimy tactic that I wasn't aware of?

Any suggestions on how I go about getting the customer to pay the $33 shipping bill on the $6 item he already has? I've sent him an e-mail asking him to contact us, but somehow I don't really think the phone is going to ring any time soon...

[RoadRash]

Call UPS and dispute the charge. Chances are, its not his shipping acct. If thats the case, you may be stuck with the charge :(

[sun818]

Do you know if, in fact, the UPS account number belongs to the buyer? Does he work for a company and he charged it to that account? It could be a misunderstanding, or a slimy tactic. But you have the delivery address and could possibly perform a reverse lookup to get additional contact information.

[jbinbpt]

When someone asks to use "Their" UPS account number, which doesn't happen very often, I make a quick call to my UPS service rep. Two minutes and you have an answer. If you provide a name and address, they will confirm if the number matches.
Twice I was able to prevent a chargeback.
Also make very clear in your site disclaimer, that the customer is liable for all charges. Advise in an email that you will bill the credit card used, if they cannot clear up the mistake.

[martyt]

I heard from the customer and he claims it was a mistake on his part to refuse the charges. But he still hasn't called us with his credit card number as I requested so we can charge the shipping to him.

Still, as a policy going forward, we're not going to bill shipping to the receiver or any third-party. That will alleviate the exposure from our end, possibly at the cost of one or two sales per quarter.

[Robino]

That's why I always verify all NDA charges before I send stuff out. People don't realize how expensive it is to use 'Air' services.

Call him and leave a message asking him how he wants to pay for the shipping balance. If he doesn't call back, I would go ahead and charge his card.