United States Postal Service

Claims Made Easy

1. No Cash

Hot tip: NEVER reimburse your customer with cash. Always reimburse your customer with a company check so that you have proof of claims payment. (GPFC also advises that you make a copy/Xerox of the company check if you do not have checks that have carbons for your records.)

Hot Tip #2: NEVER reimburse your customer BEFORE the carrier reimburses you. (i.e., You don’t want to be “out of pocket” if the claim is denied by the carrier. If the carrier denies payment of a claim, you will not reimburse the customer unless you were at fault [failed to package the item properly], and you will provide the customer with the carrier’s explanation for the claims refusal.)

2. How To Place a Claim: Play-by-Play

When a customer comes in and wants a refund or reports a service failure, here’s what to do:

(1) Ask the customer if the shipment went via UPS, FedEx, DHL or USPS. (If USPS, refer the customer to the Post Office.)

(2) Ask customer for his/her receipt for merchandise (NOT the receipt for the shipping). He/she needs the store receipt (from JC Penney, Circuit City, Montgomery Ward, Dress Barn, invoice from eBay, etc. wherever the item within the box came from) in order for you to place the claim. Without proof of value, you cannot place a claim for him/her. If no receipt is available, a sales flyer or advertisement (Big Lots flyer, page from the Sears catalog, etc.) with the cost of the item printed on it MAY suffice, but this is up to the individual carrier to decide.

(3) Ask the date that the item was sent from Goin’ Postal.

(4) Pull the entire pack of GP Shipping Forms from that date. (This is why you keep them bundled by date and filed in chronological order.)

(5) Ask the name of the intended recipient.

(6) Search through the stack and find that GP Shipping Form.

(7) Verify the customer’s (sender’s) name and telephone number (so that you can call to update him/her re: the claim).

(8) Make a copy of:

a. The GP Shipping Form (Put the original back into the bundle in your file for that day.)

b. The customer’s receipt. (YOU keep the original, and give the customer the copy.)

(9) If a “damage claim”: tell the customer to inform the recipient that he/she must keep the broken item, the box it came in, etc. in case the carrier wants to send out an inspector. After that (or if not a damage claim), tell the customer that you are placing the claim for him/her, that you will keep him/her updated, and then send him/her on his way.

(10) Look in your shipping history for that carrier and verify the tracking number that appears on the GP Shipping Form.

(11) Access the carrier’s website, type in the tracking number, and print out the detailed shipping/delivery information.

(12) Go to your sales history (in your POS) for that day. Find the receipt for this transaction. (If the customer sent several packages, this will take some time.) Print out that receipt.

(13) Keep all these materials for this one claim in an envelope with the customer’s name, the shipping date, and the tracking number on the exterior of the envelope.

(14) Follow the individual carrier’s protocol (below, on each carrier’s site, and in the Operations Manual) for placing a claim.

While this isn’t rocket science, it is time-consuming, which is why we do our best to package all items properly and to process each package correctly. If the carrier drops the ball and damages, delays delivery of, or loses an item, we have all of the required materials in order to help the customer to receive a refund.

3. The Carriers

United States Postal Service

Insurance

Post Office Insurance isn’t super-duper about paying insurance claims, and your customer will have to place the Post Office claim himself/herself, so try not to sell insurance on USPS services unless it’s absolutely necessary (i.e., unless the customer insists or has no choice b/c the item is going to an APO/FPO/P.O. Box). We offer 1 type of insurance for Post Office Services. Priority Mail up to a value of $500 can be insured directly on the Post Office Website. The store at Goin’ Postal Corporate HQ has opted to no longer offer insurance through a company called U-Pic. Urge your customers to ship with UPS or FedEx for valuable items that require insurance. If you do send the item via USPS and do insure it, be sure to add the postage AND the insurance coverage fee together and put that total as the final postage amount on the package. Please don’t insure USPS over $500 and ONLY insure a USPS item if you are using 262H262H264H264H264H263H269H269H269H269H269H270H270H395Hwww.usps.com to create the label and are sending the item via Priority Mail. Don’t insure documents, cash, checks, money orders, bonds, etc.

*Of Note:

We DO NOT INSURE international shipments. The customer should instead choose a

UPS option. Also, we do not insure items going to APO/APO AE/ FPO addresses.

Filing a Claim with the Post Office

The customer (NOT you, unlike the case with UPS and FedEx) can file a claim for compensation for loss, mis-delivery or damage of Insured Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail. The customer must take the damaged item (if available) and proof of the item’s value in today’s marketplace (receipt) along with the original box and packaging materials to the local Post Office. A USPS clerk will help the customer to file the claim.

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FedEx

(A) Placing a FedEx “Declared Value Coverage” Claim

In the event that something happens to a FedEx package, YOU will need to file a claim on your customer’s behalf to request monetary compensation for the customer’s financial loss. The customer does not file his/her own claim. You have 15 days to file the claim so you need to file as soon as you get the required information from your customer. Claims are usually settled within 5-7 days, sometimes longer depending on the time of year. You will need to know everything about the package that was sent.

In order to place a FedEx claim for your customer, you will need to know:

v The name and telephone # of the customer who shipped the item through your store

v The address the package was going to, including the name and phone number of the recipient

v The tracking number

v Ship date and weight of the package

v You will need to know exactly what was in the package

v You will need to know how it was packaged and you’ll have to be able to describe the damage to the box and items (*Instruct your customer to tell the recipient to retain ALL packaging materials, as FedEx may want to send an inspector to the recipient’s address to examine the package.)

v The value of the items with actual proof (a receipt is best) that you can give to FedEx

Once you have all this information, then you can fill out a FedEx Claim Form. After it’s all filled out, then you can fax it to FedEx. The next day, you should call FedEx to make sure they received the claim and are working on it. Once you know they are working on it, then all you have to do is wait for a call or a check in the mail. Then you will write a company check (from your Goin’ Postal store’s bank account) in the same amount as the FedEx check to you, and you will give the Goin’ Postal check to your customer. NEVER give a customer a cash claim payment, as you want to have a paper trail to prove that you have reimbursed your customer.

*REMEMBER: You cannot place a claim for a package sent via GROUND that didn’t arrive as quickly as the customer wanted it to. Ground shipments do not have a specific guaranteed delivery date or time. If a customer wants a package to arrive by a certain date or time of day on a certain date, he or she MUST have you send the package via an EXPRESS (Air) option.

(B) FedEx’s Service Guarantee Does Not Include:

FedEx says the following about its money back guarantee: “This guarantee can be suspended or revoked at our sole discretion without prior notice to you.” Source: Page 149 of FedEx Terms & Conditions as seen at http://images.fedex.com/us/services/pdf/SG_TermsCond_2006.pdf?link=4 Also, source: http://www.fedex.com/us/holiday/shipping/faq.html#topthree12 “The money-back guarantee for FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery will be suspended temporarily for packages tendered during the 14 calendar days before Monday, Dec. 25 (Monday, Dec. 11, through Sunday, Dec. 24).”

( C ) Doing the Right Thing

If you have packed an item and it is damaged, and for some reason FedEx does not cover the claim, YOU should do the right thing by taking care of your customer. Yes, the GP Shipping Form does state that if a carrier denies a claim “due to a packaging issue” that your “liability is limited to $100 minus any portion of the claim paid by the carrier,” but do you really want to create ill will and lose customers…when it was really your fault in the first place. Paying a $200 claim (or whatever it is) may seem pricey, but if you are partially to blame it will SAVE you money because doing the right thing will encourage future patronage of your store. If you don’t pay the claim and don’t take care of your customer, as you should, then he will tell 20 people what horrible care and service he received from you, and will tell people NOT to patronize your store. That will COST you money. Do your best to treat your customers the way that you want people to treat you and your family, and do the right thing. GPFC leaves this up to your discretion, but we firmly believe that our franchisees are the caliber and quality of individuals who will do the right thing in such situations.

(D) FedEx Declared Value Coverage (DVC)

FedEx will automatically cover the worth of every properly packaged package for a minimum of $100 (for actual cost of the item in today’s marketplace with proof of value). DVC does NOT cover sentimental value, late charges or late fees (if the contents of the package are rented items that must arrive by a certain date or time), etc. For example: If a properly packaged package has a declared value coverage for $300 but contains an item within that was damaged in transit and is only worth $52, then the customer should receive $52 (IF the claim is filed within 15 days). If a customer needs more declared value coverage than that, then he/she may purchase additional d.v.c. The maximum declared value coverage on a package is $50,000, but GPFC doesn’t recommend insuring high value items, as some items are not covered over certain dollar amounts. If a customer insists, contact FedEx to ensure that the particular item can indeed by covered with a high value of declared value coverage. If a package is covered for $1,500 or more, then a form will automatically print out with your label. This will be signed by the FedEx driver, who will take the form with him/her. FedEx will only accept a claim for the total value of the item and no more. If an item is damaged or lost, the sender must be able to prove value of the item/items in the package. When a customer wants additional declared value coverage on his/her package make sure to let him/her know as much information about d.v.c. and claims as you know so that in the event that something does happen he/she won’t be surprised and will instead be an educated consumer. Make sure that you know what is in the package and if it’s properly packaged. FedEx Ground will only cover certain items for the $100 (see list). If he/she needs more than that on those specific items, then you must use another carrier.

Items Limited to only $100 of Declared Value Coverage

1. Antiques: furniture, tableware, glassware

2. Artwork: paintings, drawings, vases, tapestries, limited-editions, fine-art, statuary, sculptures, etc.

3. Cash equivalents: stocks, bonds, cash, documents, letters, food stamps, postage stamps, traveler’s checks, lottery tickets, money orders, certificates and titles, calling cards, etc.

4. Collector’s items: coins, stamps, sports cards, souvenirs, any sort of memorabilia

5. Film: photographic images, negatives, chromes, slides

6. Furs

7. Glassware: signs, mirrors, china, ceramics, porcelains, crystal, glass, framed glass, framed glass paintings and prints, etc.

8. Inherent by nature: difficult to ascertain or to find value

9. Jewelry: costume jewelry, watches and their parts, gems, gem stones in settings, diamonds, gold, silver, platinum

10. Musical instruments: customized or personalized, over 20 years old (Special Note: When shipping any stringed instrument, have the customer loosen the strings prior to packing and shipping.)

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UPS

(A) UPS Claims

In the event that something happens to a package, YOU will need to file a claim on your customer’s behalf. The customer does not file his/her own claim. You have 15 days to file the claim, so you will need to file as soon as you get the proof of value and other required information from your customer. Claims are usually settled within 5-7 days, sometimes longer depending on the time of year. You will need to know everything about the package sent.

In order to file a UPS claim you will need to know:

ü The name and telephone # of the customer who shipped the item through your store