FED-EX Fiasco--consider yourself warned!!

Wow, what difficult time I've had with Fed Ex. I was hoping to deal with this issue through more traditional methods, but they didn't work. It's my hope that someone out there might see this post and be able to help me to recover my money from this company. Also, let it serve as a BEWARE as you prepare for holiday shipping!

Here's the story:

July 1--I mailed a large box to my Montana address. I sent stuff I had collected for gifts as well as some scrapbook supplies I intended to use over the summer. I sent them through one of those independent shippers (I won't name the because they are innocent in all of this) and Fed-Ex was the cheapest way to go. I was guaranteed that the box would arrive by July 8 (to take into account for the holiday) or my shipping would be refunded.

July 8--No box arrived so I called the 1-800 number for Fed Ex. After many attempts so reach a human being, I was told that it was no problem, the shipping would definitely be refunded and to please call back when the package arrived to get that started.

July 9--Box arrived, and it was damaged. The delivery man carried it to my door, I signed, he turned to walk away but I called him back to show him there was a big hole in the box. He said, "oh, yeah, I saw that. Let me record that." Here are the pictures:

Later that day (July 9) I called the number again to get the refund and claim process started. I spoke to someone in customer service that said they were putting in the claims, and that I should call back in a few days to check on it.

July 16--Called again (this time I learned of a new way to call and get right to humans!!!!). I spoke with a woman named Earlene Brockley. She said that the call was being recorded, and then proceeded to help me. She took all my information (I had lost the tracking number at this point) and that the checks--one for a shipping refund ($70.00) and one for my claim ($50.00) would be sent to me. I explained that I was in Montana for the summer, and she took down that address. She said she'd put in the claims, and that someone would be contacting me in a few days to let me know the status. I explained that I had already had claims put in, but she did not see any and said she'd take care of it.

By this time I am beginning to understand that this might be a long process, but still am hopeful.

July 21--Called again and spoke to Lisa Wood. She was very rude and continuously interrupted me. She explained that the shipping refund and claim for the hole were 2 different processes (DUH!!) and she told me that in total 6 times. She then told me that the insurance claim would be sent to me in Montana, and the shipping would be sent to the shipper. She said I'd have to get it back from them. I asked when both the shipper and I could expect to see anything and she rudely told me she didn't know, but I had to be patient. I then asked to speak to a supervisor. Lisa said that a supervisor would tell me the same thing, so I didn't need to speak to anyone. I demanded to, and was put through to Paulette.

Paulette was not very nice either, but at least she listened. She then repeated that these were 2 different processes (again DUH!!). She said that both would be sent to the shipper in 4 weeks. I told her what Lisa said, and Paulette basically said she did not know, but had no control over what was said. I said, "you are supervisor, don't you have a hand in training? You'd think everyone there would be on the same page." Paulette then told me to stop telling her how to do her job (someone needs to!!). I was still confused, but ended the call. Later July 21, I called again and spoke to Eddie and told him that in the confusion I had forgotten to leave contact information. He put me on hold for 19 1/2 minutes (seriously, I timed it) and then took down my Montana address. He did not know anything about claims.

At this point I gave up for awhile as I had some trips planned and wouldn't be anywhere near a phone or Internet.

Fast forward to today (August 21). I called again just to check the status of the claim. I spoke to a kind young lady named Jessie Mora. She informed me that in fact the claim check for the damaged box had been processed on July 17, and sent to my Montana address. This was BEFORE my last call to them. I have not received that check. She further informed me that there is no record of a claim for the shipping refund. WHAT??!? All I called for was to see if the shipper had received the check as the owner said he had not. Now she called claimed to put it through in express, so that there would be a 72 hour turn around. She also knew nothing about when or if the claim was actually mailed. I was finally referred to a supervisor who was out to lunch. I left her a voice mail and have not heard back.

This is so frustrating. At this point I am only trying to get what is rightfully owed to me. I can't give up because this is actually not a small amount of money. Please be forewarned that FED-EX has horrible customer service. BEWARE.

Thanks for reading!

Janet

more layouts

I've been busy! The family reunion and camping trip was fun! Now, though, my summer in Montana is winding down--I have little over a week left. Then it's back to NYC and back to work. I've been really scrapping lately, hoping to get a little more caught up before heading back to the rat race.

Here's more layouts (please click on them to see them larger)--some from my road trip to Butte, MT last year. I used the new Making Memories Passport line for these--yummy!!



This layout was based on a layout in an older Scrapbook trends mag.


This layout has pictures from an underground tour that I took that included this really cool speakeasy. Letters are felt thickers, everything else is MM.


This one has pics from the old jail, part of the underground tour. I love this paper line!


These were the left over pics of the town, Copper King Mansion, and the copper mine. I love this paper and just had to use it up!

I have done 37 pages so far this summer, less than normal, but we've been busier with other stuff this summer. I hope to get a few more done before I have to pack up my scrappy supplies and leave.

Hope you all enjoy these last few days and weeks of summer vacation!

Janet

How I earned my e-mail name....

People often ask me how I got the name jdstumble (I used this as an email name and on numerous boards). Some think that stumble is my last name. It's not. My last name is Duncan. Basically, I got this name when a friend helped me sign on to AOL years ago. I'm a klutz, and everyone who knows me knows that about me. My stories make family folklore, and are actually quite humorous sometimes. Okay, here's what I have been doing lately:

On Monday, I went to a nearby town to see a friend's new quilt shop. On the way out of town I decided to fill up the gas tank in Mom's car, because she is so generous with it all the time. I pull up to the pump, punch all the buttons (one is to pay inside by credit card) and try to get the nozzle into the tank. It doesn't fit. the pump starts beeping at me loudly, but I am so focused on getting that darn nozzle into the tank, that I ignore it. I finally realize that I am attempting to use the diesel. Then I begin using the correct nozzle, but it was still beeping loudly and won't stop. Finally the attendant (who saw the entire fiasco) came out with a smirk to fix the pump. I filled the tank. As I was replacing the nozzle, gas went everywhere, all over my hands too.

I went into the station (half gas station and half hardware store) and went straight back to the bathroom to wash the gas off my hands. As I was scrubbing, a man came through the door. Oops, I was in the men's room! a few guys saw me leave, and I ran to the front to pay. As I set down my purse to pull out my wallet, I knocked everything that was on the counter off. The same attendant that helped me at the pump got a giggle out of that one, and I proceeded to clean up my mess, pay and leave.

Needless to say, this story has received lots of laughs in the family.

Okay, now for the latest: This evening I got a call from my sister in law in Denver. I am currently in Billings, MT and I am supposed to fly to Denver on Aug. 25 to catch a flight back to NYC the next day. Coming out here I drove up from Denver with my uncle, so this Billings-Denver flight is a one way. Only, I booked it backwards. Yes, back-asswards!! I booked and paid for a non-refundable flight from DENVER to BILLINGS instead. And I am not even blonde!!! Go figure. I'll decide what to do about that tomorrow.

That's it for now--hope you got a few laughs, too.

Love,

JDSTUMBLE

Recent layouts

I've been busy creating! I get about one double page layout done a day. Sometimes cards, too. Here are a few:

This is from the last day of school in 2007--my friend and I went to the "beach" bar in Queens.



A day out with friends. I loved this line from Scenic Route!!


Finally, my nephew at 2 months old.

You can click on the layouts to make them bigger.

All the layouts were created with fabulous kits from The Scrap Room (http://scrap-room.com/). I love those kits--you get 4 mini kits each month--it's like sampling 4 lines of paper. My goal this summer is to use up as many as possible (to make room for more, of course). Tammy, the owner, does a great job, and you can even opt out for a month if you want.

So an update on the fires: they are still bad and getting worse. Apparently 9 homes have been lost and the winds tonight did not help. There is a layer of dust blowing in the windows, and it's ash from the fire. It's so sad to see this, but I guess it's a once in a century thing. I just hate that people lose homes.


Janet

Fires

Every year when I come home to Montana, there are fires somewhere in the state and Billings is generally pretty smoky. This year is extra-heartbreaking, though, because the fires are in the mountains near Red Lodge. Red Lodge is a town that my Grandmother grew up in, Mom lived there, I went to Girl Scout camp for 10 years there, and my father's ashes are spread near one of the campgrounds south of town. Red Lodge is about 60 miles southwest of Billings, in the Beartooth Mountain range.

I heard on the news today that the Girl Scout Camp was empty, and they evacuated the many gorgeous campground on both forks of the roads. We spent our entire childhood camping in these mountains. I am just hoping and praying for adequate weather conditions to get this thing contained. So many people have already had their homes threatened, and the fire is so close to town!

Here's a couple of pics from www.billingsgazette.com


I am actually supposed to go to Red Lodge on Wednesday for the day, so I'll know more then about what's happening and see first hand how close the fire is. I'll keep you all posted, and please keep this town that's a little piece of heaven in your thoughts/prayers now. Thanks!

Cards galore!

I've doing lots of crafting lately, both scrapbooking and card making. Here are some of my recent cards:

I used BoBunny scraps for this simple card.


For this one I used everything Making Memories, all left overs from a layout.


I got this idea from the galleries at www.splitcoaststampers.com. I did change up the papers--mine are BoBunny. Stamp is SU. Can't really see it, but I used Bazzill Bling for the lighter CS.


This is all from a Scrap Room kit. Their kits are awesome!! Everything here is left over from a layout.


Finally, some cards using my stamp set from Stampin' Up/ All the products are SU, actually. I don't generally do this much stamping on cards, but I like it, so I might have to do this more often.

Thanks for letting me share my creations with you!

My projects

Finally--Here's some of the things I have been working on while I am here visiting my Mom.

These 2 layouts have pics from July 4, 2007







That's it for now--have to get the others cropped, etc, and I'll post later in the week. Thanks for looking!