FedEx Stole My $1,500 Package and Banned My Account
Beginning
I live in Canada. On February 8th of this year, I purchased a Mac Studio and had it shipped to my friend’s address in Pittsburgh, USA, with the intention of picking it up later when I had the chance.
On February 19th, I thought it would be a good opportunity to pick up the computer since I’m visiting Seattle on February 25–26th. My idea was to have the package shipped to a FedEx Office and held there, so I could pick it up myself. I registered a new FedEx account and started creating a shipping label.
Development
I chose FedEx over UPS because FedEx allows you to select “Hold at FedEx location” when creating a shipping label.
So I created a waybill with my friend as the sender and myself as the recipient, and I checked the “Hold at FedEx location” option, asking my friend to send the package from a FedEx site. Strangely, FedEx never asked me to select a payment method even after I completed the shipping label.
My friend and I thought payment would be made at the site after weighing the package, but they didn’t ask my friend to pay at the site either. They took the package and gave him a receipt like this.
Turning Point
On February 21st, my friend suddenly received an email stating, “Unable to deliver shipment, returned to shipper.”
I immediately tried to log into my FedEx account to check the situation, but after multiple attempts, I couldn’t successfully log in.
I called FedEx. The first customer service representative told me it was a “Fraud delivery.” When I asked why, they said they couldn’t help me and would transfer me to someone else.
The second representative said they could help me find out the reason, but I needed to provide my account number. I explained that I couldn’t log into my account and didn’t have the account number, only my email.
So the second representative transferred me to a third one, who still tried to get my account number and suggested I try a different browser, clear cookies, and attempt every possible solution. I still couldn’t log in. I asked if it was possible that there was an issue with the account rather than my actions, and they said if that was the case, they would transfer me to someone who could help.
The fourth representative used my email and phone number to retrieve my account number, then told me I couldn’t reactivate the account and couldn’t provide a reason. They said goodbye and hung up on me.
By this point, I was very angry. After nearly two hours on the phone, I hadn’t received any information and was ultimately hung up on. I posted an angry tweet, and FedExHelp reached out to me.
I described the course of events, and FedExHelp told me to contact FedEx High Risk Investigations at (800) 584–2681.
So I did. When connected, they asked if I was the sender or recipient. I said I was the recipient but had created the waybill. The representative apologized and said the phone call had to be made by the sender.
I had no choice but to ask my friend to call FedEx. They informed my friend that there was a specific person handling my case, with the contact number 8555560557, extension 102148, Case Number: #370494.
We then tried calling this number multiple times, always reaching voicemail. The person was never at their desk, and we never got through.