More complaints from shippers who say UPS told them contents were destroyed, discarded
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- More complaints against UPS from Bay Area residents who are questioning the shipping company's claims that sensitive or one-of-a-kind shipments have been damaged or destroyed, then discarded.
JoAnn Yates and her children love Italy, so much so, that for years they've talked about getting dual citizenship.
"I finally had some time, so I started looking into it, and it didn't look that hard," said Yates.
RELATED: Bay Area viewers question UPS explanation for 'lost items' now for sale online
But the process became more challenging when Yates attempted to ship three copies of her birth certificate to New Jersey, where she was born, so the Department of Revenue could authenticate the documents before sending them back to her.
"I'm tracking it and it's just not, it's just sitting there at the New Jersey facility," said Yates.
Yates shared her tracking with 7 On Your Side, which showed the shipment went from Oakland to Lathrop, California, back to Oakland, then Louisville, Kentucky, before landing in Secaucus, New Jersey.
"So I called again and the person I got said it was damaged and destroyed," said Yates
"I felt they should have contacted me before destroying documents that are damaged, so I basically didn't believe them," she continued.
Last month, 7 On Your Side reported on a lost guitar shipped via UPS. UPS gave the shipper several different explanations as to why the item was missing, including that the package was damaged beyond repair, and all contents were destroyed and discarded.
But then the guitar turned up for sale on a Guitar Center website.
RELATED: UPS tells Bay Area customer his guitar is destroyed and discarded, but he then finds it for sale
"I just had an intuition that the guitar was stolen and that it wasn't damaged and destroyed," said Tony Diaz of Hayward at the time.
After that report aired, two more viewers got in touch with 7 On Your Side. Mike La Marca was shipping a one-of-a-kind motorcycle supercharger, and Pam Daniels was shipping an original painting by artist June Chen Ahleman.
Both were told their shipments were missing and the boxes were discarded.
"I don't think it could disappear, it's not like it was a couple of loose bolts in the bottom of a box that fell out. I don't know how you lose something that's 5 feet by 7 feet big," said Daniels of San Francisco.
La Marca later found what he believes to be the same supercharger for sale on eBay. The seller told him, "We buy lost freight from shipping companies."
"So maybe the box was torn open and missing some parts and UPS sells them off. I don't know at this point," said La Marca.
UPS wouldn't answer that question. Writing in its latest statement to 7 On Your Side, "We are committed to providing reliable service and take any report of a missing package seriously. We're pleased to resolve these matters and make things right for our customers."
The shipping company reimbursed La Marca, who had insured the supercharger shipment.
The guitar shipper and artwork shipper hadn't fully insured their shipments, but after 7 On Your Side got involved, UPS agreed to reimburse both.
And for Yates, in addition to a reimbursement, UPS agreed to pay for three years of identity theft protection.
"You guys were fantastic. No one would have called me and tried to work this out with me if you hadn't called them," said Yates.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
7OYS's consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 3-5 business days for a response.
