ORLANDO, Fla — A package sent through UPS didn’t make it to its intended recipient. When it later got returned to the original UPS Store, the sender claims the valuable item inside was missing.
Though an interpreter, Gustavo Gonzalez said, “We’ve been trying to get answers from UPS. We’ve called them, emailed them, faxed them.”
The box Gonzalez sent back in February contained a very large piece of specialized equipment valued at more than $45,000.
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Gustavo Gonzalez expected he wouldn’t have any problems after shipping three boxes from the UPS Store in Hunter’s Creek. Two of the boxes made it to a client in Miami. Gonzalez said the third one didn’t. It contained a spare safety component of a hydrogen compressor, a very rare part that’s pretty heavy.
His paperwork shows that missing box was signed for by someone named Gomez. Gonzalez followed up with UPS, but said he couldn’t get any answers from the company about who Gomez was or why he would have received the package. A day later, tracking information for the missing box suddenly showed it as being returned to sender. Gonzalez was relieved until he arrived back at the UPS Store in Orlando, and they handed him the box that should have weighed more than a hundred pounds.
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Recalling his reaction, Gonzales said, “‘It’s empty. Where’s the spare? Oh my God.’ The lady here say to me, ‘Oh my God. It’s a problem.’ Yes, it’s a big problem.”
Gonzalez said when he first shipped it, the piece of equipment was connected to a wood pallet within the box, but when the box came back, the entire pallet was gone and just white packing material was left inside. He said UPS hasn’t been able to explain where the box went, who returned it to sender or how it ended up back in Orlando empty without any accountability by employees.
He claims he was never asked the value of the contents when he shipped the boxes, and he didn’t realize insurance was an option. That turned out to be his biggest regret.
After filing a report with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and a claim with UPS for the more than $45,000, he received a check from UPS for just over $500. That was the cost of shipping the missing item, plus $100 which is the standard amount of coverage on a package without extra insurance.
He’s now filed a lawsuit in Orange County, hoping to recover the money.
He said, “This has been stressful for my family.”
Insurance is a good idea for anyone sending a valuable item like this.
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After Action 9 reached out to UPS, a spokeswoman for the UPS Store wrote in an email that the package appeared to be in the same condition when it was returned as when it was sent with no visible damage or change in weight observed. Gustavo provided photos that he claims were taken at the store showing the box without the wood pallet attached. The store couldn’t provide any photos of the returned package and didn’t seem to be aware there was an ongoing lawsuit.
After Action 9 made the spokeswoman aware of the lawsuit she replied they don’t comment on pending or threatened litigation.
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But in an earlier reply, the UPS Store spokeswoman offered this additional information about protecting your shipments:
We urge all customers to provide essential information about their packages at the time of shipment and consider purchasing declared value coverage in case the package is lost or damaged in transit. The UPS Store locations offer an exclusive Pack & Ship Guarantee: if a participating The UPS Store® location packs your item using only new materials purchased at that location, ships the package via UPS, and the item is damaged or lost in transit, you will be reimbursed.
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