Never received shipment

A six pack of Krug 168 in 375s never arrived. I hope probably notified the merchant in for three weeks the status has been “I’m working with UPS to trace”. UPS tracking just says delivered to my home, but we were home all day. Never had porch pirates before.

When I asked to re-ship the 375s given the length of time I was told that because I waved the adult signature requirement (due to Covid) that the retailer is no longer able to hold UPS liable and therefore I would have to repay.

I have disputed with my credit card company but was wondering what the ITB people think. Does waiving adult signature change my rights?

I did not think you could waive the signature. I think they are just supposed to acknowledge you, but not require you to sign.

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Can a recipient legally waive the Adult Signature requirement for shipments containing alcohol?

I never waived anything online or written. Both UPS and FEDEX just leave my shipments on my porch. They don’t even ring the bell. One FEDEX guy takes a picture which might help as proof if there is a problem.

While it may not be legal to waive it, I did get an option on the UPS notification to do so. My memory is fuzzy but they are claiming they waived it and I probably did check that box.

It was only a matter of time before this happened to someone. It’s frustrating. Fedex routinely leaves alcohol packages on my doorstep sometimes even without ringing the doorbell, but UPS still makes sure I answer the door and asks my name. It’s going to be hard/impossible to fight either company, so I think you’re at the mercy of the retailer. Even with a credit card dispute, the merchant has a tracking number that says the package was delivered to you, so I imagine they will end up winning that dispute.

Not knowing what kind of mean streets you may actually live on, my guess is that it was more likely mis-delivered by human error than stolen. I’ve had ~5/6 packages in the last 9 months delivered to our house mistakenly and never had a single one in the 5 years before that in our neighborhood. I’ve also had a few Amazon packages just flat out not show up this year … the carriers are just overwhelmed and making mistakes.

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Misdelivered is most likely. Still unsure of what my legal rights are and how the credit card company will behave.

My understanding is the same as David’s, they have to verify identity even if signature is waived.

Here’s there wording on adult signature:
“An adult signature with proof of age verification is required at time of delivery. Please be aware that someone over the age of 21 must be available to sign for the package. If no one is available at the time of delivery, the package will not be left. Because of this, we suggest you ship to a work address. We cannot ship wine to PO Boxes or APO addresses.”

Here is the disclaimer on the website that says they aren’t liable:

“The buyer assumes title of the wines once purchased. By arranging for transportation of the wine, we are providing a service to and acting on behalf of the purchaser. We make no representation to the legal rights of anyone to ship or import any wines into any state. The buyer is solely responsible for the shipment of wine and other goods purchased and for determining the legality and the tax/duty consequences of having the wine shipped to him or her.”

Just because it happened 10 minutes ago…my Ultramarine arrived, but the FedEx guy didn’t even knock. He just left the box and drove away.

We recently ordered a case of wine. Got a shipping notice from UPS that it was on its way and scheduled for this Tuesday. Consistently Tuesday. Then on Friday it said delivery would now be Monday. Yesterday we checked, and it still said Monday. Last night (Saturday) we go out for a socially distanced dinner. A few hours later we get home, and there it is - a case of wine sitting in front of the door along a busy sidewalk in the middle of Chicago. SUR-PRISE!

I wonder if FedEx will be refunding the $6.50 they charged the wineries for Adult Signature?

I would have shat myself also if the shipper list my Krug. [cry.gif]

Thank you for sharing your pain. It’s a cautionary tale not to waive adult signature. Sorry for the loss!

Barry, I had a similar situation last week, where UPS claimed they had delivered a box of wine shipped directly from a winery in Napa to my house, but nothing had been delivered. I contacted the winery and they immediately processed a shipment of replacement bottles and told me not to worry, that they would be filing a claim with UPS and that it was common for UPS to claim false deliveries of wines, especially these days. In my case, UPS apparently claimed that I had signed for the package, which was false because I had neither signed for nor received anything. UPS’s false claims did not affect the winery’s handling of the issue. Unfortunately, it sounds like your merchant is not stepping up for you as its customer. If I were you, I would never do business with them again.

On the one hand, in my view, we need to give these guys a break; very rough year and rough time of year for these guys. On the other hand, what David says seems right: you can’t really and entirely waive the requirement. When I have a delivery person that does not know me, they have me open door and visually id me. Finally, yes, packages also right now have a greater tendency to be lost.
So, I think the OP’s beef is with the seller, who should make it good one way or another.

The winery would then have to refund the buyer for that charge.

Say this isn’t wine.
U order an iPhone. Apple ships it.
It gets delivered. Then Stolen from porch.

Who’s liable? Apple? Or is The buyer is just outta luck?

Internal theft is a growing issue for many businesses.

FedEx, generally, contracts with private individuals & companies, who own their delivery vehicles, to deliver packages, based on routes and shipping options such as ground, home etc. There are exceptions.

At the time that a package is loaded and scanned, for delivery, to its’ local destination, it’s generally NO longer under the control of FedEx, except as provided for in the contractual obligations in the FedEx/delivery contractors’ agreement.

The only option with FedEx, for potential for full reimbursement, appears to be the “DECLARED VALUE” coverage, with value limitations.

Here is an analysis of FedExs’ rules for lost, stolen & damaged packages:

There is NO 12 bottle wine case, weighing 40 t0 50 pounds, that’s simply, TOO BIG TO LOSE, in my opinion.

Double label, side and front, with additional clear tape, instruct your shipper to declare the value of the contents, sales tax and shipping expense, when the label is printed, and include your invoice in the package.

If my math is correct, $1,000=$10 dollars and $2,000=$20 dollars. The significant issue could possibly be irreplaceable contents! The retailer, I believe would be delighted, to share in the expense of the declared value option.

Is this issue a candidate for class action litigation? My guess, not enough/significant loss/financial reward, to warrant this option, buy hey, who knows!

For the record, I’m a happy FedEx client!

UPS is the shipper here.

I have not been asked to sign for any package - including alcohol - since April. At my previous apartment, the UPS driver knew me and was very reliable and always just put the box inside the front hallway. But UPS has hired extra people who have claimed deliveries that never happened - and I’ve had issues with Amazon and esp FedEx who I had to chase down to say “do not throw packages onto the outdoor front steps” But no signatures requested for alcohol at all these days which I would think would be a liability for the shipping company since the boxes are labeled saying a signature is required – and they typically text the day before saying a signature will be needed.

At my new place, they can deliver to my actual door and both UPS and FedEx seem to do that. They do not knock but I can hear the trucks. Craziest was a shipment of a toy for my grandson from Walmart. The day after I ordered, a random guy in a random car pulled up in front of my door, put the toy on the walkway outside my door with no paperwork, box or bag - just the toy - and drove away. Such an easy target if I had not noticed this all happening.

I wouldn’t order from Walmart again. Not under those results.