Shipping Aggravation

Earlier this year I purchased some parts from another member here on the bulletin board. Our transaction was positive and, like most other experiences with ACMOC members, an easy and pleasant experience. I purchased some bulldozer lift frames for a U-series D4. The seller bolted them down to a 4' x 4' pallet, so the likelihood of them being damaged was nil. Even loose, I think the frames would have caused more damage to other freight. Once our deal was agreed upon, the next step was to transport them from the eastern portion of the US to my locale in Indiana. The seller suggested that a previous buyer had success using Uship. I went to their dot.com and created an account. I sought a quote and during the process was prompted via a pull-down menu to select the pickup location. The options included "residence, business with a loading dock or forklift, business without a loading dock or forklift," etc.. Prior to selecting, I called the seller to determine if he had a forklift or loading dock, which he did. I took the liberty to select "Business with a loading dock or forklift" because there were no other options denoting the presence of a forklift onsite. I did not want to pay extra for a liftgate pickup or delivery.


At my end, I am a small business owner and I have a tractor with forks (aka "forklift"), thus selected the same "Business with a loading dock or forklift" when describing the delivery site. The quotes were returned almost instantly and ranged from $130 up to several hundred dollars for overnight. I had previously calculated a shipment via UPS Freight at $260. Given the nature of the beast, I chose the cheapest, $130 via USF/Holland Freight. The transaction was complete once I pre-paid the amount with my credit card.

The pickup was scheduled a few days later and went uneventfully. A few days after, I received a call from the local USF terminal and set up the delivery. I received a call 1/2 hour prior to the truck showing up, so I drove the tractor to the road and visited with the neighbor while I waited. The semi arrived shortly after. By the time he set the parking brake to the time he closed the overhead door, 3 minutes had elapsed and he was on his way. Success!!!! Alas, not so.


A few days later I received an email from Uship informing me that there were additional charges applied to my account and if I didn't review and contest them, they would be billed directly to my credit card. Apparently, USF decided that neither the pickup nor the delivery locations were businesses and they were assessing and additional $130 to the deal. Needless to say, I blew a gasket. Neither the seller nor I received any inquiries from USF or Uship as to our credentials. When I called Uship, they gave me several excuses including that they use Google Earth to determine if there are loading docks or visible signs of an active business. My property is 85% tree covered and you can't see my steel building unless it is the dead of winter, then you may see a glint of sunlight reflecting off the roof. The seller's property shows trucks and tractors about, so from my educated view, I'd say it was a business. We both met the drivers at the road with our respective machines loaded with (or prepared to unload) a pallet of parts. Uship magnanimously offered to contest the charges on my behalf, all I needed to do was send them a copy of my business license (I don't need one out in the county) or some property tax documents showing the zoning as "business" and all sorts of other requests including bank info. This went on for several weeks until finally, USF removed the pickup surcharge. They still insisted my delivery was non-business. Uship gave up contesting after USF dropped the pickup surcharge. I finally called the local USF terminal and spoke with the manager. He informed me of some obscure tariff law and told me that my location was "off the beaten trail" ( about 7 miles from I-80 and 5 miles from I-94). I contested that a driver shouldn't be in the business of determining proper business credentials and was annoyed that my efforts to minimize the driver's discomfort by meeting him roadside were unappreciated. The manager finally agreed to remove the delivery surcharge, but that the folks from Uship needed to make the call. I thanked him and proceeded to email his contact info to the Uship rep. This then resulted in another go-round where the rep lost the terminal manager's contact info. Fortunaetly, I also CC'd the Uship rep's boss and she made the call. After a month of aggravation (including a call to my credit card telling them NOT to approve any extra charges from Uship), the case was closed. Or so I thought. 1 week later, I received another email from UShip telling me additional charges were pending from USF, but they were going to absorb them as a courtesy. Upon review, USF added $2.36 in tax to the $130 quote. Whoopie!


So, the moral of the story, beware of 3rd party shipping companies.

Sorry that you had an aggravating experience with Uship. I have used them several time years ago but the driver/carrier was a hotshot single owner. Other shipping items I have used Fastenal LTL. Very good rates and time factor. Of course they may not be close enough on either end to be advantageous.

" Nothin but pure n simple ole fashion communism"

I've dealt with fastenal and had good results. Even at 2 hours away it's still better for me to drop off and pick up versus the lift gate charge.

I shipped a D2 cylinder head on a pallet to a member, and a pony motor to another also on a pallet.
The cylinder head arrived and the buyer said it looked like the threw it off the truck .

The pony motor arrived with a chip out of the balancer, which was facing up ward on the pallet. So, not real impressed. Fastenal states " build a plywood box if you want to insure it" I guess they mean it !

FWIW: the cylinder head weight was 100lbs. It cost $200.00 to ship from CA to Texas.

As a hauler. I had 2 bad experiences with uship. The 1st a Cat 235D excavator. Wrong dimension after I asked if They physically measured the height and width. Both were wrong.,the pilot car driver and myself had to layover additional day as the permitted width wouldn’t allow us to go through the scales. The 2nd was a Cat 365 excavator. The catwalks were suppose to be removed and stick was supposed to be unpinned. Contacted the buyer/ shipper he wanted me to pay Ritchie Bros on-site mechanic up front $700.00 to unpin stick and remove cat walks to reduce the width. I said no wasn’t part of the deal. I told him to call me when it was ready. Three days later they called. I also told them that machine can’t have any oil or dirt on it as it was going over sees. They didn’t believe me . I got to the Port of Long Beach where it was rejected. I then had to take it to the local steam cleaner that preps overseas shipments. Never again .

i understand your grief. i live out in the country on a ranch. i own a forklift and a dock and i unload semi loads of stuff all the time. in fact i have a better system than some commercial operations do. but when i ship freight"residence" is what i pay.:jaw::jaw:

All too common to me as I live off the beaten track. I posted previously about being ripped off by Concordia pulling the same low quote to get the job then piling on additional charges thereafter. Unfortunately I had to pay as the goods were stuck overseas and the seller G&T were useless.

Never again😐

Oh and don't believe eg G&T parts websites..which appear under various names. .they may not have the 'new' part listed but will take your money and then try to sell you second hand stuff instead! Time wasters😣

Argh...the tyranny of distance🙄

I was in discussions to buy a D6C radiator from a member, but felt uneasy about using internet shipping.

I have used fastenal several times, first with a pallet of RD7 parts from Missouri, last with two transformers from Ohio. I guess I got lucky, no problems.
Also used contacts from YT Mag 3 or 4 times, once again no problems. I know I will come to grief one day, roll the dice.