FEDEX COD CHECK FRAUD
Written: Mar 24 '04 (Updated Apr 02 '04)
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Pros: no protection for fedex cod customer
Cons: FEDEX Advertised SECURE COD collection for GUARANTEED Funds is NOT SECURE.
The Bottom Line: no protection from dishonest people. Only use with people you already trust.
Fedex Customer Service kept giving me the runaround when I asked to be transferred to fraud/security department.
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| fedexcodfraud's Full Review: FedEx Priority Overnight |
I used Fedex COD, express overnight to collect SECURE payment in form of CASHIER'S CHECK in exchange for my merchandise.
However, Fedex made the mistake of accepting a rectangular piece of paper that was CLEARLY FAKE as my cashier's check and gave away my merchandise to a criminal.
I used their service thinking that it was mutually beneficial for both the buyer and seller. The buyer would not have to worry about never receiving the merchandise after paying me, and I wouldn't have to worry about not getting paid, because I had requested Fedex to ONLY collect Guaranteed Funds. BUT I WAS WRONG!
1.Fedex DID NOT obtain ANY IDENTIFICATION from the person giving them the check, nor did they write a driver's license on the back of the check.
2. Fedex does not verify check authenticity by looking for the WATERMARKS/VOID PANTOGRAPHS that are on CASHIER'S CHECKS. Had Fedex looked for the markings of authenticity as stated in the WARNING BANNER, they would have known the piece of paper was fake.
3. As stated in their COD airbill fine print, in event of failure to collect "specified instrument" Fedex was supposed to return my merchandise to me, but since Fedex made a mistake, it was too late because they already gave my merchandise away. Fedex REFUSES to reimburse me for the DECLARED AMOUNT (different from COD AMOUNT) of my merchandise, for "losing it".
4. Fedex does NOT advertise truthfully their COD collection procedures
I paid extra for every $100 of merchandise value I DECLARED. If I didn't declare the value for my merchandise, I wouldn't have to pay extra. What exactly did my $65.26 in Declared Value insurance end up paying for?
I paid for the SECURE Payment ONLY collection service, meaning as Fedex ADVERTISES, they will ONLY collect GUARANTEED FUNDS, in the form of a Cashier's check or Money Order, but they really should add, FEDEX will collect any retangular piece of paper that ANY CRIMINAL prints out the words,"Cashier's Check" on from their ink jet printer.
In my case, the person who signed for my merchandise and gave them the fake check was NOT even the person I had addressed the COD to!
Also, Fedex tries to say they are not liable because in Letter D of their COD Terms and Agreement, Fedex is not liable for "nonpayment, fraud and forgery of the COD AMOUNT", which I agree with, but it is NOT the COD AMOUNT I am claiming Fedex is liable for or holding Fedex responsible for me getting paid for the COD Amount, it is for Letter G, the DECLARED VALUE of my merchandise lost in event of failure to collect "specified instrument". Did Fedex collect the "specified instrument" (in my case, a Cashier's Check, an Authentic one we can naturally assume) or a rectangular piece of paper printed with the words "Cashier's Check" from some criminal's inkjet printer?
If one is in the business of collecting money, I think one should know what money looks like. If they can check authenticity for $100 bills by knowing what to look for, then they can do the same for 'GUARANTEED FUNDS'. This is not a package or box they are collecting, this is a "specified instrument" (cashier's check, an authentic one), but Fedex keeps treating it like a package delivery instead of COD.
further details:
When asked why the Claims agent assigned to my case never called me back, I was told she was "on vacation". A FedEx operations manager, claims manager, the assistant to the vice president of the call center and the customer advocate all told me as to why they do not request any identification from the person giving them the check, or why FedEx does not check for markings of authenticity, the answer given to me, to paraphrase, was "because we are too much in a hurry to check for those things."
*I feel that Fedex should state their business practices on their website, so that customers are not given this false sense of security that paying extra for their SECURE COD service is actually secure. Customers should be made aware of the REAL RISKS.
*It's not the honest people we worry about, its the dishonest ones, and thats why we put trust and pay extra for those services that are advertised to be "SECURE".
After doing research online for Fedex COD fraud cases, I have found many businesses state on their website that they "used to accept fedex cod", but no longer due to rampant collection of fake checks. Many people have emailed me, responding to my posts, and they too have had their claims squashed by Fedex.
In my opinion, this is like the story the character Ed Norton told a woman on an airplane in the movie, "Fight Club", where he explains that they don't do car recalls if the cost of the settlements is cheaper than doing the defective car recall. To be analogous, this is like Fedex refusing to truthfully advertise their practices or refusing to revise their collection methods even though they know full well that this criminal activity is using their services particularly for this COD fraud, because it would take more time to request identification and take a second look at the piece of paper handed to them, and therefore they would have to hire more carriers to compensate for that extra time, since they are on a deadline to get packages delivered on time.
*In short, it is cheaper for Fedex to pay the "claims" (that is, if their is any, since Fedex is so good at squashing them), than for them to revise their COD collection procedures or advertise truthfully. Plus, Fedex knows many people will not sue to collect, since their claims are usually small.
SUMMARY: In my final opinion:
1.Fedex does not truthfully advertise their COD service or tell you that they do not train their couriers to look for OBVIOUS markings of authenticity. In Fact, Fedex does not even tell their couriers what a Cashier's check is supposed to look like. If one is in the business of collecting money, I would think that one would be trained to know what money looks like. I do not blame the courier at all, the courier is only doing what Fedex trained them to do.
2. Fedex does not ask for any identification like a driver's license, so Fedex does not know who is actually giving them the piece of paper, the "check"
3. The customer can naturally assume that if one is in the business of collecting money (not a box) that one would know what money looks like, and that if one advertises to ONLY collect GUARANTEED FUNDS when checking off Secure checkbox, that one can naturally assume that there is some type of verification procedure aside from reading the words "cashier's check" on a piece of rectangular paper
4. Fedex rather squash claims than be held liable for breach of contract.
5. Fedex is fully aware of these "Secure" cashier's check/money order crimes but because Fedex deals with such huge volume, Fedex will continue to make money off its COD victims and do NOTHING to inform in their advertising, the customer of their actual collection procedures, or take action to revise their collection procedures.
6. Only use COD if you know you can already trust the person. Which pretty much leaves out anyone using Ebay or other auction sites, because how many people do you actually personally know from there or do not already have a prior history with?
7. Fedex did not commit the check fraud, but they are responsible for giving away my merchandise for a rectangular piece of paper that clearly was not a cashier's check. In one case, Fedex collected a check that had already been cashed!
8. I have filed a police report to catch the counterfeiter, but Fedex is liable for losing my merchandise.
9. With Fedex, it doesn't matter if counterfeits are High Tech or Low Tech or NO Tech, in my case and the Fedex COD victims who have emailed me, our cases could have EASILY been PREVENTED with plain COMMONSENSE. There is nothing stopping criminals from committing these Fedex COD crimes, because there is zero protection or PREVENTION from Fedex.
The courier is not to blame at all, because they are only doing what Fedex trains them to do.
10. Warn your friends, because the criminals are spreading the word about using Fedex COD to help them commit their crimes.
FEEL FREE TO REPOST MY STORY VERBATIM TO EDUCATE OTHERS! Fedex COD Fraud victims feel free to contact me.
FedexCODfraud@Yahoo.Com
FEDEX WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HIDE BEHIND "FACIALLY VALID" EXCUSE ANYMORE! Fedex has been using the excuse of accepting facially valid pieces of paper that look somewhat like Cashier's checks with the words "Cashier's Check" printed on them, to excuse themselves from any responsibility for accepting fakes. Will the below concept turn back previous lawsuits Fedex has won based on the "facially valid" concept?
http://indyspeakingpress.com/images/IowaAGScamWarningtoBanks.pdf
"CAUTION TO MEMBER BANKS: With the increased incidence of counterfeit cashier's check being reported on a nationwide basis, banks can no longer consider items bearing the words Cashier's Check,guaranteed funds."
Below are FEDEX COD CASHIER'S CHECK FRAUD cases:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/12/prwebxml95541.php
http://www.powerpage.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/powerpage.woa/wa/story?newsID=10245
http://www.homestead-products.com/fedex.htm
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/3/prweb114161.htm
http://www.macintouch.com/fraudreports10.html#mar25
A FEDEX EMPLOYEE SPEAKS UP!
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/delivery/fedex_ground_insider.html
CHECK FRAUD CENTER:
http://www.ckfraud.org/carriers.html
Fedex COD Fraud Victims and Fedex Employees JOIN our Yahoo Group!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fedexcodfraud/
FEDEX PAYS $1.6 MILLION IN CLAIMS SUIT
Fedex "SQUASHES" legitamate claims. This man SUED and won!
http://www.eyefortransport.com/index.asp?news=35554&nli=freight&ch=
Link to Fedex COD service
http://www.fedex.com/us/services/express/addservopt/cod.html?link=4
Fedex Terms and Conditions for their COD service
http://fedex.com/us/services/express/termsandconditions/us/cod.html
(see Letter's D and G as I previously referenced)
CHECK SECURITY FEATURES:
http://www.supercheck.net/
Recommended:
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fedexcodfraud
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