I feel that UPS let me down by including the names/locations of companies like PAK MAIL on their website for their customers to find and PAK MAIL ripped me off by charging 50% more than the standard UPS rate for the privilege of allowing me to leave 3 boxes at their facility for a few hours until UPS picked them up.
I'm usually very aware of consumer rip-offs, but this one got by me, maybe because I was a bit distraught at the time - but I still should have known better.
I am posting this so that others do not fall into the same trap.
Following the recent death of my mother, I had the unpleasant task of boxing up her belongings and shipping them back from Florida (zip 33948) to New York (zip 11379). When I was ready to go, I went to the UPS website and found their nearest facility. It happened to be the PAK MAIL store on Route 41 in Port Charlotte. This was one of UPS's "authorized shipping locations" - a vital distinction that I failed to understand at the time. I took three boxes* there to be shipped home. The cost was $216.29.
After I left, it seemed to me that the cost was high, so I returned to the store and asked if they add anything to the UPS cost. The person behind the counter answered "No....I only charge what the computer says." Upon returning home, I still thought the cost seemed to be high so I returned to the UPS website to calculate time and cost. I was quite surprised to see that the UPS charge for the three boxes would be only $145.80!
When I called UPS Customer Service to complain, I found that PAK MAIL is a UPS "Authorized Shipping Outlet," not a UPS facility, and therefore, "rates may vary" (shown in the fine print). As it turns out, I could have saved over $70.00 by simply driving 2 miles further down the road to a regular UPS Store. While I do believe that companies like PAK MAIL have a right to make a profit, charging me over $70.00 to leave three boxes on their floor until UPS picked them up later that day is nothing more than a blatant Rip-Off.
I am even more upset with UPS - a company I once trusted. I feel it is unconscionable that UPS lists such locations on its website without alerting its customers, in no uncertain terms, that significant (emphasis added) additional charges will be incurred.
I don't think either of these companies violated any law, but I do feel that they both violated the trust I placed in them - and that's just the sort of thing all companies should strive not to do. I know that I should have checked things more carefully before shipping and because I didn't, I paid the price. I won't be so trusting again and anyone reading this post should keep this in mind.
By the way, UPS told me that they have no control over prices charged by their authorized outlets. Neither PAK MAIL corporate nor the Port Charlotte branch bothered to respond to my written complaint.
*
1Z3689220344471846 25" x 20" x 20" 56.65 lbs.
1Z3689220345137858 18" x 18" x 18" 46.3 lbs.
1Z3689220343439866 18" x 18" x 18" 51.05 lbs.
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