This is Fedex standard procedure. Their position is that it is the shipper who paid for the insurance (ha), the shipper is their customer and that they are communicating with the shipper. They assume that the damaged article is going back to the shipper, the shipper will give you your refund and they will pay the shipper.
After a long struggle in a similar situation I managed to 1) Physically take the frame to Fedex for an inspection, 2) Obtain a release from the shipper so Fedex would deal with me and 3) Eventually, after getting estimates for the repair etc., get some money. It is very time consuming and in the end they may arbitrarily low ball you with no explanation and no appeal.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Great Notch, NJ
> Ok, I guess if you buy and ship enough the odds are against you. I
\r?\n> stoppedusing UPS a long time ago and started using USPS and FedEx
\r?\n> for Bicycle Frame
\r?\n> shipments. Well, I recently purchased a Rivedendell Fixed Gear
\r?\n> road frame
\r?\n> that I was going to setup as a 650B. This was purchased from a
\r?\n> trusted list
\r?\n> member and the packaging was very good. Tubes protected, extra
\r?\n> cardboard on
\r?\n> the side, held in place so that it wouldn't wiggle about, etc.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I received the frame an began to unplack it like a kid on
\r?\n> Christmas. I don't
\r?\n> know why I did not grab a camera during this stage but I have had
\r?\n> good luck
\r?\n> in the past. As I unpacked it my eyes wandered of the 'hideous'
\r?\n> lugs, and
\r?\n> the Joe Bell paint job. So far so good.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Then, I flip the bike over and notice the BB shell looks funny.
\r?\n> Sure enough,
\r?\n> the BB shell was crushed on one side. Upon further inspection I
\r?\n> see that the
\r?\n> bottom of the box has a pierce in it and the interior where the BB
\r?\n> shell was
\r?\n> is comprimised with a significant crush zone.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> View the pics at:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/
\r?\n> <http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/wilkinson411/detail?.dir=3eb9&.dnm=72ab.j
\r?\n> pg&.
\r?\n> src=ph> &.dnm=72ab.jpg&.src=ph
\r?\n>
\r?\n> The whole frame can be seen here:
\r?\n>
\r?\n> http://members4.clubphoto.com/
\r?\n>
\r?\n> So, we file a claim and I call FedEx to schedule a time for
\r?\n> inspection.First, the lady was pretty rude and completely
\r?\n> worthless. She said that
\r?\n> there was a scheduled 'pick-up' today and that was it. She could
\r?\n> not tell me
\r?\n> if it was actually being picked up, inspected, what time, by whom,
\r?\n> and if it
\r?\n> was picked up what would happen to it. So I waited.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> The FedEx lady came by today and sure enough wanted to take it. I
\r?\n> asked her
\r?\n> what would happen to it, where was it going, how could I be sure
\r?\n> that no
\r?\n> more damage would be incured, etc. I don't know was the best
\r?\n> answer. But, at
\r?\n> least she is going to check.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I want to have this repaired and I have a quote in hand. Be ready
\r?\n> Curt :) We
\r?\n> insured it and the amt we insured it for should cover the repairs
\r?\n> but I am
\r?\n> reluctant to let them take it without any idea what would happen
\r?\n> or even if
\r?\n> it would be returned. It could suffer more damage!
\r?\n>
\r?\n> So, I am calling on the list for advice on how to play this.
\r?\n> Experiences,etc...
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Mike "Totally bumed" Wilkinson
\r?\n> Castle Rock, CO