Another UPS Nightmare

[Dolamon]

Recently, UPS Canada has instituted a new policy of requiring the 'Ship To' address to have the recepients (American) Social Security Number on the label. This seems to give them more security (?) but isn't a requirement of the customs office or of immigration.

This scares the pants off of me. Why they would require this is verging on lunacy especially in a period of rampant identity theft.

I had a Canadian built instrument returned to the builder for a major repair and adjustment recently and this has just propped up when the builder tried to return it to me. As one who got tangled up in an international bank scam (5 countries - 6 figures) some years ago, I can't fathom any reason to put my ID number on the outside of a box which will be handled by a lot of people.

When I confronted UPS with this and asked if they would insure my identity - they wouldn't say anything.

The builder lives / works in a fairly remote area with minimal shipping potential but - we are exploring other options.

Has anyone else run into this - and - is there a way around this silly regulation?

[sunburst]

I think it might be time for me to contact Al Williams at Calton.
I'll do my best to refuse to have my social # on any package shipped to me, and if that means no longer using Calton cases, that sounds like an economic incentive for a policy change. If enough people make a similar decision, Canadian business might have to fight for a change in policy, and the government might get involved. Maybe UPS will get the message.

[glauber]

How about putting a random 9-digit number?

[mandoman15]

yeah would it really matter, unless they have a list with all our social security numbers on it and they say hey...Mr. Smith your ssn isnt 007987654...yeah, i'm pretty sure you could get that one by them.

[sunburst]

How about putting a random 9-digit number?

Nope.
Al said they tried that, and customs checked it out and impounded the case and it was a big hassle.
Calton already has my #. I tried to resist that, but there was no way around it. It hasn't been on the package though, and that's going too far. There will have to be a way around it or I'll have to find another case supplier.

OR!
I just had another thought. Use another shipper and UPS can .....

[Steven]

Yup UPS is lost in space,they have lost ALL power of reasoning.Dont put your SS# on any package for all to see...ever.If UPS officials arnt allready on drugs they ought to be.

[neal]

FedEx Express and don't worry about it. That SS# leaves you open to identity theft.

[atetone]

It is absolutely unbelievable that in this day and age that UPS would be so uninformed about the state of the world that they would come up with such a ludicrous policy.
Whatever nitwit came up with this policy should be stripped of all identification and money, and dropped off in the middle of O'Hare Airport during the Thanksgiving weekend wearing only a thong. Now that's an identity crisis!
No,,, actually that is not bad enough,,, but its all I can come up with right now. Idiot!

It just goes to show though that since you can't even fool them with a false number,,, #they already have all of your information. Its a scary, scary world. Basically we are all tagged by a number issued by our governments, which everybody seems to have access to.
I am no conspiracy theorist but this is not one bit funny. It wasn't supposed to end up like this.
I wouldn't use UPS on a dare.
Oh,,, in a UPS- bashing thread are we bound by the same guidelines of decorum as a Gibson- bashing thread or can it be just an all out frenzy?

[John Craton]

Sounds like a good reason to switch to DHL. (Interesting, too, in that I just received a violin today that was shipped from Canada by Canadian Post, and there were no hassles at all.) I have to admit I fell out of favor with UPS when they turned a beautiful bowlback mandolin into a flatback last year, and earlier this summer all but destroyed a computer my son built for his uncle. They ain't what they used to be.

[glauber]

turned a beautiful bowlback mandolin into a flatback

Ouch!

[J. Mark Lane]

What a stupid policy. I can assure you, I would *not* do it. I would never give out my SSN to those idiots. (Or anyone else who doesn't really have a need for it.) As Neal said, that is a literal invitation to identity theft. (As a lawyer, I have had to deal with ID theft issues recently, and it can be a total nightmare.) It is also a violation of privacy.

I personally hate UPS. Time and again, FedEx has provided better service, overall. Indeed, in many instances I find the USPS is better, and cheaper. For several instruments to/from Canada, I have used the postal services and done quite well.

Vote with you wallet. Tell UPS to stuff it.

[Scotti Adams]

..I have never shipped anything UPS..they do bite....like Mark said..the USPS is and has always been the best route for me...

[Steve Cantrell]

No SS#--that's crazy talk. I'm a fraud investigator, mostly network and techie stuff, but nine times out of ten you'll find identity theft involved somewhere in the fraud chain. I second J. Mark's sentiment.

[Peakbagr]

Why would Customs check/require a correct SSN# for UPS, and not care whether its present or not with another shipper?
Something about this doesn't make sense.

[fredfrank]

Sounds like a good reason to switch to DHL.

At the risk of starting trouble, I wouldn't use DHL again for anything. I sold my Collings MF5 last year and shipped it across the country on DHL because it was cheaper. They freakin' lost the mandolin! They lost it! Did I mention they lost my Collings $7200 mandolin?

I figured even if they found it I'd be looking at major damage. Well it showed up at the destination a week late, and although it was God knows where for a week, it was ok.

On the bright side, they refunded my shipping money. I used it to pay my therapist's bill.

[Peter Hackman]

Until recently I had nothing to complain about.
And, what follows is about UPS in Sweden.
Or perhaps not.

Last year I bought a Collings from Elderly Instruments.
It was shipped on the day we agreed upon.
A few days before that I called UPS in Sweden
to make sure that I could pay duties and
taxes in cash (and possibly shipment)
on delivery, as on previous occasions.
They told me not
to worry, in fact they would bill me.


It took about 48 hours getting to Sweden.
The nothing happened.
After several days I got worried and called them.
This was at the end of the week, Friday, I believe.

Well, the reason the shipment was delayed
was that with such an expensive instrument
I would have to pay duties etc. in advance
through a bank
(which, of course, adds to the expense!)
I would then have to fax the receipt to them.
And, they hastened to add, I had been duly
notified, BY SNAILMAIL!!!!

I rushed to the bank about an hour before
closing time. The madno arrived at my door
about a week after it arrived in Sweden.

Several months later they sent a bill
to the same amount that I had already paid!!!!
I called them and told them a thing or two.
Bluff or incompetence? I will never know.


Of course, I thought all this was an example of a
typically Swedish attitude.
Now I know better.

[mandroid]

I havent managed to do much with my identity, myself , its bound to be a disapointment to who ever nicks it.

1916 midway thru wwI ..
battle of the Somme,
Galipoli,
off Jutland battleships n so forth ,
and the Easter Rising

[Don Christy]

Not only stupid, but probably illegal for customers of California. From http://www.privacy.ca.gov/

California law bars many organizations from publicly displaying SSNs.
The law prohibits:

Printing SSNs on ID cards or badges,
Printing SSNs on documents mailed to customers, unless the law requires it or the document is a form or application,

Printing SSNs on postcards or any other mailer where its visible without opening an envelope,

Avoiding legal requirements by encoding or embedding SSNs in cards or documents, such as using a bar code, chip or magnetic strip,
Requiring people to send SSNs over the Internet, unless the connection is secure or the number is encrypted, and

Requiring people to use an SSN to log onto a web site, unless a password is also used.

The law applies to businesses, government and other entities.


Don

[Greenmando]

Makes you wonder. When FDR instituted the Social Security system we were told that our SS# would never be used for identification purposes.
My union has agreed with this idea and has issued all members a id numbers instead of the SS#.
Too often when asking for quotes, prices for even cash purchases - I have been asked for my SS# and I simply tell them no.

[berkeleymando]

I recently heard a truly chilling story recently of a brand new mandolin that got "Baked" in the heat of a UPS truck, and arrived at its destination with all of its seams separated.

I have personally witnessed many careless incidents committed by UPS. I live in a very urban area and they have repeatedly left packages (that require a signature) in front of my building without signature. Some of my neighbors have complaints ending with UPS for theft and damage that has resulted from this type of sloppy behavior.

I feel edgy as I am about to have two new mandolins shipped to me. I am thinking that FEDEX is highly preferable.

[8ch(pl)]

My daughter's Choir performed at Carnegie Hall as part of a Mass choral group. They had been invited to do so. When she returned home (Nova Scotia) she meantioned that she wished she had bought a particular souvenir T Shirt from the Carnagie Hall Gift Shop. My wife decided to order one and it was shipped UPS. We got a phone call asking who our Customs Broker was....we didn't have one so they saiiid they would pay Goods and Service tax for us and bill us C.O.D. We had paid for the item with Visa. By the time we got done it cost us about $75 Canadian for a T Shirt. Customs Brokerage Fees and GST was $45. GST was 7% at this time.

If I order anything from the States I always ask for shipping by US Postal Service. I use Canada Post for anything going to the US.

I advise anyone to do this.

[Dale Ludewig]

So Glenn, I'm building a mandolin right now for a client in Ottawa. If I ship it USPS, will it avoid the ridiculous duty/ etc. fees that customs charges? I shipped one before up to Canada via UPS, and the customs charges were outrageous.

Thanks.

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

Always a gamble to ship - any method. Fortunately, with excellent packing, and wise assesment of seasonal climatic conditions, most instruments travel well. No offense to any of you, but it seems a bit foolish to bash UPS vs FEDEX vs any other shipper. I have had both trouble and success with all shippers. (Try shipping perishables! Takes some fine tuning.) Re: this policy, it would be best to find out directly from UPS rather than debate the unknown. Canadian/US transactions of all types have varied and fluctuated over the years, and usually are more expensive than one would expect.
And what about the VA (Veteran's Administration) who uses "last four" as ID?? I would be curious as to how that plays out in CA. There are some things re: SS that we have little or no control over.

rasa

[Jim Roberts]

There's a reference book entitled "Getting Even...The Complete Book of Dirty Tricks" by George Heyduke (coyyright 1980 by Paladin Press) that says, on page 145, that "whenever you are asked for your Social Security Number for no good reason, and when giving a false one will not harm you, give them Richard Nixon's number. #It's the least we can do for all he did to us. #Richard M. Nixon's Social Security Number is 567-68-0515."

R.I.P. Dick.

Cheers!

[John Craton]

For several instruments to/from Canada, I have used the postal services and done quite well. #

I too have come to have a much greater respect for the US Postal Service of late, especially with my recent experiences with UPS. I will relate one rather trying occurrence with USPS, but I think the problem more likely was with the receiving country.

One February I shipped a baroque violin to a customer in Spain. As usual with overseas parcels, I had it shipped via air post and insured. When the customer complained in June that he still hadn't received it, I had a trace put on the package. I never heard back from that, but after another month or two I ended up filing an insurance claim. The claim was denied as USPS said the package wasn't lost -- no explanation, just that it wasn't lost. By around November, I filed another claim as the customer still hadn't gotten his violin. Again I heard nothing from USPS, but finally in December the customer wrote to tell me his instrument had arrived. I feared that after all that time the violin would be trashed, but he said it arrived in fine condition.

The upstart of the story is that evidently the package arrived in Spain about a week after I shipped it, but there it languished in Spanish customs for nine months. Obviously USPS has no control over another country's postal deliveries, but they did apparently know where the parcel was since they knew it hadn't been lost. Why they didn't tell us is beyond me.

Overall, though, I've had very good luck with USPS over the years. They do occasionally misplace or damage a parcel, but given the volume they handle they're quite reliable. (A friend of mine who works for the post office told me once that USPS handles more parcels each week than UPS does in an entire year!) They are also usually much cheaper than other carriers. (Had to ship once to Mongolia, and that was a nightmare. UPS doesn't operate there, and DHL wanted $90 for shipping. At the time I reluctantly opted for regular US Post -- for only $30 -- and the package arrived in about a month without damage. Can't beat that!)