flyandscuba
Master
Once a strong proponent of using FedEx for the shipment of firearms - I now will NEVER use FedEx again...to ship ANYTHING!
My nightmare began on 8/30 when I took essentially my entire firearms collection (including Class III items) to FedEx on W Street for shipment to my new address in Alaska. Not wanting to violate Canadian law, my only option was to ship "evil looking rifles", handguns, and my SBRs & AOW from Florida to Alaska.
Everything was unloaded, checked, and checked again - then packed into cases which were placed into a total of 5 shipping cartons with a total weight if 252 pounds (8 handguns and 14 long guns). The person working behind the counter (wish I had remembered her name) told me that it would be much less expensive to ship by FedEx Ground than by regular FedEx - and I was all for saving money, so I followed her lead and completed FedEx Ground shipping forms. As it was, it still cost almost $1000 to ship the 5 cartons. They were addressed from myself in Milton to myself in Eagle River - something stated as being perfectly legal and proper according to the ATF frequently asked questions page for shipping firearms by unlicensed persons.
With that important item crossed off of my "to do" list, I could concentrate on preparing to depart on what would be a 6 day transcontinental road trip through the US lower 48 and Canada to Alaska. I signed up for "notification services" with the tracking numbers, in order to follow the shipment's progress and to be notified of any delays. With me leaving on 9/1 and arriving in AK on 9/7 or 9/8 - my hope was that my firearms would arrive either slightly before or after my arrival in Alaska.
Little did I know - that was not going to happen...
I drove from the Pensacola area to Tulsa for my first stop, then on to Colorado Springs for the second night. As I was driving from Colorado to Billings, MT for my next stop - I received an email on my phone from FedEx notifying me of a "delivery exception" due to "improper shipment". Concerned, I immediately stopped at a rest area somewhere in the middle of Montana and spent at least 2 hours with FedEx customer service in order to figure out what was happening.
My shipment had reached Chicago, IL of all places and had been stopped by FedEx. Evidently, someone in Chicago realized "evil firearms" were involved in the shipment - and according to FedEx company policy (not Federal law), firearms are not allowed for shipment via FedEx Ground. Therefore, the shipment was being returned to Pensacola. Big problem - I'm not in Pensacola to receive them, but halfway across the country enroute to Alaska!
Working with customer service, they recognized that one of their employees had made a serious mistake on several fronts. First, she recommended shipping by ground what could only go by air according to their company policy. Second, FedEx policy will not allow an individual to ship firearms from an individual to that same individual in another location - they had to go to a dealer.
I was told that I had to find a dealer in AK to accept the shipment, and that once the firearms returned to Pensacola - the location manager would complete an air bill (at FedEx expense) and get them in the way to AK by regular FedEx.
Ok, fair enough - mistakes happen - and although I disagree with their company policies, it seemed that they were going to make things right and get my firearms to me quickly in AK...or so it seemed...
The firearms made it back to Pensacola at the beginning of the next week. When I called the manager at the Pensacola FedEx location to check on the air shipment and to obtain the tracking numbers for the new shipment - she informs me that although she was prepared to send them out, she had received notice from "FedEx Security or Legal" not to do anything with them until she hears back from them. Furthermore, she tells me that they have been secured in an "off-site, secure location"! WTF?!?
She refuses to tell me where this off-site secure location might be due to "company policy". So, essentially - I was being deprived of my legal and legally owned property, and I was clueless as to where it might be or who had access to it! I was incensed to say the least!
The next day, I get a call from someone in "FedEx safety" who tells me that it appears to them that there are 6 or 7 "loose cartridges" in one of the containers - and that had been considered "undeclared hazardous material" that can not go by air shipment! Seriously?
I know that there was no ammunition in these containers - and I suspect that what they may be seeing on some type of fluoroscope scan is probably "snap caps". She says that an FAA inspector will be required to examine the entire shipment (not just the one box in question) to make sure there is no live ammunition or loaded firearms present! Also, because the shipment involved "so many" firearms - their security department has notified the ATF.
You can probably imagine where this is now going - firearms were stopped in Chicago (anti-gun central if the USA) and supposedly returned to Pensacola. Now, they're calling in the Feds! I'm now sitting at my new job in Alaska - wondering if I will EVER see my firearms again...or at least anytime soon...
A few days go by with no additional information from FedEx - so I'm at the point where I want to involve law enforcement on my own, if necessary to declare the entire lot as being stolen firearms! Through the connections of one of our members here - I was put in touch with the head of the Pensacola ATF office.
He was very personable, reassuring, and genuinely concerned with the status of my firearms - and making sure they get to me here in Alaska. He suspects that the firearms may not be in Pensacola (FedEx lies to work with the ATF) but that they have been redirected to a place at FedEx in Memphis called the "armory". Since none of his fellow ATF agents in Memphis are aware of my shipment - He decides to make a personal visit with the local FedEx manager on W street in an attempt to get answers that as of yet I have been unable to obtain.
Fortunately for me, when this ranking ATF Agent presents himself at the Pensacola FedEx facility, the manager is reportedly rude and uncooperative with him... Big mistake - I now have a seasoned and pissed off ATF Agent on my side, who has now made it his mission to get to the bottom of this miscarriage of justice, much less extremely poor customer service.
As he suspected, the firearms had been sent to Memphis for "inspection" and securing. Realize that inspection means that the Plano airline approved rifle cases with integrated locks (costing a few hundred bucks each) have been surely broken into. No idea if any damage has occurred to any of the firearms, but the cases are now useless for future airline travel.
Although the firearms were located last Thursday in Memphis - and I had ATF assistance on my side, assuring the FedEx "security" folks that my shipment is completely legal and that my shipping them to my new residence was also completely legal - I DID NOT get appropriate reaction or response from the FedEx personnel.
From last Friday until yesterday - I continued to get excuse after excuse as to why my firearms had not been shipped to Alaska by air as promised weeks ago. It took further involvement from the Pensacola ATF Agent yesterday to finally see tracking numbers produced for the overnight shipment to Alaska scheduled for last night.
Three flights leave from Memphis to Alaska each night. I stayed up and watched two on FlightAware last night and my tracking numbers continued to indicate that my shipment remained in Memphis. Discouraged, and disgusted with FedEx - I finally went to bed, thinking that I would be on the phone once again with FedEx customer service trying to get answers and a timely response.
Evidently, my shipment went out on the last flight possible - early this morning, and the packages were finally delivered to the dealer here in Anchorage just before noon. Because they were addressed to me in care of the dealer - he did not open the containers nor log anything into his books. I paid a $40 "hold fee" for the boxes being delivered to him instead of me - and I picked them up at lunch. At least he didn't have to run all of them trough his books - resulting in a transfer fee for each firearm!
Tonight, I will carefully open the containers (documenting with pictures) and inspect the contents for completeness and condition. Some of the shipping cartons are not the same ones that I originally made the shipment in - so I have no idea at this point what I will find.
In summary, as a result of errors of FedEx employees and their anti-gun company policies - I have been deprived of my property for almost one month. Hopefully, all is there and in good condition. I do know that I now have $400 in rifle cases that have had the locks broken, and I had to incur a $40 expense for the dealer to accept the packages. Time will tell if I will be "made whole" by FedEx.
Personally, I will never use FedEx again - for anything. I advise anyone else to proceed with caution while shipping firearms. Should I make a move like this again, I would use airline cargo - like Delta Dash - shipping airport to airport for local pickup. It's easy and the charges are a fraction of even what I paid for FedEx Ground, much less than FedEx Air...
My nightmare began on 8/30 when I took essentially my entire firearms collection (including Class III items) to FedEx on W Street for shipment to my new address in Alaska. Not wanting to violate Canadian law, my only option was to ship "evil looking rifles", handguns, and my SBRs & AOW from Florida to Alaska.
Everything was unloaded, checked, and checked again - then packed into cases which were placed into a total of 5 shipping cartons with a total weight if 252 pounds (8 handguns and 14 long guns). The person working behind the counter (wish I had remembered her name) told me that it would be much less expensive to ship by FedEx Ground than by regular FedEx - and I was all for saving money, so I followed her lead and completed FedEx Ground shipping forms. As it was, it still cost almost $1000 to ship the 5 cartons. They were addressed from myself in Milton to myself in Eagle River - something stated as being perfectly legal and proper according to the ATF frequently asked questions page for shipping firearms by unlicensed persons.
With that important item crossed off of my "to do" list, I could concentrate on preparing to depart on what would be a 6 day transcontinental road trip through the US lower 48 and Canada to Alaska. I signed up for "notification services" with the tracking numbers, in order to follow the shipment's progress and to be notified of any delays. With me leaving on 9/1 and arriving in AK on 9/7 or 9/8 - my hope was that my firearms would arrive either slightly before or after my arrival in Alaska.
Little did I know - that was not going to happen...
I drove from the Pensacola area to Tulsa for my first stop, then on to Colorado Springs for the second night. As I was driving from Colorado to Billings, MT for my next stop - I received an email on my phone from FedEx notifying me of a "delivery exception" due to "improper shipment". Concerned, I immediately stopped at a rest area somewhere in the middle of Montana and spent at least 2 hours with FedEx customer service in order to figure out what was happening.
My shipment had reached Chicago, IL of all places and had been stopped by FedEx. Evidently, someone in Chicago realized "evil firearms" were involved in the shipment - and according to FedEx company policy (not Federal law), firearms are not allowed for shipment via FedEx Ground. Therefore, the shipment was being returned to Pensacola. Big problem - I'm not in Pensacola to receive them, but halfway across the country enroute to Alaska!
Working with customer service, they recognized that one of their employees had made a serious mistake on several fronts. First, she recommended shipping by ground what could only go by air according to their company policy. Second, FedEx policy will not allow an individual to ship firearms from an individual to that same individual in another location - they had to go to a dealer.
I was told that I had to find a dealer in AK to accept the shipment, and that once the firearms returned to Pensacola - the location manager would complete an air bill (at FedEx expense) and get them in the way to AK by regular FedEx.
Ok, fair enough - mistakes happen - and although I disagree with their company policies, it seemed that they were going to make things right and get my firearms to me quickly in AK...or so it seemed...
The firearms made it back to Pensacola at the beginning of the next week. When I called the manager at the Pensacola FedEx location to check on the air shipment and to obtain the tracking numbers for the new shipment - she informs me that although she was prepared to send them out, she had received notice from "FedEx Security or Legal" not to do anything with them until she hears back from them. Furthermore, she tells me that they have been secured in an "off-site, secure location"! WTF?!?
She refuses to tell me where this off-site secure location might be due to "company policy". So, essentially - I was being deprived of my legal and legally owned property, and I was clueless as to where it might be or who had access to it! I was incensed to say the least!
The next day, I get a call from someone in "FedEx safety" who tells me that it appears to them that there are 6 or 7 "loose cartridges" in one of the containers - and that had been considered "undeclared hazardous material" that can not go by air shipment! Seriously?
I know that there was no ammunition in these containers - and I suspect that what they may be seeing on some type of fluoroscope scan is probably "snap caps". She says that an FAA inspector will be required to examine the entire shipment (not just the one box in question) to make sure there is no live ammunition or loaded firearms present! Also, because the shipment involved "so many" firearms - their security department has notified the ATF.
You can probably imagine where this is now going - firearms were stopped in Chicago (anti-gun central if the USA) and supposedly returned to Pensacola. Now, they're calling in the Feds! I'm now sitting at my new job in Alaska - wondering if I will EVER see my firearms again...or at least anytime soon...
A few days go by with no additional information from FedEx - so I'm at the point where I want to involve law enforcement on my own, if necessary to declare the entire lot as being stolen firearms! Through the connections of one of our members here - I was put in touch with the head of the Pensacola ATF office.
He was very personable, reassuring, and genuinely concerned with the status of my firearms - and making sure they get to me here in Alaska. He suspects that the firearms may not be in Pensacola (FedEx lies to work with the ATF) but that they have been redirected to a place at FedEx in Memphis called the "armory". Since none of his fellow ATF agents in Memphis are aware of my shipment - He decides to make a personal visit with the local FedEx manager on W street in an attempt to get answers that as of yet I have been unable to obtain.
Fortunately for me, when this ranking ATF Agent presents himself at the Pensacola FedEx facility, the manager is reportedly rude and uncooperative with him... Big mistake - I now have a seasoned and pissed off ATF Agent on my side, who has now made it his mission to get to the bottom of this miscarriage of justice, much less extremely poor customer service.
As he suspected, the firearms had been sent to Memphis for "inspection" and securing. Realize that inspection means that the Plano airline approved rifle cases with integrated locks (costing a few hundred bucks each) have been surely broken into. No idea if any damage has occurred to any of the firearms, but the cases are now useless for future airline travel.
Although the firearms were located last Thursday in Memphis - and I had ATF assistance on my side, assuring the FedEx "security" folks that my shipment is completely legal and that my shipping them to my new residence was also completely legal - I DID NOT get appropriate reaction or response from the FedEx personnel.
From last Friday until yesterday - I continued to get excuse after excuse as to why my firearms had not been shipped to Alaska by air as promised weeks ago. It took further involvement from the Pensacola ATF Agent yesterday to finally see tracking numbers produced for the overnight shipment to Alaska scheduled for last night.
Three flights leave from Memphis to Alaska each night. I stayed up and watched two on FlightAware last night and my tracking numbers continued to indicate that my shipment remained in Memphis. Discouraged, and disgusted with FedEx - I finally went to bed, thinking that I would be on the phone once again with FedEx customer service trying to get answers and a timely response.
Evidently, my shipment went out on the last flight possible - early this morning, and the packages were finally delivered to the dealer here in Anchorage just before noon. Because they were addressed to me in care of the dealer - he did not open the containers nor log anything into his books. I paid a $40 "hold fee" for the boxes being delivered to him instead of me - and I picked them up at lunch. At least he didn't have to run all of them trough his books - resulting in a transfer fee for each firearm!
Tonight, I will carefully open the containers (documenting with pictures) and inspect the contents for completeness and condition. Some of the shipping cartons are not the same ones that I originally made the shipment in - so I have no idea at this point what I will find.
In summary, as a result of errors of FedEx employees and their anti-gun company policies - I have been deprived of my property for almost one month. Hopefully, all is there and in good condition. I do know that I now have $400 in rifle cases that have had the locks broken, and I had to incur a $40 expense for the dealer to accept the packages. Time will tell if I will be "made whole" by FedEx.
Personally, I will never use FedEx again - for anything. I advise anyone else to proceed with caution while shipping firearms. Should I make a move like this again, I would use airline cargo - like Delta Dash - shipping airport to airport for local pickup. It's easy and the charges are a fraction of even what I paid for FedEx Ground, much less than FedEx Air...
Last edited:
