Tank damaged during shipping - please advise

[ImGoingCoastal]

What freight company did they use? That could be a huge factor.

How to Handle Damaged Freight: A Guide | Flock Freight

Did your freight arrive damaged at the delivery location? We've created a guide that explains how to handle damaged freight.

www.flockfreight.com

I found the above. Key takeaway, the freight company may be charging to store the refused shipment which could end up being costly.

My advice would be to contact the freight company and get their policies in writing and figure out what to do based on this. If they are charging, you might want to contact the manufacturer to discuss, then coordinate redelivery. When delivery occurs, take a mega butt ton (technical term) of pictures (especially while still on the truck), and see if you can even get the driver to acknowledge the damages in writing. This should help you or the manufacturer file a claim.

The end goal is to get the freight company to accept the responsibility for the damages, so make it hard for them to deny it. I assume they still have the damaged goods, so right now there isn't anything to file a claim against and they likely aren't going to send back to the sender on their own dime. They may even end up charging to ship the damaged goods back.

In the meantime, I'd find supporting examples of failure due to resealing, microfractures, etc. That way you can justify it as a complete loss and hopefully get payment to purchase another tank. Sucks that this happened, I sympathize!

 

[Uncle99]

Not acceptable.
You purchased new, you get new.
You accept fix, you keep fix.
The most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.

Its like buying a brand new car, before you drive they smash it, then offer to replace the fender....you must be joking.

 

[Viva'sReef]

Not a chance in H3LL. How did you pay for the tank? Hopefully using a credit card and you can dispute the charges with your card company. I think it's time to let the R2R community know who is giving you this run around.

 

[mich2599]

No way. I don't care if I were a millionaire I would still expect to receive a new tank. Like @Viva'sReef said, if they still don't give you a new tank I would dispute the claim with the credit card company.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

If you refused shipment it is on the shipper and the freight company to compensate you fully for the damaged tank. I received one completely smashed from Aquamaxx and received a full refund until a new tank was shipped out later. Marine Depot does it right. Once you refuse delivery it is not your legal responsibility it is the freight company 100%! If the builder is offering a replacement it should be 100% new as they are being paid from the freight company 100% FOR THE LOSS AND THE SHIPPING COST. My freight company returned a scratched tank to me for free, I repaired the scratch and the customer agreed to the repair, then the freight company delivered to my customer the repaired tank at no charge. In that case everyone won including the insurance company for the freight company.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I would demand a new tank and a full refund. Especially if it’s a thousand dollar tank! Their workers should be more carful, and they should be the one that pays for your new tank, not you.

Is this serious?

You meaning refund on the shipping paid through the company that damaged it or you feel the op is entitled to a new tank at no cost to him/her?

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Once a bill of lading is created by the shipper and the freight company picks it up it is the full responsibility of the freight company to delivery the goods undamaged to the recipient. Any damage incurred during shipping is 100% the responsibility of the freight company including the shipping charges. That is why the have an insurance company backing them up. Damaged items are often sold by the shipping company as a way to recoup some of the losses.

 

[Huckleberry]

Is this a custom tank? Or something like an SCA 150?

Are they suggesting the tank being shipped back to the supplier for repair? or being repaired "On-Site"?
Where is the tank now?

It is a custom tank.

Since I refused delivery, the shipping agent should have delivered the damaged tank to the supplier by now.

 

[Huckleberry]

Once a bill of lading is created by the shipper and the freight company picks it up it is the full responsibility of the freight company to delivery the goods undamaged to the recipient. Any damage incurred during shipping is 100% the responsibility of the freight company including the shipping charges. That is why the have an insurance company backing them up. Damaged items are often sold by the shipping company as a way to recoup some of the losses.

The supplier admitted that they do not insure their tank shipments. I find this shocking because insurance is typically a pittance compared to the cost of the goods being shipped. Their reasoning was that they only have 1 or 2 damaged shipments over hundreds of custom tanks shipped per year.

So since they failed to insure the contents of the crate, I assume they want me to accept their "repaired" tank in order to reduce their loss.

 

[zukihara]

Their lack of insurance should not mean you pay for their stupidity. If you do, you are being taken advantage of.

Refuse (which you did) and get a refund. Shop elsewhere. These people are trying to game you.

 

[Huckleberry]

What freight company did they use? That could be a huge factor.

How to Handle Damaged Freight: A Guide | Flock Freight

Did your freight arrive damaged at the delivery location? We've created a guide that explains how to handle damaged freight.

www.flockfreight.com

I found the above. Key takeaway, the freight company may be charging to store the refused shipment which could end up being costly.

My advice would be to contact the freight company and get their policies in writing and figure out what to do based on this. If they are charging, you might want to contact the manufacturer to discuss, then coordinate redelivery. When delivery occurs, take a mega butt ton (technical term) of pictures (especially while still on the truck), and see if you can even get the driver to acknowledge the damages in writing. This should help you or the manufacturer file a claim.

The end goal is to get the freight company to accept the responsibility for the damages, so make it hard for them to deny it. I assume they still have the damaged goods, so right now there isn't anything to file a claim against and they likely aren't going to send back to the sender on their own dime. They may even end up charging to ship the damaged goods back.

In the meantime, I'd find supporting examples of failure due to resealing, microfractures, etc. That way you can justify it as a complete loss and hopefully get payment to purchase another tank. Sucks that this happened, I sympathize!

I appreciate the link and the advice. I am still reeling a bit by the aggressive stance of the manufacturer trying to pressure me into accepting their "repaired" tank solution.

Researching examples of silicone failure is an idea I had not thought of.

Thanks again!