Sent in a UT-4 throttle for repair of a flat spot in the pot. Little did I know Digitrax will REQUIRE a signature for UPS delivery (hmm, a $70 throttle yet I can buy $120 of decoders shipped by USPS (they say no but they have) and they arrive without issue!! BOTTOM LINE? UPS Has attempted delivery 3x (hey, I work!), now it will return to shipper. I will have to pay AGAIN to receive (not!!). Absurd but they can keep! Turning matter over to FL attorney general, they can just owe me the $$ of the throttle. I'm done, time for a new platform??? Just beware!!!!
You do know that you can opt to pick it up at the UPS facility if it's more convenient??? You can arrange for that online, or sign the little post-it UPS leaves on your front door. The one near me is open on Saturday for pick-ups.
Would your boss allow a package to be delivered to your work place? I live in an apartment right now so the outer door is always locked and larger packages would be exposed to the elements or "sticky fingers". I have train stuff delivered to my work address and have had no issues at all. Your work environment may be different.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
If it is Digitrax policy to require a signature on completed repair work, that should be explicitly stated by the company so that customers are aware of it ahead of time. It should never be a suprise. Signature required is royal pain in the caboose for some people.
Edit:
As an example, UPS packages for my location come from a UPS facility 37 miles and 50 minutes by road. They close at 6:00 and are not open for pick up on weekends.
To make matters worse, the delivery hours are completely random. I have had UPS show up as early as 8:30 am and as late 8:30 pm.
Not everyone lives in or near the "big city."
CG
I have dealt with Digitrax several times It was seemless and I had to pay a total of $25 to get repairs done. That being said I have trouble believing what you are saying. Besides it is the holiday season and UPS drivers are working a ton of hours.
Morgan,
I only ask because I always assume I am NOT going to be a home when USPS/UPS/FedEx tries to deliver my package. So, I give my work address as the delivery address since I know someone will be there - even if I'm not.
Seems like an fairly straightforward solution for future deliveries for you - big city or not.
It the shipper furnishes a tracking number, I track it religiously. UPS will ring the doorbell, USPS and Fedex never ring the doorbell. Things from Amazon otherwise turn up on Sundays on the front step.
UPS has a feature called MY UPS, it is a paid service, but sometimes you can find a free one year subscription, that will allow you to reschedule or change the delivery location.
There is also a free MY USPS service that will track your USPS shipments. There prediction on when something will be delivered is not quite accurate.
I think Digitrax should have notified you that a signature was required and provided you with tracking info. UPS has always left me a note if a signature was required and I was not home. This time of year with new part time employees, I could see that it might not happen that way.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddy There is also a free MY USPS service that will track your USPS shipments. There prediction on when something will be delivered is not quite accurate.
I have that service and love it. They are almost always spot on the money for me, while predictions supplied by the shippers themselves are sometimes wildly inaccurate.
With the USPS service, I just check my email around 9:00 am. If the carrier has the package, there will always be an email saying so. They also scan after delivery, which generates an automatic email within minutes. So for small packages that will fit in my slightly oversize mailbox, I literally get an email telling me that the package has been delivered and is waiting at the mailbox.
It's hard to beat that kind of service.
And here we see the problem with the world today. A clearly disclosed policy, designed to protect both you and the company from lost or stolen packages and the first thing you want to do is call the attorney general and sue Digitrax. Wow. Overreact much? I can pretty much guarantee the attorney general is just going to laugh when you claim Digitrax owes you because UPS won't break their own rules. By all means, ditch your investement in DIgitrax and buy a whole new system, that'll show'em, as you sped hundreds or thousands of dollars on a whole new system over a $25 repair. Makes perfect sense to me...
After over 12 years of Digitrax system ownehip, I've never had anything break, so I have not experienced their repair service, but plenty fo people here and elsewhere have had great service.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Is there an option for you to select "no signature required"? Of course that puts the onus on you if the package happens to go missing, but at least they will leave it at the door.
UPS has a drop off site here in town so if they can't leave a package it ends up there. Unfortunately the shop owner is about as rude as it gets. His main business is lottery tickets so if you go in to pick up a package he makes you wait until he deals with ALL the ticket buyers in line! He actually tells you to stand to the side regardless of where you were in line, and if more ticket buyers show up while you are waiting, you wait for them too!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
rrinker And here we see the problem with the world today. A clearly disclosed policy, designed to protect both you and the company from lost or stolen packages and the first thing you want to do is call the attorney general and sue Digitrax. Wow. Overreact much? I can pretty much guarantee the attorney general is just going to laugh when you claim Digitrax owes you because UPS won't break their own rules. By all means, ditch your investement in DIgitrax and buy a whole new system, that'll show'em, as you sped hundreds or thousands of dollars on a whole new system over a $25 repair. Makes perfect sense to me...
Castrating yourself to spite your libido, I'd say.
And yeah, I'd love to be there in the AG office the day this phone call comes in.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
This is normal business policy , nothing new here.
read the fine print next time
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
I've had a Digitrax DCC system since the early 2000's with few problems. Their equipment is reliable and the decoders are as well. The few times I've had to send things in for repair I encountered no problems.
Their technicians have always been courteous and helpful.
Rough handling is usually the cause of my problems. Twenty-five dollars to repair a $140 dollar DT400 is a bargain.
Since there is almost always someone home I haven't had any problems with delivery whether UPS, USPS or FedX.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
Just an idea: look to your local library as a possible shipping receiver. My sister is the director of a local public library and she offers a free service where if anyone is concerned about thieves stealing shipments off your front steps (or can't otherwise receive shipments), they can have their packages shipped to the library. Just leave your name and phone number with them, and they'll call you when it arrives. Then you just have to go to the library and pick it up.
I have a USPS PO Box for such purposes. If the place of business wants to ship via Fedex or UPS, I give the street address of the post office such as: Salty Smith, 2 E. Main St., Box 704, Someplace, HI and the package gets delivered to the box. If the business sends best way or cheapest, the package may be given to UPS but eventually is given to the USPS in the next town over and delivered to my box, assuming the package addy is: Salty Smith, PO Box 704, Someplace, HI. An odd system.
I do own a Zephyr and never had any problems. Dennis
Be interesting to hear the result as the OP has been silent for a few days. You would think since he's in a professional business that he would be aware of how items ship, even to an animal hospital. Yes, the AG will laugh at his complaint. I would...
Neal
You would think. Some folks are just more interested in venting. The OP isn't the first to do this on the forum...and he won't be the last.
I have a UPS My Choice account. I don't pay anythong for this service...
Anytime I have a package coming, I can log in to my account and either hold the package at the terminal OR waiver the signature requirement and my UPS driver drops it wiht out a signature.
Without My Choice, the driver will leave a paper tag on the door an you can sign the back of the tag and the driver will drop the package.
You can also change the delivery address to another address even when the package is well on its way.
Its your own fault if you the package is returned.