<p>A company does shipping and summer storage for students. They have lost everything D left with them for the summer. And, of course, there is the fine print. They "insure" your stuff for a max of $100 per box. Oh, but only after you file a claim on any other insurance the student or the parent might have. I think we are probably done with this approach. It is cheaper overall to just have Fedex Ground or UPS pick it all up and ship it home.</p>
<p>Oh darn! My sympathies bandit_TX. That just stinks.</p>
<p>I'm so sorry, bandit! What a drag. :(</p>
<p>Wow, that's awful! And they may lose a lot of business by you advertising this, and rightfully so.</p>
<p>Heartfelt sympathy to your D!</p>
<p>hmmnn.....you might want to check with the Better Business Bureau of Boston or Mass...to see how often this happens? perhaps consider filing a fraud suit? how can someone who is storing things FOR customers as their business proposition, lose those things? </p>
<p>no idea what was lost....but, that is just absurd that they have such a fine print caveat on value per box? 1 computer printer alone can put someone in the red.</p>
<p>bandit, so sorry to hear of this. But just because I'm a geek I checked the company and there's some discrepancies that you might be able to use to get a little more coverage (unfortunately, I don't think you can avoid the fine print saying that you have to exhaust other coverages, so all this may be moot). Anyway:</p>
<p>The website says under the SHIP TO SCHOOL tab that "Each of your boxes is automatically insured against loss or damage up to a value of $300 each, at no additional cost to you". Then it says under the MOVE OUT tab "Each of your shipping and storage packages is automatically insured against loss or damage up to a value of $100 each, at no additional cost to you." Ummmm. So what's the deal? Do you get $100 or $300 per box? Is it one coverage for storage and one for shipping? Doesn't really specifically say that anywhere. </p>
<p>If nothing else, that sort of thing should be brought to their attention -- loudly if need be (and the attention of the BBB).</p>
<p>Well, that really stinks. I was just starting to wonder what we'd do with my own D's stuff next summer.</p>
<p>I did the same thing lderochi did and went to the website. The first page that comes up touts the $300 insurance. That definitely seems like a set up for some deception when that's not the case for all of their services. If I read it correctly, it doesn't even say anything more accurate like, "Insurance up to $300."</p>
<p>Will your homeowners insurance cover the loss? Or is your deductable so high that it wouldn't be worth it?</p>
<p>Are they claiming that the stuff was stolen or sent to the wrong student?</p>
<p>bandit - Sorry for your loss. I agree it really stinks. As for the "customer service" you've received, how pathetic. Whether it's $100 per box or $300 per box the valuation is clearly insufficient. For what the firm charges you'd think adequate insurance would be included! I hope your story helps others avoid this situation in the future.</p>
<p>Wow--we were thinking of doing something like this over the summer & you've made us re-think. Thanks for the "heads up" on this.</p>
<p>"It is cheaper overall to just have Fedex Ground or UPS pick it all up and ship it home."</p>
<p>we may use this approach....we may throw away bulk of the stuff.</p>
<p>Hmmm... we used the firm to ship DS' stuff from New Orleans to home at the end of the school year. Through a combination of errors by (maybe) everyone involved, the goods went into storage instead of shipping.</p>
<p>It took a LOT of phone calls, a LOT of persistence, a ton of honey-not-vinegar approach to get it sorted out. Way more than it should have. It took, as I recall, 6 weeks to get the goods out of storage and shipped. The weak link in the chain was not their own staff but the vendor who was the storage company in New Orleans. Just could not be reached/was not responsive. </p>
<p>When all was said and done, I couldn't decide whether I was happy with the company or totally dissatisfied. We had a lot of problems, but they worked hard with me to solve them and ultimately gave us a discount on the cost of shipping, when shipping finally happened. Still, they should have better systems for responsiveness from their local vendors.</p>
<p>The persistence etc. may not apply to your situation, bandit, if your kid's stuff is truly lost. But is there any chance it's in limbo/the wrong place, like my S' was? If you think there is any chance of this, you can PM me and I can give you names and direct line phone #s of some of the staff I worked with.</p>
<p>As a side note, there is additional insurance you can get for each box, at quite a reasonable price. We did tell DS to purchase it, although we never had to collect on it, as his goods did eventually show up.</p>
<p>Lderochi,
I too had checked the web site.....shipping boxes get $300/box, storage boxes get $100 coverage....and it does say all claims must be filed first against your own personal insurance.....</p>
<p>I have to believe that a better business bureau or state attorney general's office might know of too many "losses" for it to be an isolated situation. </p>
<p>If Jmmom's S's boxes can get home from New Orleans after Katrina, surely stored boxes can be returned to a Harvard student.....Jmmom's numbers may be helping in identifying which company was contracted to store Cambridge boxes.....</p>
<p>Boy, $100 coverage/box is less than they're charging to store your stuff for 3+ months in many cases. Let us know if you have any success with working with the company to locate these "lost" boxes--very troubling.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the loss. We are considering using a small self-storage unit next summer for the things D won't be need (e.g., bedding, small furniture). Looks to be about $30/month which will be well worth it. Your unfortunate experience reinforces our thought that taking things ourselves and storing them may be the way to go. </p>
<p>Hope you are able to get the $300 rather than the $100. But the hassle is expensive, regardless of the payment.</p>
<p>yes indeed, bandit. thanks for the heads up. The company has a contract with Duke as well and we were going to use them next summer...will rethink it now. I hope they offer you a settlement more comensurate with your losses.</p>
<p>Yeah, maybe S will now rent a storage place with several friends & they can divvy up the rental cost OR maybe they can all chip iin & pay to rent a room in a house or apartment & stash their things there & help defray rent for a friend. Who knows?</p>
<p>"we may throw away bulk of the stuff."</p>
<p>Please, please, give it to Goodwill or some similar organization.</p>
<p>I live in a college town and have heard that the college students throw away all sorts of useable objects at the end of the school year. It's so sad because those could go to people who'd be glad to have them. I think that it's also a bad message to give to our kids that inconvenience is a good reason to toss perfectly good items out. Fine to get rid of them, but do give them to a good home.</p>
<p>At some schools (Vanderbilt is one) there's a truck from the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, or similar charity parked in a central location on campus during move-out, where kids can bring useable items they can't/don't want to pack. We almost brought d's teeny telvision over last spring - until I rested it on the back end of the car for just a minute to reorganize the back seat. Bang - useable no more!</p>
<p>We are going through exactly the same thing with smartmovers! S stored two boxes with them -- all his bedding, his CD collection, his winter clothing, both his performance tuxes -- through Juilliard. He has been living in his apt with a bare mattress and a borrowed towel for the past month. He has sent 3 emails and made 8 phone calls to their voice mail. He got one response -- they said his stuff had been shipped UPS, and sent the tracking numbers. The tracking numbers showed a delivery made to someone in Massachusetts (and he is in NYC).</p>
<p>He did insure the boxes for $500 (a fraction of their worth), and we do have student insurance for him (because of his instrument and laptop). But he hasn't given up hope on getting his boxes. There are several other Juilliard students in this situation, and since the storage company came through Juilliard, the school has an interest in making it right. Since he just turned 21, I am trying very hard to stay out of it and let him handle it. I absolutely hate the thought that he is having to deal with this while adjusting to an apt. and commute, on top of normal school pressures. The Mom in me wants to be screaming very loud, contacting lawyers, and police, and BBB, and Clark Howard! </p>
<p>I wonder if we contacted the insurance companies, if that would put more pressure on them, or if they would just quit trying at that point?</p>
<p>We have now learned the hard way that it is cheaper in the long run to UPS everything home.</p>