EM
Edward Morgan
Sep 11, 2026
UPS = Unbelievably Poor Service, including this store. Here's why.
I needed a visa from a DC embassy. Aug 12, I overnighted my passport via UPS (w/prepaid overnight return) to DC. It was processed and sent back Aug 19. It never arrived. I was out of town until Aug 26 and got home expecting it to be at this store (which I'd made the return address). It wasn’t. The tracking site just said Landover, MD. The store clerk shrugged, “We’re an independent store, we have nothing to do with it.” That was it, No apology, not even pretending to care. Thus began 6 days of calling various UPS numbers, with my upcoming flight on Sept 2nd. Two UPS agents said I couldn’t file a claim since I was the recipient, even though I'd paid the shipping. Two others said I could file a claim and one helped me do so, but it was going to be 2 - 7 days before an adjustor would be on the case. "The process can’t be rushed." I tried to reach a supervisor. One finally called back and left a message with no way to reach her. On Aug 30, I reached another agent who looked up my claim and said the adjustor had cancelled it. No idea why. We filed a new claim. She said I’d get a call in 24 - 48 hours. I got no call. She gave me a new Customer Relations number but it wouldn’t accept outside calls. By then, I was out of both time and hope. I rescheduled my flight for Sept 12, declared my passport lost and applied for a new emergency one. Thankfully, the State Dept got me a new passport in half a day. Then I had to wait for a new formal invitation from overseas (with my new passport #) to send to DC. When I got that, I FedExed it with my passport to the consulate in DC. They processed the visa and sent it back pronto and FedEx delivered it. By then, I’d spent almost S1,500 on travel changes, a new passport, visa, shipping, etc., but the stress and frustration were much worse than the expense. Then, out of the blue, a few days ago, UPS sent me $189.80 via Zelle, to settle my claim. I called the claims office and said I was owed at least $535 for the replacement documents and shipping, but was told that I hadn’t insured the package, so $100 is the max refund, plus $89.80 for the failed return. I told them no one in the UPS store advised me of this policy. They said, "The stores are independent." What's the moral of the story? UPS = Unbelievably Poor Service.