Refunds for FedEx Deliveries Not Made on Time Class Action

Federal Express Corporation, also known as FedEx, offers express package delivery services. FedEx charges according to the speed of delivery. The complaint for this class action alleges that FedEx often does not deliver packages at the promised speed, yet it does not refund any of the customer’s money so that the price paid matches a slower speed of delivery.

The class for this action is all individuals and entities who, between September 23, 2019 and the resolution of this action, (1) bought express package service at a FedEx Office store in the US and did not charge it to an account, (2) for whom FedEx did not deliver the package according to the delivery speed paid for, and (3) to whom FedEx did not refund the amount paid for faster package service.

FedEx Office and Print Services, Inc. provides retail access to FedEx’s package transportation business. Customers can bring packages to these stores and have them sent by FedEx’s transportation services.

Prices vary according to the speed of delivery required. Priority overnight service with delivery the next morning is expensive; less expensive is standard overnight delivery by the next afternoon. Even less expensive is second-day service.

Yet FedEx does not always deliver as promised. In fact, the complaint alleges, “In recent months, for example, only 71% of FedEx Express’s deliveries have been on time. FedEx Express routinely charges its customers for a certain promised delivery speed, delivers at a slower speed, and then retains the full charge.” The complaint alleges that this is a breach of its contract with its customers.

The FedEx website has documents that are supposed to set out the terms of its contract with its customers. Those who want a refund are supposed to ask for it within fifteen days of handing over the package. The complaint claims, “The purported terms and conditions also state that the customer agrees not to sue FedEx Express as a class plaintiff.”

So why bring this suit? The complaint alleges that FedEx does not communicate these terms and conditions to customers who bring packages to the FedEx Office stores and do not have FedEx accounts. In these cases, the customer gives the representative the sender’s and recipient’s addresses and chooses a delivery speed. The information is then shown on the screen of a payment pin pad on the counter. The customer is asked to confirm it and click Ship, then pay for the shipment. Finally, the customer gets a receipt.

While the customer can scroll down the screen to show a statement saying that the customer agrees to FedEx’s terms and conditions, the complaint says, most customers do not see it before they click Ship.

According to the complaint, then, only those customers who have set up accounts with FedEx have agreed to the company’s terms and conditions. Walk-in customers without accounts, it says, have not agreed to the terms and conditions.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Contract
Tags: Breach of Contract, Transportation