My Fedex Live Animal Waiver SNAFU

[DeadMouse]

I originally posted this on Fauna but thought I'd share my experiences and concerns here too considering not everybody here is a member of Fauna.

To save retyping what I've already emailed to my Rep, I've quoted it here:

I am having a lot of problems trying to get a box off to the Packaging Design and Development facility for testing so that I can get my waiver for shipping reptiles.

I first went to a Fedex/Kinkos this past Friday in with my box and paperwork all ready. The clerks there denied my box because I had it as billed to Recipient which I was told was invalid as I did not have an account number for that department. I told them that I was instructed that this was not necessary as it was for a legal waiver and that it was going to a Fedex facility but they still refused the package because they claimed they needed an account number for it to be billed. I tried calling the Packaging Design office but they were already closed as it was 3pm my time (Pacific time). I then called and talked to a customer service agent while at the store and had him speak to the clerks directly and he told them the same thing as I did but they still refused the box claiming that they could not send a package anywhere without have an account number to bill it to.

So, I then drove to the Fedex Hub at the airport and the clerks also made the same claim of not being able to send the package due to the lack of an account number to be billed to. They tried looking up the name of the facility to acquire an account number but nothing came up in their system and they told me that the department did not exist. I showed them all the legal Fedex paperwork I had which even showed the address of the packaging facility but this was not evidence enough. They refused my package.

Today I called the Packaging Design and Development department and told them my ordeal. The gentleman I spoke with agreed that both places should have accepted the package and was baffled by all of my problems. He was going to arrange for a driver to come to my house to pick up the box instead. He asked if the address I had in the system was correct and asked if this was my house or my business. I told him that I operate my business out of my house and he informed me that the live animal waiver was only for business to business transactions and that I was not qualified for such a waiver being that my business was out of a home and not an actual business store. I asked him if I could still get the box picked up and tested while I tried to work out the details with you, but he then refused to arrange a driver to pick up the package claiming that what I was trying to do was illegal by Fedex.

Today I received a call from my Rep in regards to my email. He asked me if I had a state issued business license and I told him that I did not. He informed me that this could be my main problem as the waiver does specify that it is for business to business transactions. He did not believe that the stipulation of running a business out of my house was an issue, but it was still something he was going to talk to one of the legal people to ascertain as he was not entirely certain about the definition of what specifically a business is (whether on commercial property or residential) to Fedex specifically for this waiver.

This of course poses a lot of issues. Mainly, how many people are there that are Live Animal certified and are operating their business out of their home? Of those, how many people actually have a state issued business license? If Fedex defines that your place of business has to actually be in a commercial zone and that you have to have a state business license, then there's a lot of people that are operating and sending packages illegally by Fedex standards.

If Fedex were to verify and eliminate everybody that was not operating within their waiver guidelines, how many people would it affect and what alternatives would those of us that no longer have a means to ship through Fedex have?

I know all about ShipYourReptiles.com, but to be honest, the UPS service here is adequate at best for standard packages and I do not know if I would trust them with shipping live animals. I've also been concerned over some of the hand waving that ShipYourReptiles has done in the past with people that have had shipping problems with suggestions like 'don't write on the box what's inside' or to carefully misguide the clerks about the exact nature of the contents when asked what is inside. I'm not slamming ShipYourReptiles at all as I might end up having to use their service if Fedex does not come through for me, but those are issues that have concerned me about using ShipYourReptiles in the past. Can anybody shed some light on their long term experience with using ShipYourReptiles?

 

[danielle]

If you ship from a fed-ex location and not your residence it shouldn't matter thats what my neighbor does anyway and has been certified for years. You are supposed to ship to other businesses and not residences if you want the waiver which is why some only ship to your nearest fed-ex location, but yes many break that rule. I ship geckos so I can use UPS and have an account without needing any waiver, but I feel you that sucks your trying to do it right. I think this is why many lie or avoid being direct with fed-ex in the first place

 

[DeadMouse]

If you ship from a fed-ex location and not your residence

Well, that is the million dollar question. The employee I talked to at the Packaging facility insisted that in order for me to have this waiver, I have to first have a business in a commercial zone, not a residential one and to only ship to other businesses within the same prescribed areas. His mentality was that I could only ship if I had such a store front regardless of anything else. Being that my address on file for my account was a residential one, that that somehow excluded me from even being qualified for the waiver. Now if the address on my account was a business in a commercial zone, then according to him that was fine.

When my Rep finds out more about what constitutes a business in Fedex's world and emails that information to me, I'll post it here.

 

[medusacoils]

Any update on this??

Wayne

 

[DeadMouse]

No, no updates. I basically gave up for the time being that I don't really have any animals to sell anyways and it was such a headache dealing with Fedex over this. I was hoping that other Fedex certified people here could give me some insights on what they did specifically, but obviously my thread has been ignored by many here that are certified.

 

[kathylove]

It is true that the waiver is for business to business DELIVERY, and not to a residence. But if your home business address is good enough for your state and / or city to give you a license, then it has generally been good enough for FedEx.

Why don't you just get a state resale permit (tax #) and see if that will satisfy them? You are supposed to have one anytime you sell anything anyway, unless you live in one of the couple states without sales tax. It is usually free. In addition, I also have a county business license - no big deal, just make sure you are zoned for a home business, and pay around $25 - $50 per year in most places. If you are in city limits, you would get it from them. That should make FedEx happy.

Worst case scenario - go to one of the "Mailboxes, Etc" pack and send type stores and rent a box there. Some will offer boxes with a real street address so nobody can tell it is just a mailbox. The drivers won't care, since they have to stop there everyday anyway. Arrange to leave packages there for pick up. Should cost $75 - $150 per year - check with several to find out details. Before you pick one, be sure they will allow you to do what you want - drop off packages of live pet reptiles (avoid the word snake if you can), with the stipulation that you will show them your FedEx waiver. You might have to go to several to find the right manager. Or you may decide to call them perishable packages, and hope they don't notice the small writing on the box that says what is inside. Always best to see if you can do it in the open if possible. If not possible, you could always drop off the boxes at FedEx, and just use the store mailbox for your business address. After the first year, you can change your address back to home and drop the mailbox fee.

There are usually ways to get around all of the obstacles they try to throw at you. But sometimes you have to get creative, lol!

 

[Nanci]

I wasn't ignoring you Troy- but I feel (felt) helpless about offering advice.

 

[airenlow]

I had to pay to ship my test package because I couldn't get Package Design to answer their phone. So, I just took the $7 dollar hit on that one. My "business" was never questioned. Could you sign up for a different account and start all over? New rep, new test package, etc...and don't mention the home business part.

 

[medusacoils]

No, no updates. I basically gave up for the time being that I don't really have any animals to sell anyways and it was such a headache dealing with Fedex over this. I was hoping that other Fedex certified people here could give me some insights on what they did specifically, but obviously my thread has been ignored by many here that are certified.

That's a shame! I'm going through the process right now. Ran into a couple of the snafu's that you did. I was trying to get my test package sent out and the FedEx hub gave me a hard time. I actually had to get on the phone with my sales rep and have her talk to the people at the hub, so they would ship it without the account number.

Then the darn people used my account number, sent the package priority express and charged me $57. Fortunately, a quick unanswered call to my rep and another visit to the hub, which is 45 mins away, and I was reimbursed.

I also found out that they are no longer using the Package testing application the hard way. Now you have to go on their website and fill it out there. The whole thing was a pain, but I'm getting through it.

I'm sure if you let things settle down, then tried again later on, when things get forgotten, it will work. Maybe you could try going to this link [link below], filling out the online testing application and trying it that way. Try cutting out the middle men and sneaking it through. :shrugs:

http://www.fedex.com/us/services/pac...ckageservices/

If there is anything else I can help you with, please ask. As I mentioned, I'm in the middle of the process right now and I would be more than willing to help!

Wayne

 

[DeadMouse]

Well, after a long and arduous process, I finally am certified by Fedex to ship reptiles!

The two hitches I was able to rectify both had to do with just getting my test box to the testing facility. While the staff at Kinkos were less than knowledgeable about my situation as well as the staff at the airport hub, I was very fortunate to finally find someone at the distribution center that squared me away.

The main problem I had when originally trying to send my box out was that I did not have available at the time the account number for the testing facility. The reason this was a problem for me was because I was trying to ship my box for free as is Fedex's policy for testing boxes. Some people will actually pay to have their boxes tested and Fedex obviously has no problems with this, but they will do it for free granted that you know the procedure.

The second problem was that I was using a regular Fedex shipping label instead of an Airbill. For whatever reason, when sending out boxes to be shipped 2nd day and using Fedex's account, an Airbill is the proper label to use.

After correcting these two items and waiting a long while for the air to clear from my last snafu, I sent out my boxes again and this time it all worked out. The only hitch this time was that my waiver forms that I sent were now superseded by a newer form. Fortunately for me, the testing facility merely notified me that my form was outdated but that they would accept it this time for all intents and purposes.

I couldn't be happier! Now I have to figure out how to ship internationally.

I'm in the middle of the process right now and I would be more than willing to help!

How did your application procedure eventually turn out Wayne? Did you finally get certified?

 

[Nanci]

Wow, Troy, what an ordeal! I am so grateful that my certification went so easily...

 

[DeadMouse]

Wow, Troy, what an ordeal! I am so grateful that my certification went so easily...

Yeah, that's why I was so frustrated, I just couldn't imagine why I was having all of these problems, one after another, when everybody else seemed to have the process go so smoothly. But I did eventually learn of other people on different forums that also spoke of having the same issues I was having, so at least I did not feel like it was just me. I'm just glad that it's all done and over with.