A story is told of a professional hockey team that travelled all the way from Nevada to North Carolina to take part in an annual tournament only to arrive in NC without their equipment. According to the team manager, he had packed all the equipment, contacted a local shipping company and instructed them to ship the same to North Carolina and made all the necessary payments. This was not the first time they were doing this and he was pretty confident that the shipment would get to NC before they did. To cut the long story short, the shipment never got to North Carolina and it is believed that one of the company’s staff members bolted with the equipment and flew to Canada instead. The team never took part in the tourney, they had wasted funds flying to North Carolina and above all, lost equipment worth $450,000. Whether they got a refund from the shipping company is not known to me but I hope they did because that is such a huge blow. So, what should you do if your sports equipment shipment is lost or stolen? Can you get a compensation? Well, let’s take a look at what you should do if this happens to you.
Sports equipment can be crazily expensive. When shipping the equipment during the season or tournaments, we have to be extra careful lest we risk losing thousands of dollars. You therefore need to carefully pack the equipment and choose the perfect shipping company to move your sports equipment. Shipping the stuff with a competent shipping company does not however guarantee 100% safety of the equipment. Sometimes, crafty staff members and accidents may lead to loss of the equipment and this can be very inconveniencing. When this happens however, you should not panic. It is a tricky situation to be in especially if you have heavily invested in the equipment and are potentially racing against the clock to take part in a competition. Here are some of the tips on what to do if your sports equipment shipment is lost or stolen;
1. Stay calm
This is the best thing to do in this situation although it sounds absurd. You need to keep a cool head once you learn that some or all of your sports equipment is missing. Peruse through the shipment carefully and note all the equipment that is not in place. If the entire shipment is missing all together, calmly make a list of all the contents that were in the shipment. Most shipment companies will most probably have offered you a checklist with all the equipment in the shipment.
2. Contact your Courier
After noting all the missing items from your shipment, contact your courier company immediately. If the shipment was delivered to you by a representative, take time to look through the package and note the missing items together. Make sure he/she is present when you are opening the shipment because some companies end up claiming that people hide equipment on purpose to claim compensations.
3. Take good quality photos to back up your story
If you have a camera, take good photos to show any tampering with. These photos will come in handy when making claims. When contacting your courier service, you can mention to them about the photos. Good companies will ask to see these photos and will thoroughly inspect them to get leads on potential causes of losses. They will then initiate an investigation to approve the claim. If the claim is genuine, they will then think about the compensation of the lost equipment.
4. Claiming compensation
When claiming compensation, you will be required to provide an estimate of the total value of the shipment. Most courier companies will normally have an idea of the total value of your shipment even before they transport the same. After determining exactly how the shipment was lost and ascertaining that the loss was due to their incompetence or lack of integrity by one or more staff members, they will then be obliged to compensate for each and every single lost item. If the company fails to compensate you for the same, you can report the same to the authorities and if the courts find your claims legitimate, you will be compensated after the company is charged.
5. Change companies
As earlier on mentioned, you should be careful when selecting a shipping company. If you have been a victim of lost sports equipment, you should consider changing your shipping companies. There are companies with a proven record in America that offer sports equipment shipping and compensation guarantees in case something goes wrong. Companies like RunRex offer affordable sports equipment shipping service and will readily compensate you if anything goes wrong- this is something that rarely happens when you ship with these guys. Don’t be a victim of rogue shipping companies anymore. Try RunRex today and you will never regret the decision in your life.