UNDERWOOD Shipping Mistake?

[WisBorn]

I'm not sure how I want to take this???
I placed an order for 13 boxes of ammo from Underwood last week to take advantage of a sale and get some defense loads that I needed. I also ordered over $200 to get free shipping.

I was looking over my order and discovered a mistake. I had ordered 3 boxes of 380acp 90 grain hollow points but only received 2. I had also received a box of 9mm 90 grain Xtreme Penetrator that I didn't order. The rest of the order was correct.
I thought that I should let Underwood know that they made a mistake. I called them and while talking to the Customer Service Representative (I use that term loosely) she said that she would send me a box of 380 that they shorted me, but If I wanted to keep the 90 grain 9mms she would have to charge me for them. Or she could send me a mailing label to return them. I told them to forget it, and just keep the 9mms instead of what I ordered.
Now I take the time to call them about their mistake. Then they want to charge me for the product that I didn't order or take more of my time to ship it back????

I have ordered from Underwood in the past. And will probably do so in the future. This just left a bad taste... where is customer service and keeping customers happy????
Order received


Some of my favorite Underwood loads

 

[warnerwh]

People make mistakes. I don't think that this mistake nor the offer from customer service was that out of line.

 

[defjon]

Most companies don't accept ammo returns for safety liability reasons. That kinda surprises me.

They should send you what you ordered grata, imo, and again...imo
...I would offer the 9mm for the mistake.

Sorta like the burger joint giving you an extra fries you didn't order. You don't take those back...to what end?? You gonna serve em to the next guy? Lol

 

[.38 Special]

As I understand it, federal law holds that if you are shipped something by mistake - something shipped to your address with your name on it, as opposed to a misdelivery with some other name/address - then you are legally entitled to it without paying. Whether you are morally entitled to it is probably somewhat situational...

In Underwood's shoes - I believe they are a relatively small company - I would hope to get the product back, but would go out of my way to make it as easy as possible. The extra box of of .380 would be on the house, and I would send out an appropriately labeled box for the return of the 9mm, along with an offer of a rebate on the next order, to offset the time the customer has to spend on the return.

<edit> And I note that my reading comprehension has, once again, failed me. For some reason I thought there were nine boxes of unordered 9mm. In Underwood's shoes, I wouldn't risk alienating a customer over a single box. Apologize, send out the missing box of .380 for free, and write the rest off.

 

[Odd Job]

If I was Underwood, I would want the 9mm rounds back, but to make things "right" for you as the customer, you'd get an extra box of .380 cartridges free.

 

[WisBorn]

As I understand it, federal law holds that if you are shipped something by mistake - something shipped to your address with your name on it, as opposed to a misdelivery with some other name/address - then you are legally entitled to it without paying. Whether you are morally entitled to it is probably somewhat situational...

In Underwood's shoes - I believe they are a relatively small company - I would hope to get the product back, but would go out of my way to make it as easy as possible. The extra box of of .380 would be on the house, and I would send out an appropriately labeled box for the return of the 9mm, along with an offer of a rebate on the next order, to offset the time the customer has to spend on the return.

I guess that an apology for the mistake would have been a good start.
An offer of keeping the box sent by mistake and a coupon code for a free box or discount with my next order does two things.
1- Happy customer
2- A new order (more sales)

 

[.38 Special]

I guess that an apology for the mistake would have been a good start.
An offer of keeping the box sent by mistake and a coupon code for a free box or discount with my next order does two things.
1- Happy customer
2- A new order (more sales)

Just so.

I misread your post - entirely my fault - and so most of my reply to it was nonsense. I am - by default, in my small company - the customer service guy, and when we make the kind of little mistake that Underwood has, I apologize, send out the missing item instantly and at no charge, and have the customer enjoy the incorrectly shipped item with our blessing. Alienating a long-time customer over twenty bucks is simply foolish.

 

[tark]

I would give much to have problems as terrible as these.

 

[Odd Job]

It's not a terrible problem, but either way he plays it, the OP is going to be inconvenienced:

1) Keep the 9mm and pay for that
2) Use the shipping label and send the 9mm back

Through no fault of his own.

 

[WrongHanded]

The cool thing to do would have been to let you keep for free what came accidentally, and send you the correct product ASAP. They made the mistake, and as they are a successful company who can eat the loss of one box of ammo without any problem, that would have been the sensible thing to do. They could also have suggested that "as it seems from the rest of your order that you have a 9mm pistol, please enjoy shooting the 9mm 90gr Xtreme Penetrator ammo, and see how you like it." Perhaps they'd get future sales from doing so.

Instead they essentially told you that they'd would charge you for what they wrongly sent, if you did not return it (though they would pay for shipping). And now you've told us.

Shame on Underwood customer service.

 

[dweis]

I have been buying from Underwood since 2014. I have never experienced any problems. I had to call CS once to get clarification about certain ammo. And CS was very helpful. So maybe it was just a one-off experience. I would have asked for the box of 380 and sent the 9mm back. Whenever I buy anything I just want exactly what I ordered. Keeps my life simple.

 

[Thomasss]

You made contact with them, not visa versa, so what's the problem? You got the .380 you were missing and they want the 9mm back and they shipped you a return label. They spent a lot of time correcting your order. I'd be happy. It's not costing you a penny to correct the mistake and they lost money from the extra shipping. I suppose you can chalk it up to new people in fulfillment and possibly also in the customer service area too. In the future, you said you still want to do business with them, then let it go and maybe on your next order you can innocently mention the screw-up and see if they might throw in a free-bee. Even if they don't you are still ahead on the deal. I wouldn't complain too loudly. I've had worse with different company.

 

[AlexanderA]

For the amount of online ordering that I do, mistakes like this are par for the course. Maybe one order in 10. (These are not cases of outright fraud.) Usually I just suck it up.

Latest example is a pair of Taurus grips I ordered from Numrich. I even called them up and made certain these were the factory grips with the Taurus logo. They sent me a pair of aftermarket Uncle Mike's grips instead. Cost was twice what Uncle Mike's grips would have cost on ebay. I let it go because Numrich often has things no one else has, and I wanted to preserve good relations with them. An extra $15-20 won't break me.

Actually, ebay is pretty good about resolving things like this. So much so, that they tilt in favor of the buyer over the seller.

 

[Outlaw75]

As I understand it, federal law holds that if you are shipped something by mistake - something shipped to your address with your name on it, as opposed to a misdelivery with some other name/address - then you are legally entitled to it without paying. Whether you are morally entitled to it is probably somewhat situational...

I don't think that's correct. You are legally entitled to keep it if it is sent to you without any prompting from you. In other words; if something shows up at your door without you having ordered it from the shipper or in some other way agreed to have them send you goods on a regular basis, then you are entitled to keep it and they can't bill you for it. It doesn't cover screwed up orders.

 

[Skribs]

It's not a shining example of customer service, but not a damning one either.

 

[.38 Special]

I don't think that's correct. You are legally entitled to keep it if it is sent to you without any prompting from you. In other words; if something shows up at your door without you having ordered it from the shipper or in some other way agreed to have them send you goods on a regular basis, then you are entitled to keep it and they can't bill you for it. It doesn't cover screwed up orders.

I am certainly not an expert on the matter, and don't know the exact wording of the law, nor any of its interpretations. The FTC says

"By law, companies can’t send unordered merchandise to you, then demand payment. That means you never have to pay for things you get but didn’t order. You also don’t need to return unordered merchandise. You’re legally entitled to keep it as a free gift."

I interpret that to mean that the OP can keep that box of 9 mm if he wants. God alone knows what the lawyers have to say about it.

 

[Just4FunOldGuns]

Along time ago I ordered some PPU .357 Magnum ammo from Wideners, back when it was the old owner. I ordered 1 case and received 2 case's. Since he always treated me really good back in the day's he sold guns and gunsmith special guns I called him up and let him know. He issued a return label and I attached it, but the case was never picked up. I even had instructions for it to be picked up at the back door, as I worked nights. After about a week, I basically said screw it to continually placing it outside in the morning, and just waited for them to knock on the door. The case was not even opened, with the white bands still around it.
Needless to say I ended up with 2 cases. About 4-5 months later he sold the business to I'm assuming the new owner and they got rid of the guns.
I haven't purchased from Wideners since and always wondered if he just gave me a loyal customer discount, not on the books or if it was a mistake!
Should have ordered more to test the theory!

 

[WrongHanded]

"Hey guys! Underwood accidentally shipped me the wrong box of ammo. So they're letting me keep it and sending what I actually order for no charge."

"Hey guys, Underwood sent me the wrong ammo. I notified them of it, and now they want me to go out of my way to correct their mistake, or they're going to charge me for something I never ordered or wanted."

Which one makes Underwood sound better?

 

[defjon]

I will say i did my first order with underwood just a few months ago and it was a fantastic experience. Ive never received so many order and shipping updates. An excellent experience all the way around.

I wish they would have handled this a little different. Are they reselling the 9mm ammo you're returning to another customer?

Seems like a potentially dangerous practice. Some nut could monkey with the product, over loading rounds or messing with them while laughing maniacally because they just want the world to burn.

 

[Styx]

"Hey guys! Underwood accidentally shipped me the wrong box of ammo. So they're letting me keep it and sending what I actually order for no charge."

"Hey guys, Underwood sent me the wrong ammo. I notified them of it, and now they want me to go out of my way to correct their mistake, or they're going to charge me for something I never ordered or wanted."

Which one makes Underwood sound better?

Second... I've worked in shipping departments and as a seller on Ebay. People lie to get free stuff on a regular basis. (Not saying this is the case with the OP)

Underwood wanting the box back on their dime sound fair and like good business. From their business perspective, the OP could have taken the box of 380 out of his order, replace it with what he already had, and then contacted Underwood saying he was sent the wrong caliber and ask for a replacement. It's probably standard to ask for the ammo back to cut down on the ramped fraud that exist. This is why even many restaurants ask that food be brought back for replacement... As far as the returned Underwood ammo goes, it'll probably will be scraped and recycled right along with their rejects.

I've had to take TVs and other electronics back to Walmart for issues I had. That involved me driving to the store and waiting in CS line. I never expected to be able to keep the return electronics and get a replacement. The same with Ebay and Amazon orders. Matter of fact, I've never expected or been allowed to keep a wrong order or problematic item when it came to retail items. That's only been the case when it came to restaurant food orders.

If anyone on this forum were to mis ship an item of their own to another member by mistake, depending on the price of the item, they're going to want the mis shipped item back.

 

[CoalTrain49]

I had some powder shipped to me by mistake. I contacted them and they said keep it. Probably different than ammo though.

At least they knew where it went.

 

[rperyam]

I think you are making too big a deal out of this. They made a mistake and seem to have corrected it in their offer. Pay or return it, move on.

 

[CapnMac]

There's a bit of a fillip here, as, under US law, if an item is shipped to you unsolicited, it's considered a gift, and cannot be charged for, after the fact.

This is result of a huge number of scams in the early 1900s where merchandise would be sent "blind" to people, then they would be billed exoribtant sums for those items, and payment extorted under threat of criminal charges for theft of services.

So, Underwood's CS rep may have violated the law by demanding payment. They should have just mailed an RMA ticket for return of the product if OP desired that outcome in exchange for the missing items.

 

[dogtown tom]

There's a bit of a fillip here, as, under US law, if an item is shipped to you unsolicited, it's considered a gift, and cannot be charged for, after the fact.

They didn't charge the OP after the fact, they just shipped him the wrong box.
He can keep it because he already paid.
If he wants to exchange it, Underwood told him how.

So, Underwood's CS rep may have violated the law by demanding payment. They should have just mailed an RMA ticket for return of the product if OP desired that outcome in exchange for the missing items.

Underwood offered to send him the correct box.

OP want to have his cake and get free cake.
That the OP thinks Underwood somehow owes him a free box of ammo is unbelievable.

 

[Nodakdad]

I think you are making too big a deal out of this. They made a mistake and seem to have corrected it in their offer. Pay or return it, move on.

+1
People make mistakes. Dropping off a package this day and age isn't that big of deal, unless there's nothing for drop off for miles and miles.
If you made a mistake, you'd appreciate a bit of grace in it's correction to. Too many folks want to crucifix everyone at the drop of a hat.
Take the High Road, so to speak