COVID-19 will force many consumers to shop online for the holiday season and for some customers that could be risky.
Action 9 has uncovered hundreds of complaints against a company responsible for lots of those deliveries in Central Florida.
Action 9 found videos online showing deliveries thrown from moving cars, tossed on stairs and heaved onto porches. Those videos were posted by angry customers claiming their deliveries were mishandled by LaserShip a last-mile shipping company used by many online sellers.
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“We’re like who the heck is LaserShip and why are they being trusted with these very limited-edition shoes that we can never get again,” Chrissy Bermudez said.
Chrissy and Marc Bermudez paid Nike $181 and were excited to get the early release of new rare retro Air Jordans.
“Definitely excited to the point where I’m checking tracking every day,” Marc Bermudez said.
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Finally, they got a notification, ‘Arrived at LaserShip’ final servicing facility. After several days, the online status was the same. The couple expected the shoes would be delivered soon.
“It never arrived at our door,” Chrissy Bermudez said.
The couple claims they made repeated calls to LaserShip. A manager suggested they visit the Orlando location for answers. But that meeting didn’t go as planned.
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Marc Bermudez spoke with a manager in Orlando. “He kinda almost laughed, made a joke about it, might have grown legs and walked away.”
Online, Action 9 found hundreds of upset consumers who claim packages were grossly mishandled or never arrived, even after getting delivery notifications.
At the Better Business Bureau, there have been 723 complaints in 3 years and more than half of those were filed in the past year.
Consumer experts say across the board, shipping complaints since Covid-19 have soared.
“The magnitude of this issue is really unprecedented for us, and it really has come to light to this volume, really in past 3 or 4 months and it’s unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said BBB President Holly Salmons.
Marc Bermudez said the company promised to investigate but he doesn’t know if that has been done.
Eventually, Nike gave the couple a refund, but it could not replace the rare collector’s item they bought.
Action 9′s Todd Ulrich contacted LaserShip several times but there’s been no response.
“They’re being entrusted with these packages and apparently this type of stuff has been going on for a while,” Marc Bermudez said.
Packages remain the seller’s responsibility until delivery at your doorstep. So, keep records of payments made and security camera pictures, if you can, to make a delivery dispute.