UPS denies Toronto woman's insurance claim despite her paying extra for insurance

TORONTO -

A Toronto mother shipped seven boxes in June to her son who moved to Saskatoon to attend university.

The boxes, which contained record players, collectible records and dishes, were damaged during shipping.

"He was quite upset to say the least, especially with some of the records because some are original Elvis records that can’t be replaced,” Katherine Shea told CTV News Toronto. 

It cost more than $1,100 to ship the items, which included extra costs for packing and $90 for shipment protection insurance. 

“The store packed the goods for us, they shipped the goods for us, and I had taken out insurance and paid extra for that," Shea said.

Shea made an insurance claim with UPS for $2,000, which was the declared value she stated at the time she bought the insurance. 

Shea said while she paid for insurance, due to a mistake at the UPS location, it was not entered into the system.

This led to her claim being denied. 

"Now it's four months later and I get the run around every time I talk to somebody," Shea said, who added “You pay that extra money for peace of mind (for insurance) and now it's not working out for me."

CTV News Toronto reached out to UPS about Shea's claim and following a review a spokesperson said “Customer satisfaction is important to us. The situation has now been rectified by the UPS Store, and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused.” 

Shea was given $2,000, the entire amount she had been claiming for the damaged and broken item items.

"They did realize I was correct, but with the backing of CTV News, it worked out a lot quicker,” Shea said.

Shipping insurance is supposed to protect you if your package is damaged, lost or stolen but if you buy extra insurance make sure you keep a copy of your contract and receipts in case there is a problem.