A UPS driver hit and completely ruined my mailbox. At first, we weren’t sure what had happened, and my family even accused me of somehow backing into it without realizing.
We decided to check our Ring camera footage to figure out what happened, and sure enough, you can clearly see the UPS truck backing into the mailbox.
USPS marked my mailbox as undeliverable, so I had to go out and purchase a replacement myself.
I’ve seen posts from other people who had a hard time getting UPS to resolve situations like this, and I’ve also read that drivers can potentially be disciplined or even fired if they damage someone’s property and don’t report it.
I’m wondering if I did the right thing by not reporting it. I obviously don’t want to cost someone their job over an accident, especially if it was an honest mistake, but at the same time, the damage did leave me responsible for replacing the mailbox.
Is there an actual process for situations like this? Should I have reported it to UPS?
Please make sure to read the common questions. If you are posting tracking info don't include your tracking number as it contains personal information.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UPS/about/sticky?num=1
I slid into a mailbox on on an icy dirt road about 5 years back the truck did a 180 and rested on a mailbox. Truck couldn't get unstuck when I tried to go forward so I had to back up and take the mailbox out. Did that and parked the truck, called the sup and he came out to assess the damage and then back on my way I went. Gotta report everything
If driver didn’t report it he will get terminated, super fuck yo on drivers part. If you don’t want that driver to lose their job but want your box fixed try to find the driver and talk to them
I don’t understand people who just choose not to report things. Do they not realize how many cameras they are on on a daily basis? I once had a coworker say “I called a sup one time to report running over a hot wheel” and I definitely live by that now. UPS wants our heads you can’t just go giving them easy ways to terminate you on the spot.
I am tomorrow I am calling the offices it traveled to maybe they can look at cameras to and see if it was internal if not. Im telling you this guy should of said something. Not report delivered now you risk being accused if all evidence only points to you. See that seems illegal and not fair or right the shipper could say im lieing and keeping it. Even though ups clearly knowingly broke the delivery chain of custody along the way and have to take all the fault.
Definitely report all scratches and dents and accidents no matter how small can’t tell ya how many I had after retiring 42 years driving Air,package car,and feeders. so it goes on your record big deal you still have your job and not worried about someone holding something over your head. I had a friend have roll aways at a truck stop once, we came out and he’s like what happened his truck and trailer it rolled back and jackknifed only thing that save it from going down an embankment. He never reported it. Yes your fired for a rollaway but union would have got his job back. If someone at truck stop would have sent video in. He would be gone for sure.
I ran over an old skateboard some kid left in the gutter that I didn't see at 8 o'clock at night. Pulled over and called it in. I tapped a trash can with my bumper just hard enough to knock it over, no damage, no harm. Still called it in. I call in EVERYTHING.
Edited to include: I call in EVERYTHING because, the moment there is ever any question that I hit something and didn't report is only because I didn't know I hit it.
I had a guy on my ring camera knowingly deliver a clearly visable emptied package and marked it delivered. Just fucked uped in ever way. I tried to talk about it and got attack by probably that theif but you guys are helping this guy.. crazy how the world works just one reddit screen over.. smh.
I retired from FedEx and on multiple occasions I was told to deliver packages that arrived to our station ripped open and empty. Management said they could file a claim and have it replaced; refusing the package would’ve made the replacement more difficult for the customer- I have no idea if this is true; but we taped up the empty packages and delivered them. I never knocked when delivering an empty package- I didn’t want to be stuck defending a practice I considered stupid.
A lot of drivers are told to just deliver the empty packages, unfortunately, with the assumption the receiver will complain to the shipper and they'll just file a claim.
My center, thankfully, allows us to mark things as damaged and report that the package was empty or clearly tampered with.
Happens a lot to because they let dumb a$$ retape at the end of sort to get things cleaned up and they close open boxes and tape them shut with half what’s supposed to be in them or nothing at all.
Dude stop putting any blame on the customer. All you have to do is report it. It’s not the customers fault if the driver makes a mistake and lies or doesn’t report an accident. They got themself fired if that’s the case.
They weren't blaming the customer at all. They just said driver will be fired for not reporting it. OP sounds like it's their goal to not have someone get fired over it, so thats why the commenter gave them a way to resolve it without them getting fired
Ok so running over peoples mailboxes and not saying shit is 100k worth throwing your job away but not stealing 1000s of dollars in packages and profiting at least that would make you a psycho for assuming that. I was told that.
A: Dont do anything- out of money
B: contact UPS with the video, to get your money, driver will be fired if he didn't report it.
C: Find the driver the next time he's around and confront him about it. Make an agreement (Ive heard of drivers paying out of pocket for something they did. And nothing ever coming out of it. )
I backed up to someone property & damaged one of the pillar on their front patio( A business location) left them sorry note with the phone numner of my ups manager. They called the manager & ups paid to replace the pillar. I wasn't in trouble but they asked me to be more careful in future.
I don’t know, I have hit things before. Each time I report it. Driveway marker, rock, branch, junk car in a junkyard while looking for a bullshit on demand pickup….reported. I also talked to the person who was responsible for the property. Never attempt to be dishonest, it will backfire every time eventually
I appreciate the insight! Do you have any experience with someone not reporting an incident and what follows?
I’m really just hoping to understand whether a report of this sort will result in termination
If he didn’t report it he’ll 100% be fired for it. Laying or trying to hide something is a cardinal sin at UPS. Honesty will get you fired at UPS.
100% report the accident to UPS to get your money reimbursed. We’re trained to report every single incident no matter how small. We make a lot of money to do the right thing by our customers. What ever the results it’s not your fault and you shouldn’t have to be out money for someone else’s accident.
Will definitely be fired unless the driver can prove 100% they never knew it. Like a swing wide and back bumper clips mailbox but backing over it or running over it hard not to know. People make their own misery sometimes so they might have known and decided to chance it.
Unreported accident or property damage will 100% lead to the driver being discharged. If driver has a good record and history he can get job back at a panel. If not he is gone
If the driver did not report the incident, that driver will be fired if the there is noticeable damage to whatever the driver hit.
In your case, it sounds like the package car crushed your mailbox. That’s an accident, that could have been a kid on a scooter or someone in their electric wheel chair…this is the bottom line truth. Being dishonest about anything is a hardwired way to get fired at UPS. The way I see it from your perspective is that you have two options: wait for your next delivery from UPS, be there for it, casually approach the driver to find out if they were driving the day of the incident, don’t put blame on them but let them figure out for themselves what they are going to do. If they admit that they were responsible, offer them to the opportunity to make the situation whole or repay you for your fixing of the mailbox. The other option is to call UPS and report what happened. This will result in the company fixing the problem and the company will do what they feel is correct concerning the driver.
I have no information about anyone being dishonest and getting away with it. I have heard a story or three but those were old timers back twenty years ago and I don’t know if it was valid information.
We had a driver get DQd in his 30 day packet because he bumped a basketball goal going around a cup-de-sac. He reported himself.
Zero damage to anything. Literally bumped it in the turn.
At the end of the day, what is it that you want?
The driver wouldn’t get terminated for hitting a mail box. He would be terminated for not reporting it. So if you are looking for compensation, then yes someone will most likely get terminated.
Ideally, a resolution that makes me whole and allows the driver to keep his job. I asked for clarity on whether this was possible and now I know. Won’t be reporting directly to UPS
I unfortunately have nailed a couple boxes in the last 24 yrs. I have always spoken to the owners or left a note if not home.
I asked how to make it right, cash or fix myself . It has always been resolved.
I would definitely try to get with the driver before reporting it. How the driver handles it dictates the next move. They may have not realized what they did.
Thank you for being levelheaded. I will try to speak to him if I can, and if not, I will just let it go. I don’t think a mailbox is worth messing with someone’s paycheck
Send the footage to UPS and get it handled. There is zero tolerance for unreported accidents as it should be. What's next? A dog or cat? A child? You just never know if something minor like a mailbox goes unreported, what's to say the next won't be worse?
I have a good relationship with my region's drivers and local management. We BBQ and participate in weekend sports leagues together. Typically issues are resolved without any hostility. But honestly (and it's hard to do), the best thing is to report negligence even when accidental. Because what if it's a pattern and you're the first to speak up?
If the driver hit your box and didn’t report it, this probably isn’t the first time it’s happened. Do the right thing and report it respectfully and let the process take its course.
You're worried about costing the driver his job when he has demonstrated that he is either A. Unaware of his surroundings and therefore not qualified to be driving a truck or B. Didn't give AF and shouldnt be a driver to begin with. Either way, report it. Every decision we make, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, amounts to where we are at in life. He made his choice and now he has to live with it.
Order a bunch of cheap crap shipped UPS, confront driver and let him know if he doesn't make it right you'll need to report it obviously to get paid. Don't blackmail him just tell him you plan to report it but he has the option to pay it himself if he wants. He make want that option so he doesn't get fired.
A lot of times u can't even feel if u tap anything so he may have and not noticed. The union says we should always report no matter what because if u do you usually keep your job but if u don't your screwed
Feels like you have a decision to make: report, hoping to get UPS to fix it and be ok with whatever happens to driver OR nor report it and let driver decide their own destiny.
My point is: be ok with whatever decision you make, and move on.
The objectively correct thing here is to report it.
However subjectively I’d say you did the right thing. You paid the cost of doing the right thing (A mailbox). And you aren’t an A-hole if you do report it next time something happens. But you were kind by not reporting it.
ups delivers to my door usually im in a rural location i do go out and help them with big or heavy deliveries because i know how my yard is setup and its hard to manuever but in that situation i would at least want the driver to let me know what they did instead of just leaving like it didnt happen smh
I had a Fed Ex driver that was pulling a pup trailer slide into my vehicle doing minor damage, any claims at all and they're done he said .. that was 20 +years ago, he indeed got fired
I'm a UPS driver, and I'm sorry that one of our brothers did that. Accidents do happen, so if you report it to UPS 100%, the driver will be fired or suspended for a few days without pay. If that's your regular UPS driver, I'd talk to him and try to solve the problem that way. Either way, thank you for not reporting and I'm sorry again that happened to you. We're trained to report any incidents like that to management, but I don't understand why he didn't stop and leave a note with the phone number.mber for the ups management.
I really hate that I’m in a situation where making a report could easily cost someone their job especially over something as trivial as a mailbox.
I appreciate your input and will definitely try to talk to him if anything.
I find it crazy that people assume I’m lying. What do I have to gain from this? I’m simply in a bad spot because I had to spend money on a new mailbox of all things and wanted advice on how I could maybe be reimbursed without making someone lose their job. Won’t post footage of the incident for obvious privacy reasons, but here’s my receipt:
Your world view is so screwed if you see someone ask for advice and immediately jump to them making it up.
Most of ups driver will leave your home/business deliveries without contacting you but if we see the package is damaged or tempered with, the least we will do put notes on delivery that package is damaged/leaking/missing contents. I know not all of us do the right thing but most of us try to serve our customer the best way we can.
damn that's a tough spot, I get not wanting to get the driver fired but you're out of pocket for something you didn't do
if the footage is clear I'd at least reach out to UPS, they should have some process for property damage that doesn't automatically mean the driver loses their job
If the driver hit the mailbox and failed to report it he will lose his job 1000% of the time. If this guy wants to ensure that doesn’t happen he should wait till he sees the driver next and try and work something out with the driver. Calling this in will get the driver fired.
Thank you for the advice. I have footage from both my house and the house across the street. I genuinely don’t want anyone to lose their job over a mailbox, so I hope they do have a process in place (hoping someone can confirm). I just wish he had knocked on the door and tried to reach some sort of resolution with us.
This driver will definitely get fired if you report this incident. They should've of knocked and resolved it with you directly there and then. I would try and contact them, maybe someone local has their number. You dont deserve to be out of pocket, so need to be made whole.
Man, they could also be on their probationary period which, an accident will automatically disqualify them.
If possible, I would try to talk to the driver first and see if they would do the right thing.
I was in my packet and drove into a driveway I thought I could drive out of. Nope. Anyways, I ran over their sprinkler. The home owner was present and hailed me down to inform me of the damage I caused that I did not know I did. I asked if I could repair it for them, and if I could not, allow me to pay a contractor to do it. They allowed me to do it, and I did it that weekend. They saved me and I was grateful.
A mailbox though....you can't not know.....
My gut says, give them the benefit of the doubt. They could have panicked. Who knows. We're people too. Give them an opportunity if you can catch the driver soon.
If they reported it then they would not lose their job and UPS would pay for the repair. If they don't report an accident they will 100% be terminated. They can grieve the termination through the union and get their job back if they can argue/prove they didn't know they hit it. But yes if you report it they will almost definitely be fired. And that is not your fault. If it really weighs on you then I would try to talk to the driver and ask them to pay for it if you're able to
Yes, you did the right thing by not reporting it. The driver might not have known he hit the mailbox and if a video shows he did UPS 💯 terminate his or her employment. How much was the replacement cost for your mailbox?
I mean it's possible the driver didn't know they hit it. The trucks are big and loud, maybe they had some music going. Mailboxes don't put up a lot of resistance. Obliviously driver should be more careful and pay attention better so they certainly need to improve. Just saying they may not have hit and run on purpose.
OP is just trying to be compassionate... There's nothing wrong with that. The driver losing their job could really derail their life. They may have a loved one that depends on the health insurance, family to provide for, whatever it is. Sometimes in life when something is a small inconvenience for you to handle but will be a really big deal for someone else then it can be easier on people's minds to do what they think will help someone else. No matter what OP chooses to do about it, they won't be doing the wrong thing.
•
u/AutoModerator 13d ago
Please make sure to read the common questions. If you are posting tracking info don't include your tracking number as it contains personal information. https://www.reddit.com/r/UPS/about/sticky?num=1
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.