I ordered a printer from B&H last week, delivery was scheduled for Wed., August 3rd with Fed-ex. At 7 p.m. last night I got an e-mail stating that my package had been delivered. Strange, because I have a ring doorbell and it showed no activity and there was no package at my door. I called B&H first thing this morning to let them know that I had not received the package and they said they would look into it. I also checked with many neighbors in case it had been delivered somewhere else by mistake. B&H sent me an e-mail stating that Fed-ex said it was delivered - end of discussion. So, am I out $700? Neither company seems to be concerned about this. I have been ordering from B&H for almost 20 years. Last month I spent $5,000 on a new camera. Do I have any recourse on this matter?

I ordered a printer from B&H last week, delivery was scheduled for Wed., August 3rd with Fed-ex. At 7 p.m. last night I got an e-mail stating that my package had been delivered. Strange, because I have a ring doorbell and it showed no activity and there was no package at my door. I called B&H first thing this morning to let them know that I had not received the package and they said they would look into it. I also checked with many neighbors in case it had been delivered somewhere else by mistake. B&H sent me an e-mail stating that Fed-ex said it was delivered - end of discussion. So, am I out $700? Neither company seems to be concerned about this. I have been ordering from B&H for almost 20 years. Last month I spent $5,000 on a new camera. Do I have any recourse on this matter?

I have had at least 2 experiences where FedEx says the item was delivered, yet it was not...only to have it delivered much later in the day or the following day. I suspect (pure conjecture) that it has to do with manipulation of on-time delivery stats. On big ticket items now I have them delivered by FedEx I always have the item re-routed to a local delivery center. To do that you need a free FedEx account and redirect from there.

I can say that I have had several occasions to dispute credit card bills. Rather than doing it on line via credit card portal which has limited text space, I always send a detailed letter to the cc company, to the address indicated on my statement, with verification of receipt, outlining the issue, often with attachments. Send a copy to the retailer. Works like a charm. The cc company has to debit the retailer, credit you (at least temporarily) and conduct an investigation. This debit often spurs the retailer into action as well. The one issue that I see that may be looming is that they (B&H and FedEx) allege it was delivered, and then it was stolen. Ring can miss some video. In that case, you would be the victim of the crime, with FedEx and B&H no longer responsible. I would strongly argue the item was never delivered, verified non-delivery on ring, no thefts in the area, neighbors did not see a deliver or mis-delivered and that THEY are responsible, not you.

UPS drivers work for UPS and are under the direct control of UPS. FedEx drivers work for whatever company has the contract in a particular area to make the FedEx deliveries. Those drivers are not under the direct control of FedEx. Enforcement of hiring standards and discipline for infractions of rules is up to the contractor. It should come as no surprise that standards vary from contractor to contractor. The FedEx system works when the contractor hires good people, fires the duds, and maintains FedEx standards. When a contractor doesn't do that the system sucks.
I have been quite lucky it would seem. Both UPS and FedEx have always given me great service. A new FedEx driver took over my route a couple of months ago and was leaving packages in the wrong spot on my property. I went to my FedEx acct, added a delivery instruction, and problem solved.
Anyone who routinely gets deliveries should set up the free accounts offered by pretty much any delivery service. The options available can make things go much smoother, although, even that won't always make up for an incompetent employee.