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Posted by APB in tropical NY on Sunday, November 02, 2008 at 10:24:02 :
A few days ago, I shipped a piece of antique telephone gear from CA to NY. It arrived trashed. I am posting this info on as many forums as possible so that a web crawler will pick it up and it will rise to the top of any search for ESTES Express Lines.Here is the text of my letter to them, today, making a claim for damages:
This statement is an attachment to the Estes Express Lines "Form for
Presentation of Loss and Damage Claims" and shall be considered part of that
document.
DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT:
Antique telephone switching equipment. Manufactured by Western Electric Co.
(WE) for American Telephone & Telegraph Co. (AT&T). Model number 701B
Private Branch Exchange, (PBX) equipped with a 200-line group, comprised of
10 line finders, 10 selectors, and 12 connectors. Line & cut-off relays for
200 subscriber lines. Group relays and alarm relays.
Additional equipment. Comprised of a miscellaneous relay rack (MRR) holding
power distribution panel, alarm panel, ringing and tone supply panel, and
interconnecting cable(s).
METHOD OF PACKING FOR SHIPMENT:
The equipment was professionally packaged and protected to withstand the
rigors of truck shipment.
The MRR was bolted to a wooden base for balance and support, and wrapped in
shrink-wrap plastic to contain and protect loose parts. The MRR was
free-standing, but needed to be secured to wall of delivery truck to prevent
tipping or falling. Weight: 300 pounds.
Main PBX frame was mounted on a heavy wooden skid, approximately three feet
by 8 feet, made of 4X4 and 2X4 dimensional lumber timbers and plywood
gussets. Diagonal 2X4 lumber bracing was fastened to this base and rose to
the top edge of the frame for additional support and stability. Plywood
gussets were attached at the intersections of the cribbing and uprights to
reinforce those joints. Heavy-gauge steel banding was applied to the entire
structure to ensure integrity of skid, wooden framework and equipment. The
entire packing system was then wrapped in plastic shrink wrap to ensure that
any loose parts were secured. Weight: 2300 pounds.
HISTORY AND VALUE OF EQUIPMENT:
The equipment was manufactured by WE and leased through AT&T to various
owners until it was refurbished as an historical item, and sold to the
American Museum of Telephony in Mountain Ranch, California. It was sold to
its present owner, the undersigned, in April of 2008. Throughout its journey
from AT&T to intermediate owners, and finally to the Museum, it was
protected by the above-described methods and packaging. It never once
sustained even the slightest damage during the many trips across the
country.
It is the only factory fully-restored PBX of its kind extant. Its value has
been estimated at between $4,000 and $8,000. No spare parts are readily
available, as any parts are kept for maintenance reasons by the owners of
the few remaining examples of this type of switching equipment.
DAMAGE TO EQUIPMENT:
The undersigned was notified by an ESTES Express Lines (ESTES) dispatcher in
your West Babylon depot that "There is considerable damage to your
equipment, and you had better come take a look right away." Upon hearing
that, we immediately made plans to visit, inspect, and photograph the
equipment to determine what damage it had sustained.
Upon arrival, we determined that the MRR had not been secured properly to
the inside of the truck(s), resulting in the MRR having fallen flat on its
face, shattering plastic relay covers, Bakelite fuse holders, and other
metal components. The force of its having fallen was of such a magnitude
that its 10-gauge steel framework was bent and mangled.
Further, we observed that the entire wooden cribbing, wooden reinforcement,
and steel reinforcement bands (see above) were completely missing.
There was evidence that they had been forcefully removed and discarded. The
switch frame, designed only to be kept in a standing position, was found
laying on its side against a four-foot square wooden pallet, resting against
non-structural electrical components. It was evident that this was done
forcefully and carelessly, and without regard for the protection of the
equipment.
We wonder when and where the original packaging was removed, and for what
reason. It is assumed that it was done to provide more room in a
truck/trailer, but that is for ESTES to explain, not us.
At the time of our visit to inspect the damaged equipment, we were
admonished not to take photographs by your employees. The stated reason was
that we were "not the owner." This is, of course, not true. We are the
owner, and we have every right to photograph our property, regardless of its
location, whether on private or public property. If ESTES has such a
corporate policy, not to allow customers to photograph their own
possessions, we would be delighted to read that policy in your corporate
rule book.
We noticed many loose parts and broken components on the deck of the truck.
When we asked permission to collect them for safe-keeping we were admonished
by your employees that we were not allowed to do so. Please explain, citing
corporate written policy, why we were not allowed to do so.
REFUSAL TO COMPLETE THE DELIVERY:
Today, Friday, 31 October, we were advised via telephone by your claims
department that ESTES is now refusing to honor the original delivery
contract, and that we will be required, at our expense, to hire a truck and
driver to move the equipment the final 75 miles to its location at our
museum.
CLAIM:
We claim ESTES to be responsible for unauthorized removal of protective
packaging etc., careless handling, misrepresentation of the type of service
to be provided, and failure to honor a contract. We claim monetary damages
in the amount of $3575.00. (Three thousand, five-hundred, seventy-five, US
Dollars). This includes estimated repair costs (including appraisal by
switching equipment experts, labor for repairs, and acquisition or
fabrication of suitable replacement components) in the amount $3000.00 and
our costs to complete the delivery, refused by ESTES, by private delivery
truck at a cost of $475, including driver, truck, ferries, fuel and for
labor for off-loading at our site.
Further, we claim monetary damages for ESTES's refusal to honor the initial
delivery contract, in the amount of $1776.93.
Further, we reserve all rights with respect to further undisclosed and
undiscovered damages that we may find, during the course of closer
inspection of the equipment.
Further, we reserve other rights under the protection of New York State
Civil and Criminal law.
Follow Ups: