NAVL shipping damage-my story

[wvpinb...@aol.com]

I bought a Daytona USA twin sitdown on ebay, and had it shipped via
NAVL. The seller did
separate the 2 sides, and wrapped the topper with one side. My local
NAVL outfit (STI out of Columbus, OH) waited a while after they had
the game to contact me about delivery. They had some problems (I was
told) with snow, and sick drivers. I have had a small number of pins,
and vids picked up and delivered by them in the past without any real
problems. One of their drivers is great about documenting condition of
the games, and the others generally just mark them as scratched,
dented, chips out, etc. with no explanation.
The first Daytona delivery attempt didn't happen, even though I
changed my work schedule to
accomidate it. When nobody showed up by late aternoon, I tried to call
STI, and speak with somebody. STI didn't contact me at all about the
skipped delivery, and did not return calls. I called Beltman, and
didn't get Michelle, but the woman I talked to was helpful, and did
get back to me. So Beltamn told me about the cancelled delivery, even
though STI had the game. After another scheduled and cancelled
delivery date, the game came on the third try. The driver did not call
in advance as requested, but I was able to leave work, and meet him. I
told him he could unload them in front of the garage, and they were
sitting off the truck when I arrived. The left half of the cabinet was
broken in half, and the guy said he didn't even notice. He claimed not
to be one of the usual guys, and I had never seen him before. After I
pointed out the problem, he said the seller "must have sent it that
way". Yea, right. I did sign the form, and noted the damage in large
print. I called Beltman, and again they were helpful, and told me how
to file the claim online. I included pics showing the damage. STI did
contact me, and I told them I'd keep the game if they paid most of the
value. I wanted another twin, and ended up with a singe, plus a twin
topper, and spare parts.
After several weeks, I did get paid, shipping was refunded, and I
ended up with a Daytona single, and spare parts. The ebay seller did
not put a reserve on it, and it sold cheaper than any working Daytona
twin I ever saw on ebay. Since I paid him a fixed price for shipping,
and I felt a little sorry for him that it went cheap, I told him to
keep his $125 markup on shipping. I would have paid NAVL directly, but
when I called (again didn't get Michelle) during the auction, I was
quoted over $1000 VS the fixed seller's price of $515 shipping.
Bottom line, refund was a little slow, but I'm happy. Beltman has
great customer service, but STI does not. Also STI only asked for the
ebay auction info, and didn't require more detailed pics of the game,
or pics of the game being loaded on the truck. Even so, if I ever ship
via NAVL again, I'll still take good pics of the game being loaded on
their truck. Mark M.

[JohnVV]

I had a high-value pin damaged in shipping recently. My experience
with Beltman was the same as yours - Michelle's group was very
helpful.

STI's communications are non-existant. I did get paid for what I
claimed after a few weeks.

I agree that is it critical to:

- have the shipper takes pics as it is packed and when it leaves their
site
- upon delivery take pics on arrival, open the shipment and inspect
while the deliveriy driver still there.
- don't sign anything until you've inspected the game.
- note any damage on the form and have the driver initial those notes.

I'll continue to use NAVL/Beltmann as they do a good job and their
insurance is worth on high-value games and pins. My local STI is
pretty good, but STI did nothing, other than send a claim check, to
give me any confidence in their back-end operations.

[Vaxx]

at least you both got refunds although having a game turn up broken is never
good.
"JohnVV" <jvan...@gmail.com> wrote in message
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