Phone Lost by UPS

[fallonhuff]

I have been a customer of Telus for over 10 years. For the last several years, they have been sending me text offers to upgrade my device. I took a new job that has a phone incentive for employees so decided to upgrade by accepting a text offer.  I ordered a new iPhone 15 Pro Max from the web store on August 17, 2024.  On August 22 the phone stopped tracking via UPS and said 'delayed.' I called Telus immediately and said the phone would most likely get delivered but to call back on September 9 if it didn't.  On September 9, I called back as the phone had never been delivered and tracking still said 'delayed.'  The Telus representative told me to go to the Calgary Police Station to file a police report.  I drop to Calgary Police Station and was told this was not a crime, that this was the shipper's problem as it never reached me and I had no evidence (ie. doorbell cameras that showed someone stealing) to report a crime.  He told me the phone was 'lost in transit' and as such no crime had occurred so this wasn't a police matter.  I updated Telus and they opened an investigation on September 12 which is supposed to take 30 days.  On September 12 I received an email from Telus Webstore saying UPS would call me to investigate and that if they couldn't get a hold of me no refund or replacement would be issued.  On September 17, I received a call from UPS (the caller ID said 'GEORGIA' so lucky I answered it).  The call lasted 1 minute and she had only asked me if I received the package to which I said no and that the final determination of my case would be made by Telus.  On September 18, a UPS courier came to my house to have me sign a declaration that the package hadn't been received - which I signed.  He also told me that stealing was RAMPANT in the UPS warehouse and that it was common for new UPS employees to work for one month, steal as many Apple, Nike and Telus packages as they could and then stop showing up for work.  As of today (September 26) I am left paying for a new wireless contract and new phone without anything to show for it.  Telus has not completed their part of the contract in providing me with a new device as as far as I'm concerned are in breach of their service contract with me.  When I called the Telus Web Store today asking for an update, they told me that the investigation was with the Inventory Team and UPS was still 'searching their warehouse.'  Why is this the protocol and level of customer service that is accepted?  Of course UPS is still searching their warehouse, they don't want to admit the package was lost under them.  This is between Telus and UPS and me (the customer) is caught in the middle but left holding the bill.  I will NEVER order from the Telus Webstore again. The headache, frustration, financial loss and hours spent talking to Telus Customer Service bringing everyone up to speed on my case is simply not worth it.  This is a broken system, full of broken protocols that will only get worse.  I called AS SOON as my phone stopped tracking - this issue could have been dealt with over a month ago, but here we are with probably 2 more weeks to go (or more) in this futile 'investigation.'  How do I get answers?  This is 2024, I depend on my phone for life & work and Telus does not seem to recognize that.  

[TELUS_Support]

Hey @fallonhuff we can take a look at what happened and assist you. Please send us a private message and we will look into this

[Cbb]

This happened to me as well and I’ve wasted 5 hours of my time that should have been spent working trying to resolve it. The agents refuse to escalate my complaint about the process to the relevant department or give me a copy of the results of the UPS investigation.

[TELUS_Support]

Thanks for letting us know. We sent you a private message to gather your account info. 

[Wappdawg]

I'm in the same situation now, myself. Ordered 2 new phones last week, both say delivered (one says at "residential" the other just says delivered. Talked to them on the phone yesterday and they gave me the same run around about it being my problem to figure out. The CSR even asked if I opened an investigation with UPS, how do the Telus people not know that Telus restricts the recipient from making a claim with UPS...

I immediately submitted a complaint with the CRTC, as this is not my problem to sort out , I'd suggest you do the same.

[TELUS_Support]

@Wappdawg That's rough. Sorry that you're dealing with that. Generally speaking the onus shouldn't be on you to deal with the courier - we do that. All we would need to start a dispute with UPS is a police report (you can usually file these online or over the phone) and our customer service agents can then file the claim with the shipper. 

[Cbb]

I will do submit a complaint to the CRTC as well. Thanks.

[fallonhuff]

UPDATE: Telus did replace my phone. However, after it was all said and done, it was probably about 25 hours of my time wasted and the process was over 2 months long.  I wasted multiple hours on the phone with various Telus web store reps who couldn't help me (had to call in about 9 times), driving to police station to try and file a report (as per Telus's instructions) only to be denied as the officer said there was no evidence of a crime present and that this was a shipping problem, speaking on the phone to UPS, trying to file a claim multiple times with UPS and signing a declaration letter with my UPS courier.  Very disappointed that in a theft situation where stealing is clearly happening at the warehouse level, the customer is left in the middle - holding the bill and with little to no support from Telus.  I will NEVER order from the web store again.  I will reconsider every purchase that involves UPS.  I will think twice about buying something highly expensive and high value and relying on shipping couriers to deliver it.

[Cbb]

I'm sorry to hear that. It is amazing to me that Telus and UPS can just continue to ship expensive phones like this, knowing that this is an ongoing problem. After doing some research on this forum and reddit,, it's clear this has been happening to a ton of people over the past year across Canada. 

I'm in disbelief at how poorly this has been handled. Even the support agents don't know the proper process and continue to tell people to file claims with UPS...

• I asked to be connected to an operations or legal manager to let them know about the frequency of stolen phones and the problems with the resolution process
• The agents keep ignoring my request to speak to a manager and provide feedback about the process
• Agents refuse to give me details of the UPS investigation results, even though someone signed AS ME for this package. If someone is impersonating me, I need to know for my own safety.
• Then they say it's "out of their control" once UPS has possession - yet prevent me from filing a claim or getting details from the UPS investigation
• Then insist that I get a police report with 0 details about the package or circumstances?

I wouldn't be surprised to see a class action suit develop. Unfortunate.

[fallonhuff]

If I can just chime in. Telus wants the police report so they can expedite the process.  HOWEVER - as a consumer, it is almost impossible to get a police report with no evidence of a crime. The constable I talked to at the police station told me it was ludicrous that Telus had sent me there (I stood waiting to report my phone missing while people were there reporting actual serious crimes).  He firmly said the police would not use their resources to investigate a shipping problem if I could provide no evidence that a crime had occurred.  The evidence he required was a doorbell cam showing the package being stolen.  If stealing is happening at the UPS warehouse level there is actually nothing the consumer can do.  Shame on Telus for telling consumers to report shipping issues as a crime and tying up valuable public resources.