Why did FedEx charge me $1,237 to ship luggage it couldn’t deliver?

Q: My wife and I shipped two suitcases from Iowa to Norway for a cruise using FedEx (via Luggage to Ship).

Denied boarding and stranded overnight. Why won’t Air Canada cover my $178 hotel bill?

Why won’t Holland America refund my $3,952?

Help! I canceled my trip, but my travel insurance won’t pay my claim

Aer Lingus promised a full refund after threatened strike. Where is it?

Iberia downgraded me to economy class. Where’s my refund?

The luggage arrived on time but was sent back to Oslo for customs verification. Despite daily calls to FedEx, agents provided conflicting updates and blamed Norwegian customs. For four days, FedEx offered no information on how I could get my luggage out of customs.

Finally, FedEx claimed it couldn’t deliver the luggage until after our cruise departed, forcing us to pay $1,237 for shipment of luggage which we didn’t receive when we needed it. We contacted FedEx executives using your site’s contacts but received no response. We also sent a letter. We’ve kept all emails and call transcripts.

Why did FedEx fail to communicate clearly or resolve this? Are we entitled to a full refund?

— Todd Janus, Des Moines, Iowa

A: FedEx should have handled your customs clearance and provided accurate tracking updates. Its International Priority service guarantees timely delivery, contingent on proper documentation — which you had.

You used a third party called Luggage to Ship, which promises “simple, reliable and affordable” luggage shipping, according to its site. But a closer look at the Luggage to Ship terms reveals it is not responsible for shipment delays because of, among other things, “customs delay, customs or carrier inspection.”

That let Luggage to Ship off the hook. It would be able to send your luggage to Norway, have it sit in a warehouse and return it without giving you a refund (at least, according to its terms).

But FedEx is another story. It promises “dependable service,” and at the time of your cruise, it offered a money-back guarantee. (At the time I’m writing this, this guarantee has been revoked.)

In fairness, it looks like FedEx was responsive to you when you asked about the status of your bags, but then failed to update you regularly when your luggage got stuck in customs.

I’m used to writing about the perils of checking luggage, so this is a new twist. Next time you cruise somewhere, it might make sense to just pack a small carry-on to avoid the hassle of transporting lots of luggage.

I think taking this up with FedEx was the right idea. You paid to have your luggage shipped to your cruise, and it never got there. What’s more, you shouldn’t have had any customs trouble, since you were sending clothes and toiletries to your ship.

I’m not sure why the FedEx executive contacts on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org, did not respond to you. I publish the names of the executives as a service to you and them. For you, it’s an opportunity to get your case resolved; for them, it’s a chance to avoid an embarrassing story. Unfortunately, it’s a chance they missed by ignoring your email.

I contacted FedEx on your behalf. A representative responded that it would resolve the case with you “directly,” apparently hoping to keep me from writing a story about this. But as I said, FedEx already had its chance. FedEx refunded your $1,237.

And the story? Well, here it is.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him on his site.