When Orlando resident Gustavo Gonzalez shipped a specialized piece of equipment last year, he had no idea that he’d be left holding an empty box.
According to WFTV Channel 9, the item, a spare safety component for a hydrogen compressor used in the oil and gas industry, valued at over $45,000, was one of the three boxes Gonzalez says he shipped from a UPS Store to a client in Miami. (1) Two of the packages arrived, but the third box with the pricey part never made it to its destination.
Gonzalez showed the local broadcaster a slip that showed someone named “Gomez” had signed for the missing box. The tracking information was updated the following day to say it was being returned to sender. Gonzalez says when he arrived at the UPS Store expecting to pick up a package weighing over 100 pounds, he was shocked.
“It’s empty. Where’s the spare? Oh my God,” he recalled thinking to Channel 9 in a story that aired Dec. 15. “It’s a big problem.”
Gonzalez says no one could explain why the box was empty, who signed for it or how it made its way back to Orlando without the original contents inside.
After filing a police report and submitting a claim with UPS, Gonzalez received a check for just over $550 — the shipping cost plus an extra $100, which is the maximum reimbursement UPS provides for a lost or damaged item, unless you purchase “declared value” coverage.
Gonzalez claims he wasn’t asked about the value of the item ahead of time and didn’t realize added coverage was an option, Channel 9 reports. He has since filed a lawsuit in Orange County, hoping to recover his losses.
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A spokesperson for UPS told the broadcaster, in part, that the package appeared to be in the same condition when it was returned as when it was sent. Once learning of the lawsuit, however, the spokesperson said they don’t comment on pending or threatened litigation (2).
Shipping is big business. About 22.4 billion packages were shipped in the U.S. in 2024, according to Capital One (3). Consumers might automatically assume that carriers like UPS or FedEX will automatically reimburse them if something goes wrong, but that’s a costly assumption to make. Consumers should read the fine print about who may be liable and for how much before they purchase shipping.
