FEDEX, the UN and Ignorance

S

stuckatwork

New member
I won't go into deep detail, but Fedex is turning into a real pain to deal with. The short version of the story is I need to ship some handgun ammo to Texas. Never have I been jerked around in all my life like I have these past two days. First my wife was told that Fedex doesn't ship ammo. Then when the Mrs. corrected the clerk, they said they didn't ship ammo from the location she was at. I called the 800 number to find out what's up and I was told that Fedex doesn't ship ammo. I told the moron on the other end, that her company most certainly does and I have receipts to prove it. I was then switched to the "Dangerous Materials Desk". Okay, ammo is HazMat, I can deal with that.

The "person" at the bad things desk told me that I needed a UN number to ship the ammo. I said that the DOT HAZMAT number for ammo is 1.4S. Nope, I needed a UN number. What might UN stand for...you got it United Nations. I explained that the ammo is heading to Texas and not out of the country, so why do I need the IOT (International Organization for Transportation)certification. Yes, Texas is sort of an unusual place, but it is still part of America the last time I looked. I was told by the Fedex clerk, that all American commercial carriers will eventually be under the UN system and Fedex is following this directive. "From whom" I asked, and was told the government.

I hung up, called the manufacturer and asked for for the UN number of the ammo. The person on the other end gave a long groan and got me the UN number. I then called Fedex back...again. Gave the bad thing desk person the UN number. Was asked what type of ammo it is. She started reading froma list that ranged from rim fire to artillary shells. I stopped her just short of the tactical and theater level nuclear weapons and repeated HANDGUN CENTER FIRE RELOADED AMMUNITION.
I was then told that I had to ship the ammunition next day air. WHATTTT??????? I want ground transport. No ammunition must be shipped air express. ...You know folks, I really am a patient man, but this was starting to wear thin. I WANT TO SHIP THIS STUFF GROUND TRANSIT. Clerk "Oh, then you want the ground desk". ARRRRGGGGHHHH!

"No do not give me the number for ground shipments, give me the complaint line. I don't want the one with the recording I want to speak to a living breathing human being...preferably one with a couple of brain cells."

dial the number....."You have reached the Fedex Customer Service line...your message is important to us at the tone please leave..."
ARRRRGHHHH!

Internet, look up Fedex Corporate number. Dial "hello I want to speak to the President of FEDEX". Within a couple of minutes, I had a real person to talk to.

Me: Telling the person my tale of touble

Fedex Rep: Well what are you trying to ship?

Me: AMMUNITION!!! 700 rounds of plain jane handgun ammo.

Rep: What caliber?

Me: .357 mag..factory reloads

Rep: Did you pack the box according to DOT HAZMAT standards?

ME: Yes, douple boxed, plywood sheets top and bottom.

Rep: Do you have the DOT HAZMAT and UN number?

Me: Yes

Rep: "I don't see what the problem is. You should just take it any Fedex office and ship it straight away."

Me: ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Thank you for puttingup with this, I needed to vent.


On the serious side, what's with the UN governanace of our interstate commerce? This is getting spooky.



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You can find the price of freedom, buried in the ground.
 
stuckatwork, Sorry to hear about the FedX problem.........But man, that UN crap is some real bad news. I guess the black choppers are real after all.......I always thought they were.

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"Lead, follow or get the HELL out of the way."
 
Sorry to hear about your problems. The UN thing is scary. I had the opposite experience with UPS recently. They would only ship it ground - not air. They were very courteous and even though it took several attempts to ship it, I was succsessful. They even came to pick up the ammo the last time.
 
The UN identification system for hazardous materials has been around for years. It has very little to do with the United Nations. It is a system of international codes designed to avoid the confusion of having dozens of different systems in use around the world. The primary reason for the codes themselves is so that emergency responders to an accident scene will be able to identify the hazardous materials involved and take the appropriate actions. An example is the number 1203 you see on tanker trucks. It is the UN identification number for gasoline.

[This message has been edited by EOD Guy (edited September 28, 2000).]
 
I can understand the need for a universal code system as many first responders are obviously unable to read and write their native tongues. I can also understand the convenience of not having a national and an international set of codes to help the illiterate. The question that begs is what happens when the UN decides that ammo is no longer a PC thing to be shipped and conveniently forgets to issue a number for it??? FedEx, UPS, ... cant legally ship without a UN ID number, but there is no UN ID number for ammo or any components. HMMM? You have just instituted a ban on ammo without having had a congresscritter get their hands dirty? Can you say backdoor Bull $hit legislation without representation????

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"Liberty is never unalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of patriots or it always vanishes."
-R.A. Heinlein
 
Apologies to Pandora, but, opening Paranoia's Box, it seems to me that if it isn't already done, some bureaucrat, evil or otherwise, could mandate that a list of names/addresses of non-commercial shippers of explosives/ammo/etc be maintained. Fighting Domestic terrorism, you know.

They've now identified potential
"problem makers" and know where they are.

Right now, I'm just playing the fool with this, but knowing something of the bureaucratic mindset - "Here's all this neat information, surely something can be done with it." has gotta be going through someone's mind right now.

</paranoia>
 
I mentioned the UN codes because the need of one made me uncomfortable. The US DOT has had a system of identification of hazardous materials for years, that's was those signs on the sides of trucks is all about. Like stated in my first post the DOT designation for small arms ammo is 1.4S. Every fireman in the country knows these numbers and what they mean. Why clutter the mix with a UN system of identification? And if you have ever received ammo or hazmat goods through UPS or Fedex, you will never see the placards on the delivery trucks.

Now I am not a paranoid nut, I do not see black helicopters cicling my house, I really doubt that there were Chi-Com troops stationed in the Texas panhandle et el. But what I do see is the continuing "Europeanization", if you will, of America. We see our military continually being used by the UN to solve Eupropean problems in the form of peace keeping missions. (Peace Keeping = put Americans in harms way. While the rest of Europe sits on thier collective asses spouting anti-American rhetoric)

All that can be said is that I do not like this America becoming more like Europe non-sense. Okay I agree that the world is getting smaller and we are all getting more and more economically dependant upon each other. But it seems to me that every little no-harm thing we do in regards to UN cooperation takes another bite out of our identity as a people and nation...'nuff said.



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You can find the price of freedom, buried in the ground.
 
Personally, I believe the UN code was done to facilitate the current world-wide shipping of hazmat. Our DOT numbers are great (and still used by the trucking industry), but the rest of the world doesn't know those codes.

In this case, I think that it's just a requrement to use a standard code for everything.
 
1.4S is not the UN number for ammunition. That is the hazard class and division. The identification number is UN0012 and the shipping name is Cartridges, Small Arms. If you are shipping less than 66 pounds, the ammunition can be reclassified as a consumer commodity (ORM-D). The DOT uses the UN identification system, with a few exceptions for materials shipped within the US only, otherwise they are identical. I have been in the hazardous materials shipping business for over 20 years and have never found a hazardous material that did not have an identification number and shipping name. The reason you don't see placards on FedEx or UPS trucks, is that either the material is being shipped as an ORM-D, which doesn't require placards, or there isn't a large enough amount of material on the truck to require placarding.

[This message has been edited by EOD Guy (edited September 28, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by EOD Guy (edited September 28, 2000).]
 
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