Shipping & delivery · Parcel carrierParcel carrier

Sue UPS.

A parcel that never reached the door, contents damaged on arrival, a claim closed against you without a reason you can follow. Tell Eleanor what happened, about six minutes, and walk out with a demand letter built for your state.

Example
Shipment recordDamaged in transit
Paid on the claim
Carrier settlement−$100.00
Amount claimed$760.00
Eleanor

Eleanor totaled the $760 still unrecovered for your demand letter.

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Sound familiar?

The UPS disputes we see most.

These are the patterns that bring people to small claims against a company this size. If one of them is your story, you are in the right place.

The short version

Yes, though parcel claims run differently from most consumer disputes. Interstate cargo claims are governed largely by federal law, the Carmack Amendment, and UPS caps its own liability by contract unless a higher value was declared at shipping. The published terms require a claim to be opened first, inside a short window. Common disputes are parcels lost in the network, contents damaged despite good packing, misdelivery, and settlements far below what was shipped. Keep the receipt, the declared value, and the written denial.

Lost somewhere in the network

Scanned in, never scanned out, and never seen again.

Damaged on arrival

Packed properly and still delivered broken.

Delivered to the wrong address

The parcel went to a building that is not yours.

The claim was denied

Filed inside the window, refused without an explanation you can follow.

Paid the limit, not the loss

A settlement that covered a fraction of what was inside.

Left open indefinitely

The file never closed and nobody would answer for it.

The rule most people never see

Federal law, and what it does to a package claim.

A parcel claim does not run on ordinary state contract rules. Interstate shipments sit largely under federal law and under the carrier's own published terms. That changes what is worth arguing and in what order.

How carrier claims usually work

  • Interstate cargo claims against a motor carrier are governed largely by a federal statute, the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706, rather than by ordinary state contract law.
  • Carriers cap their own liability by contract, commonly at a stated default amount unless a higher value was declared and paid for at the time of shipping.
  • Published terms almost always require a claim to be opened with the carrier first, inside a stated window, before anything else happens.
  • A written denial with a claim number is the single most useful document you can hold. Ask for it in writing.

What the rules do not do

  • Opening a carrier claim does not pause your deadline to file in court.
  • A denial is not a ruling. It is one party's decision about its own liability.
  • The liability limit is what the carrier agreed to pay. It is not a finding about what your item was worth, and the distance between those two numbers is usually the dispute.
  • Federal preemption is not a universal bar. What it reaches depends on the shipment, the service, and the claim, and a court decides that question.

Squabble is not a law firm and does not tell you whether federal law reaches your claim or whether a liability limit applies to it. This is general information. Read your shipping receipt, the declared value line, and the carrier's terms in effect on the date you shipped.

What it takes · the shape of a claim

What a court wants to see in a UPS claim.

You do not need a contract signed in ink. Ordinary records carry most consumer claims. The specifics live on your state guide.

What you paid and shipped

The shipping receipt or label record, the service level you bought, and the declared value line if there is one.

What the carrier agreed to

The published terms or service guide in effect on the ship date, including the liability limit and the claim window.

What went wrong

The gap between the two. A parcel that never reached the door, contents damaged on arrival, a claim closed against you without a reason.

That you claimed it first

The carrier claim number, the date you opened it, and the written denial or the silence that followed.

Before you file

What to gather before a UPS claim.

A company answers a paper trail differently than it answers a support ticket. This is the file that makes a demand letter land.

Your UPS evidence fileGather what you have; Eleanor organizes the rest
  • The shipping receipt or label record, with service level and tracking number.
  • The declared value line on the shipment.
  • Proof of the item's value: invoice, appraisal, or replacement cost.
  • The complete tracking history, saved before it ages out.
  • Photographs of the packaging and the contents as received.
  • The claim number, the date opened, and the written denial.

Missing one of these does not close the door. Bring what exists, and note in writing what does not and why.

Where it goes and who receives it

Naming UPS correctly on the paperwork.

More consumer claims stall on this than on the facts. A company is not sued by its app name or its storefront sign. It is sued by the legal entity behind it, and that entity has to receive notice the way your state requires.

The legal entity

The registered business name of the party you actually transacted with, which is often a subsidiary rather than the brand on the receipt. It is identified during intake and confirmed against the state business registry before anything is filed.

The agent for service

Corporations appoint an agent in each state to receive court papers. Papers delivered anywhere else can be challenged. Squabble locates the current agent on file for your state at the time your claim is prepared.

Proof it was delivered

Service of Process is formal notice delivered the way your court accepts, with proof filed back to the court. It is available with File Now and a Dedicated Case Agent for $88, or $128 if purchased later.

How the entity and the agent are foundThe same lookup a clerk expects you to have done
  1. Open your state's Secretary of State business search. Every state runs one, and it is free to use.
  2. Search the brand name. Expect several results, because large companies register more than one entity in a state.
  3. Match the entity to the one on your receipt, your confirmation, or your agreement, rather than to the one with the most familiar name.
  4. Open that record and copy the registered agent's name and address exactly as filed, along with the date the record was last updated.
  5. Check the record again shortly before filing. Agents change, and papers delivered to a former agent can be challenged.

Squabble runs this lookup as part of preparing a claim. Doing it yourself first costs nothing and tells you early whether the party you have been dealing with is the party you would be suing.

All 50 states

Where a UPS claim gets filed.

Every state sets its own small claims limit, its own filing fee, and its own rules for serving a corporation. Open your state to see the numbers that apply to you.

How it works

From charged to resolved.

One path, six steps. You tell the story once and Squabble carries it the rest of the way. You review and attest to everything before anything is filed.

Step 1

Told Eleanor

You tell Eleanor what happened, in plain words. About six minutes.

Step 2

Prepared

Your demand letter, and any court papers, are prepared and Triple-Checked.

Step 3

Filed

Squabble files with the right court, or hands you a file-ready packet.

Step 4

Served

The other side is formally notified, the way your court requires.

Step 5

Hearing

You walk in prepared, evidence organized, case in order.

Step 6

Resolved

You reach a resolution, by settlement or by judgment.

Straight talk

What small claims can and cannot do.

We would rather you walk in clear‑eyed. Squabble is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Here is the honest scope.

What it can do

  • Order a money judgment for a loss the carrier is answerable for.
  • Add filing and service costs to the judgment where your court allows it.
  • Hear the case without a lawyer on either side in most states.
  • Give you an enforceable judgment you can collect on.

What it cannot do

  • Order a carrier to find a package, change a policy, or refund a service fee as a matter of course.
  • Award more than your state's small claims limit.
  • Set aside a liability limit simply because the limit feels low.
  • Replace legal advice. For that, talk to a licensed attorney.
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Court-ready documents you file yourself. A demand backed by the paperwork.

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Educational only. Not legal advice, no attorney-client relationship, and no opinion on the merits. Example shown for illustration.

Questions

UPS claims, answered.

The parcel was packed well and still arrived broken.

Photographs of the outer box and of the contents, taken before anything is moved, are the core of a damage claim. Keep the packaging itself until the claim is resolved, because carriers frequently ask to inspect it.

They paid a small default amount and closed the file.

That is the liability limit doing its work. Whether the limit governs the whole loss depends on the terms in effect on your ship date and on what a court reads those terms to reach.

It was delivered to the wrong address entirely.

Misdelivery is one of the cleaner records a court can read, because the carrier's own proof-of-delivery data usually shows it. Save the tracking detail and the delivery photograph immediately.

Does opening a claim stop my deadline to sue?

No. The carrier claim window and the deadline to bring a lawsuit are separate clocks, and the second one keeps running while a claim sits open.

Do I have to file the carrier's own claim first?

Published terms almost always require it, and the claim number and the written outcome become the backbone of the record either way. Opening the claim also does not stop you from preparing a demand letter at the same time.

I never declared a value. Is the claim over?

Not necessarily, but the declared value line is usually where the carrier starts and it is the first thing to locate on your receipt. What the limit reaches in a given case is a question for the court.

Where do I file, and who gets served?

Venue rules vary by state, and the ordinary options include where you live, where you shipped from, or where the carrier does business. A corporate defendant is named by its legal business name and served through its agent for service in your state.

What if the shipper, not me, holds the claim?

Who may bring a cargo claim can depend on who contracted with the carrier and who bore the loss. If you bought from a seller who shipped it, that is worth sorting out before anything is filed.

More company guides

Same process, different name on the paperwork.

Not the company you need? See every company guide, or browse every kind of dispute.

Modern civil recourse

Built for everyone the system kept waiting.

Small-claims court exists so ordinary people can be heard without a lawyer or a fortune. Over time it filled up with forms, deadlines, and procedure most were never shown, and too many quietly gave up what they were owed.

Squabble puts it back within reach. Tell Eleanor what happened, and your demand letter, court-ready paperwork, filing, and follow-through are prepared and moving. About six minutes, off your shoulders.

Free to start. Your Custom Demand Letter is free.