Most claims are won by good preparation.
Westline is a software platform for generating carrier shipping labels - UPS, FedEx, and USPS handle the actual transit and the actual claims process. Our job is to set you up to win before something goes wrong, and to be a clear-headed support system when it does.
Setting your shipment up for success.
Carrier claims are won or lost based on what you do before the package leaves your dock. Here's what we ask of you, and why.
Upload 3 photos before pickup
One full view of the sealed package, one from the side showing dimensions, and one on a scale with the weight readable. This is your evidence when carriers later claim the package was lighter than booked (re-weigh billbacks) or arrived damaged. Without photos, you lose those disputes by default.
Declare actual value, not invoice value
Carriers cover up to $100 by default. Above that, declared value coverage extends carrier liability for damaged or lost goods. The typical cost is $0.90 per $100 declared, with a 400% cap. If you ship a $2,000 piece of equipment with no declared value and it gets damaged, the carrier owes you $100. Declare it. Declared value is carrier liability coverage, not insurance.
Pack for the carrier's drop test
UPS packages get drop-tested from 30 inches as part of normal sortation. If your packaging fails that test, damage is your problem, not the carrier's. Double-box high-value items, use proper void fill, and put fragile contents in the center of the box, never against a wall.
Match the description to reality
The "contents" field on your label needs to match what's actually in the box. Liability claims get denied when the carrier discovers the contents differ from the declaration. If you're shipping electronics, say "electronics." If it's hazmat, you have separate obligations - see the prohibited-items page.
Prohibited items: Westline cannot ship hazmat, firearms, live animals, alcohol, perishables outside specific carrier programs, or any item restricted by the underlying carrier. Full list at /prohibited-items.
What happens when a shipment is late.
When you book a shipment through Westline, the transit time you see (e.g. "UPS Ground · 3 business days") is the carrier's published service-level expectation, not a guarantee from Westline. Westline does not control pickup, sortation, transit, or delivery.
Carriers maintain their own money-back guarantees on certain services (UPS Next Day Air, FedEx First Overnight, etc.). When a carrier-guaranteed service misses its deadline, the refund process is governed by the carrier's tariff and must be initiated by you, the shipper of record. Westline will provide documentation (label, payment receipt, tracking history) and walk you through the carrier's refund request, but Westline is not the issuer of the carrier's service refund.
What Westline does when a shipment is late:
- Our cron monitors detect stale shipments at 8+ days in transit and flag them so we can reach out before you have to ask.
- We provide the documentation package you need - tracking history, scan events, photo evidence, payment proof, and the original label.
- We point you at the right carrier-side workflow: the link, phone number, claim form, and deadline window.
- We stay engaged through resolution as your information desk, not as your claim handler.
What Westline does not do:
- ·File carrier claims on your behalf.
- ·Negotiate settlements with the carrier.
- ·Issue our own refunds for carrier delays (we pass through carrier refunds net of our fee when applicable).
- ·Override the carrier's claim determination.
Where and how to file when you need to.
Each carrier owns its own claims workflow. Below is the public information for each. Westline keeps your supporting documentation ready - label, tracking, photos, receipts - so you can attach it to your filing.
UPS
File a claimFedEx
File a claimUSPS
File a claimCarrier policies change. Always confirm the current filing window directly with the carrier before submitting. The above reflects the public tariff at time of writing.
Your relationship with the carrier - and with us.
Westline Trade Partners is a software-as-a-service platform that enables registered businesses to generate shipping labels through third-party common carriers under Westline's negotiated rate agreements. When you book a shipment through Westline, you enter into a transportation relationship directly with the underlying carrier, governed by that carrier's published tariffs and terms of service. The carrier is responsible for transit, sortation, delivery, and any service-level commitments.
Westline does not own, operate, dispatch, or control any pickup, transit, sortation, delivery, or storage of any package. Transit times, service-level commitments, pickup windows, and delivery outcomes are committed by the carrier - not by Westline.
Westline's role is limited to: (i) providing software to rate-shop, generate, and store shipping labels; (ii) collecting payment for those labels under our agreement with the carrier; (iii) facilitating tracking visibility; and (iv) providing customer-success support to help you prepare shipments correctly and navigate the carrier's own claims process.
The legalese version of this lives in our Terms of Service. The summary here is the spirit of it.
Have a specific question about a shipment?
Our support team responds Monday to Friday, business hours Eastern.
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