United Package Smashers

The UPS / Cargo Largo Connection

What This Page is All About

Several years ago, one of United Package Smasher’s loyal readers sent me an e-mail and asked me to call him, saying he had some extremely interesting information about a questionable relationship between United Parcel Service (UPS) and a Missouri-based company called Recovery Management Corporation (RMC) which runs a handful of stores, a website and some eBay ventures calling itself Cargo Largo.

I wasn’t sure what to think but I am a curious sort, so I picked up the phone and called John Campbell at Highland Products in Maitland, Florida. And the story he told me was, to put it quite simply: absolutely amazing. Even I was shocked at how far down this rabbit hole went. John and I talked several times again over the span of a couple of years and I promised him that I would get this story the attention that it needed. I got sidetracked with life and this site went by the wayside.

A week ago, I came across John’s file yet again and read through it one more time. I decided it was time to get myself in gear and tell this story. Quite honestly, this is going to be one of the most explosive items we have ever put on this website. Its worthy of publication because of how well it is documented.

I’m going to show you how UPS allegedly profits from your “loss” with the help of (RMC) and their small chain of “unclaimed freight” bargain stores located throughout the United States. It appears that items such as John’s are either sold and a portion of the proceeds returned to UPS or the items are targeted for - as they like to put it - “controlled destruction”.

The United Parcel Service & Cargo Largo Story
by Keith Kimmel, Webmaster for United Package Smashers
Published: Monday, December 17, 2007

Hitting the Ground Running:

On 08/30/04, Highland Products shipped several cartons via UPS Ground. One carton was a 40# parcel containing two windshield frames that was destined for Bristol Galvanizing in Bristol, Virgina. The pickup confirmation number was 707 6565 77 5 and the package’s tracking number was 1Z34257425740344740527. On 09/02/04 at 4:27 PM, the package was delivered to Bristol Galvanizing, which began the process of galvanizing the parts that had been delivered to them.

Up to this point, we are looking at a normal UPS transaction. It didn’t get smashed, everything went right. But that was the end of the UPS normality that John and his company would encounter throughout the rest of this twisted tale. What happened next was, as I said, absolutely remarkable. When they finished the work - on 09/07/04 - they boxed the two frames - now newly galvanized - back up and sent them back to John at Highland Products. The shipment was send UPS Ground Collect, with the charges to be invoiced to and paid by Highland Products.

The Bermuda Package Triangle: Atlanta, Richmond & Independence

On 09/18/04, the invoice arrived but the package had not. So on 09/20/04, John called UPS billing to get the tracking number of the package. They gave it to him, it was 65359321106. When John tracked it online, it showed as having been delivered to Richmond, VA and signed for by “JUNG OVERGOODS” on 09/09/04. The so-called signature was nothing more than a squiggle on the page. UPS would later claim that the package was sent to overgoods (which is a place where undeliverable packages go for disposition, supposedly where UPS tries to locate the rightful owner of the parcel) because the label must have come off, but then this begs the question of how they managed to scan the package which supposedly had no label and associated a signature with same.

John called overgoods that same day and spoke to several people who promised to put a trace on the package or otherwise try to locate it. He described the contents of the package (two Land Rover windshield frames), the size and weight and so on. They should have been easy to find, being that they are not exactly small enough to get lost or easy to mistake for something else. One of the reps promised a tracer would be put on the package. Overgoods in Virgina told me that “All items are supposed to be listed and described on a daily manifest”, John said.

On 10/14/04, a claims packet arrived at John’s office. John filled it out and sent it back. A call went in to overgoods again when - after lots of avoidance and such - UPS confessed that it was possible that the package could have been sent to “the caves” in Independence, MO. The caves are an asset disposal facility operated by Recovery Management Corporation (RMC) for UPS (and other transportation companies), to allow them to dispose of supposed unclaimed freight. I’ll give you much more on RMC, the caves and such later. John asked to see a copy of the manifest for that day, since he felt it would be easy to identify the items from a written description. They refused to do this and told him they would have Overgoods Security call him back.

Gary Dion - supposedly the manager at over goods - made the return call. He said that he could not find the shipment in over goods and also that he had checked with “the caves” and had no luck there either. Gary said the caves are a place where unclaimed things go to be destroyed or sold. Gary also admitted that there was no audit trail for John’s package like there should have been. Basically, once it leaves over goods: its gone. John says Gary also admitted to him that over goods had enough information to know who the shipper and recipient of the item was.

John says he pretty much knew the package was gone for good at this point. Sort of similar to the way a search and rescue mission in a remote area becomes a body recovery mission after a certain period of time goes by. At this point, John pretty much switched to trying to recover his loss from a financial standpoint. Something that has not happened as of press time.

The Quest for Answers:

At this point, John did some detective work. He called the local UPS Pack and Send in Independence, MO and tried to find out more about the caves. They told him its a place where people can go and bid on pallets of goods and that they also sell the stuff on eBay. John then called the local paper in Independence and got some help from a lady there who searched the classifieds for him and told him about Recovery Service Outlet (RSO) and RMC. She gave him the numbers and he called them up.

Editor’s Note: In August, 2002, RSO changed its name to Cargo Largo, as reported in the Kansas City Business Journal. Read on for details of how we link Cargo Largo to RMC/RSO.

He called RMC and left a message for “Darryl” saying he was doing a story on lost UPS packages and his telephone number. Dave Meyers - who shares a last name with officers on several annual reports filed with the Missouri Secretary of State for RMC - returned that message stating that he was not at liberty to talk about his client UPS as well as denying that he was an affiliate of UPS. He did admit that someone might be able to buy back what they were relieved of on eBay, since the company sold lots of stuff on there.

After being finished with RMC, he called RSO and Joan answered the phone “Cargo Largo”. She told John that every Tuesday from 2 to 8 PM the public can bid on nearly 1,000 skids of goods in addition to around 400 single items. She said the items have even included the likes of small ultralight airplanes. So now John knew where his items finally came to rest. But no one at RMC/RSO or Cargo Largo helped look for John’s items. Presumably by this time they were already sold long ago. John then focused his efforts back on UPS.

On 01/28/05, John sent UPS this letter, asking them to locate the items or pay to replace them. UPS’s response to his letter was to issue him a check on 02/04/05 for the amount of $111.89. John got the check and never deposited it. “They owe me alot more than $111.89, cashing that would be telling them I accept that as a settlement, which I don’t”, I recall him saying on that topic. Later, on 10/19/05, UPS sent a letter to John asking him why he had not cashed the check and he replied back telling them why.

UPS never responded to John’s letter.

So Here is My Take:

If there was enough tracking data to scan the package (how would you apply that specific signature to that specific package, if the label was gone, destroyed or detached from the item? You have to have a label or you can’t scan it) when it got to overgoods, there should have been enough data to find out whose package it was and send it on to them. The fact that they were able to scan it and the fact that the signature appeared showing it being signed for at Virginia proves that beyond any doubt.

They didn’t bother to do that. No one bothered to do anything - except they did send John a small check for his package. All ground packages are insured for $100 whether you buy any insurance or not. Obviously, John’s package was worth alot more than that. And why bother looking real hard for it - it wasn’t an insured package - the most it could cost UPS was $100. It’s easier (and probably cheaper) to just to send the customer their $100 and sell their stuff at the caves or send it in for “controlled destruction”, as they like to say. Packages whose ownership could be easily ascertained with a minimum amount of intelligence or effort. Overgoods is supposed to log and describe incoming goods in a manifest, which should make finding items a matter of reading down the list to identify possible candidates and taking a walk down the isle to see what the deal is. Instead, they sent John’s package to overgoods, which in turn sent it off to the tombs - label attached as we established above - and a staffer at RMC took over from there.

What Cargo Largo/RMC Do, Exactly:

So, who, exactly is Cargo Largo and RMC? What do they do and how do they do it?

Well, according to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, Cargo Largo is dba owned by RMC, a for-profit corporation organized under the laws of Missouri. It is interesting to note that the Secretary of State revoked RMC’s corporate charter back in 1992 when they failed to file their annual report on time. Their charter was later reinstated. So, Cargo Largo is the public side of the operation and RMC is the private side.

According to Cargo Largo’s website, Cargo Largo “was founded in 1991 by Dee Pack, on the principals of integrity, accountability, responsiveness, innovation & performance.” and “is a leader in the sale of undelivered and excess inventory to wholesale and retail customers. Our clients, who include many of the most recognized names in shipping, distribution and retailing, supply us merchandise as diverse as diamonds, diapers, drill presses and dill pickles. We operate from facilities in Independence, MO, and Akron, OH, and attract bargain-hunting shoppers from around the globe; serving about 30,000 customers weekly.”

In 2001, The Sacramento Business Journal mentioned the fact that RMC was planning to open a store there. Its not known if that store still exists, as the Cargo Largo website only shows two stores: the Independence location and the location in Akron, Ohio. A story in the Kansas City Business Journal mentions RMC’s plans to open an east coast store. As far as I can tell, that has not happened yet.

In addition to selling through their stores and at face to face auctions and who knows what else, they also sell on eBay under at least two separate eBay User IDs. Both accounts have attained Power Seller status. CargoLargoREX is their Akron, Ohio operation and CargoLargo seems to list items out of the Independence, Missouri store. Calls and e-mails to eBay seeking comment on this story were not returned.

Possibly a coincidence, though I doubt it, around the time John had his little chat with Dave Meyers at RMC, a large section of the RMC/Cargo Largo website disappeared. That section contained a document wherein RMC bragged about how well they kept track of things and how they follow the law so well. Haven’t they made fencing stolen property a crime in Missouri yet? I can see where they might not want that online anymore. Oh well. Its here for the world to see now.

Perhaps the best joke of this whole thing is the fact just a few months ago, RMC had a booth at The Trucking Security & Law Enforcement Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida. The conference is a meeting of the who’s who in transportation industry theft investigations and prevention programs, as well as the companies who provide them with the tools of that trade. Like I said, RMC was setup there and in the program for the convention, RMC had a little space to tell attendees what they do. One of the things they mentioned as a key component of their offering was their ability to satisfy their client’s “need to move it in a ’silent’ non-visible channel…”. Presumably, “it” refers to the “unclaimed freight” and “undeliverable items” that its clients have possession of. Isn’t it ironic that a company that earns a living selling cargo items allegedly stolen from customers of shipping companies, on behalf those same companies that could be defrauding its customers by “losing” uninsured packages for profit?

Conclusion:

From all outward appearances, its my opinion that UPS negligently (if not intentionally) committed outright theft with regard to John’s shipment with the intent of profiting from it and RMC helped them do it. Could RMC be nothing more than a fence for items that UPS can’t be bothered to return to its customers? I have no doubt at all that they have done this to plenty of other people. And because it was not an insured shipment, John lost several hundred dollars in nearly irreplaceable merchandise and time.

Should you have to buy insurance to keep your shipment from being stolen and sold at some junk dealer in some out of the way place like Independence, MO or Akron, OH? Doesn’t that sound more like something the mafia would be involved in?

Well, thats UPS’s game and this is how they play it. If you ship with them, your package might be next.

Notes, Observations and Assorted Facts Pertaining Hereto:

• UPS has removed information pertaining to all of these tracking numbers from its website. Supposedly, they get removed from the site after a certain amount of time. Thankfully, John documented the so-called “Signature Proof of Delivery“. That was the key right there.
• John says he still has his stale-dated $111.89 check. He refuses to cash it to this day, saying it does not adequately compensate him for the losses he incurred. His package never has been returned.
• In a 2003 interview I gave to Smart Money Magazine (which was later published on 11/11/2003), I complained about UPS’s address correction fee. When the article was published, Smart Money had contacted UPS to see what their take was. UPS spokesperson Steve Holmes said the company stands by their fee. “That’s a legitimate cost to us,”, Holmes said. “I would love to show people what our employees go through trying to correct an address” after packages get bounced back to a UPS center. “We actually resort to combing through phone books.” In John’s case, no one looked through any phone books. Nobody even paid attention to the label on the box. Even though the address was correct.
• In that same Smart Money piece mentioned above, UPS talked about its overgoods warehouse. Therein, a customer explains how she sent two piece of luggage from Pennsylvania to her new home in Minnesota: one made it, the other did not. The one that didn’t make it contained her engagement ring. Holmes said UPS opens and examines things sent to overgoods. “We’ll open a box before it ends up at the warehouse,” Holmes says, “and look for any information that might help us figure out where it’s supposed to go.” With John’s items, no one even looked at the label. If they opened it, they don’t seem to have been too interested in finding out who it should go to.
• Back when I had the Package Registry section on this site (which contained a list of packages lost, stolen or otherwise unaccounted for and a link to track them on the UPS website to verify my claim), someone hacked into the site and changed John’s tracking number in the registry to an invalid number.

What Could UPS Do Better:

Oh, where do we begin here? In John’s case, it was as simple as looking at the label still attached to the box. What happened in John’s case was an absolutely inexcusable combination of incompetence, laziness, negligence and indifference to the plight of a customer. In cases like John’s, the solution is obvious: send those responsible for the situation to the unemployment office.

I do admit that labels do sometimes become detached from packages or unreadable and for those cases some innovative thinking is required. One possible solution is for UPS to make a better label that doesn’t fall off. In most cases, UPS provides the label customers use to ship with, or provides them with a pouch to stick a printed piece of paper in that works as a label. Stronger adhesive may help avoid this problem.

Another possible solution would be to establish a program whereby packages whose label has become detached or the package becomes open are re-packaged, the packing and enclosures included in the new package and sent off to a station that researches the origins of the shipment and utilizes information on the products itself to try to identify an owner. For instance, if several cases of the same item wind up in such a department, its safe to assume that those cases were likely sent by a manufacture or distributor of such an item. An internet search would likely reveal who makes such an item and they could be contacted to see if they were the owners of it. The owners of patents and trademarks can be ascertained with simple online searches on free government websites. Supposedly, that is sort of what over goods is supposed to be doing- but as we can see here - something isn’t working out too well.

These are just a few examples of what UPS could do to make sure its packages get where they need to go. But like I’ve mentioned before: they can’t be bothered with that. It costs too much.

What Does UPS and/or Cargo Largo Have to Say?

Cargo Largo aka RMC did not return our message left on Friday at 6 PM with “Liz”. They also do not have a contact on their website for e-mail of any kind, otherwise we would have sent them the same thing we sent UPS (a link to the story pre-publication and a request for comments) via e-mail. We would have been very interested to see what they had to say. We did advise them that the story would be released at 5 PM CST on Monday (and we even gave them an extra couple of hours) and they simply ignored us. We have since printed and mailed a copy of this story to their corporate office and are waiting to see if they reply.

Over the weekend, we were able to speak with UPS Spokeswoman Ronna Brann who referred us to UPS Spokesman Norman Black. Norman gave us a statement today by e-mail, which we are going to print verbatim in it’s entirety (minus his contact information) because, quite honestly, it seems to be a genuine response with minimal spin. We have replied back to Norman and asked him if he can or will tell us more about what happened in this situation.

“UPS has developed a very extensive and technologically advanced system for trying to identify and locate missing packages. The company has invested millions of dollars in this system, and devotes much more time and attention than any competitor to identifying missing items. UPS stores goods for a minimum three months, and five months if it’s a personal item, to facilitate searches for owners. Our competitors, by contrast, immediately liquidate.

UPS does not discuss the work of individual vendors. Even if items ultimately are liquidated, however, it certainly does not produce a profit for UPS and does not cover the cost of maintaining an effective overgoods system.”

UPS Spokesman Norman Black, 12/17/2008, via e-mail to unitedpackagesmashers.com.

I don’t doubt the truthfulness of Norman’s statement. I honestly believe they do spend alot of time dealing with overgoods-bound package and that they have invested millions in their system. But in this case, they did woefully little. They could have - and should have - done alot more.