Ups Mail Boxes Etc

Do NOT use UPS Mail Boxes Etc. All of the stores are local franchises, so if you ever have any serious problems, you will get ZERO support from UPS or MBE at a corporate level. Your contracts are with your LOCAL franchise owner, not corporate UPS, and not corporate MBE.
So, if your local store goes out of business, they will just drop the ball completely and you are stuck with ZERO support from MBE or corporate UPS. They don’t even have your contract information or credit card information to give you a refund. And you will be the one running around changing your address yet again, and trying to track down your mail, notifying customers of your address change, standing in line at the Post Office to get your held mail, doing your change of address forms, etc.,
So good luck trying to get a refund from UPS. They don’t have any of your records, contracts or anything to even give you a refund. That’s all kept by the local franchise guy, NOT UPS or MBE!
Here’s my story of the terrible experience I had with UPS/​MBE:
I set up a mailbox at my local UPS store for a new small business I had started. After putting the address on business cards and making changes to web site and marketing materials, the local store proceeded to go out of business. No one at UPS bothered to notify me, I simply found an «Out of Business» notification taped to the store window. I had to drive to another town to get any back-​logged mail and they proceeded to give me someone else’s mail. I then had to drive back again and return it. The mail was things like a child support check for a woman in my home town. I asked it he would make sure it got returned or delivered to her. He said that was not his job and he was doing corporate a favor by simply holding this mail for them. I then drove to the post office get any additionally held mail, and they said I need to do a change of address because the mail would be return to sender soon. I then was supposed to drive to another town to a different UPS local store that might honor my previous contract with the other local guy.
I was frustrated so I called the MBE 888 number and it said they were on memorial day holiday (this was on wednesday, 2 days after the holiday). I then call UPS 800 number and they said they couldn’t help me because its an MBE problem and problems like this are the responsibility of the local store. I said my local store was out of business, they said there is nothing they could do, but they would have a local marketing person contact me within 24 hours.
Three days later, I still had not been contacted and called the 800 number back. They said nothing they can do, someone will contact me in 24 hours. Again, no contact, so I submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. After another week of back and forth with several people. Finally, MBE support asked what they could do to compensate me. I said simply give me something in return like 6 months free or anything to help alleviate the hassles and expenses of me having to waste my time running around and now the expense of redoing my business cards and marketing materials. And I still have to go back to stand in line again at the post office to do a change of address once I get a new address somewhere else!
They then contacted me and said it was all set and the other town would honor my existing contract. I said, what? I thought you were going to compensate me for my costs. They said, they have, they are honoring the original contract. I said I want a refund. They said they don’t have any of my records, because its all franchises and they don’t even know how much I paid for my account. So, now I need to find my old receipt, mail it to corporate, and then they will process a refund.
I’m not holding my breathe. What a hassle. Its the typical big corporation excuses of its not my problem, thats another department, or the local franchise, or the wholly owned subsidiary (MBE in this case). Well then why does it say UPS in huge letters on every local store?
You should know that UPS does NOT back these stores and you will be stuck with all the headache and all the legwork if you have problems with a local store. Its says UPS, but its not, your contract is just with a local guy down the street who will do what he wants with your mail and what he wants with his store (including closing it without notifying you or delivering your mail).