UPS Delivers Prized Sports Card Collection To Wrong Address; Refuses To Pay Up Until CBS 2 Investigators Get Involved
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A family's prized collection of sports cards was lost when they were shipped across the country and UPS delivered them to the wrong address. UPS then offered to pay only $100 for a collection that the family claimed was worth more than $42,000, until CBS 2 Investigator Dorothy Tucker stepped in.
When the Cubs clinched the World Series in 2016, Nick Meyers was there. When he got married a year later, he had to snap a picture in front of Wrigley Field.
"He is all about sports," said his mother, Shirley Meyers.
Nick once worked at the United Center, and at Wrigley Field. He also collected sports cards, including some passed down from his grandfather.
"He had Dick Butkus. He had Bobby Hull. I mean, these are going back to the 60s," Shirley said.
The collection also included a 1991 Michael Jordan card the family believed was worth more than $2,400, and a 1961 Stan Mikita card worth more than $8,200.
When Nick moved to Seattle last year, his mother took all of his cards out of binders, and had her husband take them to a UPS store to ship them to Nick.
"He wanted to have these for his children. We never thought in a million years that UPS would lose this," she said.
But UPS did lose the cards. The tracking history from UPS showed the package was delivered on July 3, but 10 days later UPS had "begun an investigation," because Nick never received the package.
That's when Shirley discovered the address on the shipping label was wrong.
"The address they put on here is 252. They live at 525 ," she said.
When Nick went to that address three blocks away from his home, his package wasn't there. He was too upset to speak to CBS 2 on camera, but agreed to make a video to send to UPS.
"I spent many years of my childhood collecting and finding and holding very near and dear; and now it's all gone," he said.
Shirley didn't have pictures of the cards, so she made a long list of them, adding up to a total value of $42,432.67.
However, UPS said it would not reimburse the family for the lost cards, stating it only had to pay $100, because Nick's father signed off on the shipping label, and never put a value on the contents of the package.
However, Nick's father said he never saw the label, and when Shirley asked for proof her husband had signed it, the store sent a copy of the document. The signature line was blank.
"This breaks my heart. This is my son's history," Shirley said.
CBS 2 called UPS corporate offices, and before we could send Nick's video, UPS investigated and concluded the store made some mistakes, and is sending Shirley a check for $10,000.
Shirley said her son plans to use the money to replace a couple of the cards.
The Meyers are not professional collectors. They used a website referred by a friend called sportsmemorbilia.com. According to some professional collectors, that site has a reputation for inflating prices.
CBS 2 spoke with those collectors, who reviewed about a half dozen of the more valuable cards, and determined they were worth about $1,000--possibly more depending on the condition. For example, a near mint condition 1964 Bobby Hull card would be worth $2,700 but is very rare. The Meyers provided a list of about 80 cards to UPS to determine their calculation.
However, UPS had the Meyers' list of lost cards since October of 2018, and ultimately apologized for what happened:
"We are extremely sorry for the matter and inconvenience to Mrs. Meyers and her family. The UPS Store locations are locally owned and operated and the store involved did not follow existing policies and procedures and has taken responsibility for the lost package. Our customer relations team has spoken to Mrs. Meyers this morning relating our sincerest apologies and confirmed with her that we are providing compensation for the lost package in the amount of $10,000."
UPS said, to avoid similar situations, customers should make sure to declare a value on the contents of a package, and confirm the shipping address before the package is sent.