What to Do if Your Generator Arrives Damaged
You ordered a generator and eagerly anticipated its arrival for days. Factory shipments can take a few weeks or longer. All the waiting is about to end when the freight company calls to say they are ready to deliver. Plan to meet the truck and driver when the delivery arrives. Lift-gate service means they leave the generator at the end of your driveway on the pavement. It is up to you to have it moved to the final installation site or wherever it will await installation.
The freight company will contact you to make an appointment for delivery. You must keep this appointment and be there when the driver arrives. If you do not show up, they might hold you liable for return freight charges if they are unable to deliver the generator. Also, if you have a friend, neighbor, or family member meet the delivery driver, explain to them what to look for and not to sign if the generator is damaged.
The driver probably has other deliveries. He is not paid to stand around and has the clipboard or tablet ready for you to sign so he can be on his way.
Not so fast. The moment you sign, the condition of the generator becomes your responsibility and not the freight hauler. Once you sign, the hauler will not take responsibility for the generator if it is damaged. You paid a significant amount of money for it. Don’t get stuck with a repair bill for damage that wasn’t your fault.
Read our Shipping & Returns Policy for Additional Information
The Legalities of Signing
Your signature completes a legal document. When you accept a delivery, your signature states that you inspected the merchandise and found to be complete and in good condition without damage.
It is part of a chain of responsibility. While your generator sits in one of our warehouses, it is our responsibility. Once it leaves the warehouse, the generator is your responsibility, but the freight company is liable for any damages that occur while it is in their possession.
The freight company ships the generator to a freight terminal where it probably changes trucks or is picked up by a local hauler for delivery to your house. Generator deliveries require a special truck that can lower the unit to the ground. Norwall offers lift-gate service free of charge. The driver is only authorized to deliver it to your curb and not to your garage or anywhere on your property.
At your driveway, the driver lowers the generator to the ground for you to inspect. Take a good look before you sign. Regulations require you to examine and inspect the delivery as the driver unloads it and to inventory the items delivered to ensure they are all present. Your inspection and inventory must occur before you sign and before the driver leaves.
Read what you are signing. Too many people don’t read, or they sign without doing the inspection and inventory. Signing means that you received the generator undamaged and with all the parts. In other words, no shipping damage exists, and all the parts were delivered. After signing, the condition of the generator becomes your responsibility. Once you sign, the shipping company will deny that any damage found afterward was their fault and will instead say it happened after you took possession of it.
After all, you signed and said it was in perfect condition.
Okay. We don’t want to make the shipping company into a bad guy. They are just trying to make it the same as everyone else, but everyone must protect themselves in the process. Norwall, the freight company, and just as importantly, you.
Before you sign, you must inspect the product and you should.
This is why you open the packaging and look inside. Unless you do, you won’t have much recourse after the driver leaves and any damages are effectively your responsibility. Claims against a freight carrier once you accept delivery are frustratingly difficult and time-consuming.
Don’t Sign for a Generator That Appears Damaged
Remember. It does not matter how late the driver is or how much of a hurry he is in; they cannot leave until you sign the Bill of Lading or the Freight Bill. Once you are certain that the generator has arrived undamaged, then you can sign the delivery receipt. Be sure to ask for a copy if they don’t offer it.
If there are no obvious signs of damage and you accept delivery, do a thorough inspection right away. Call us within two days to report any hidden or concealed damage.
You Ordered a Standby Generator – What Comes Next?
Obvious Signs of Damage
Start with the container. It might look like a cardboard box. The factory straps generators to pallets with four corner posts and packs any accessories on top of the generator, but inside the box. The box slips over the top. Some brands use boxes with flaps; others slide the box over the pallet corner posts. Lift the box up or pry open the flaps—pull the staples up if you must.
The driver cannot require a signature before you inspect it, and that means having a reasonable look inside. If he objects to you opening the box, mention that claims regulations state that you must inspect, examine, and inventory the goods before you accept, and that means looking inside to ensure there is no damage or any missing boxes.
- Take a good look at the container. Obviously, it should be the brand you ordered. Then look for damage to the box.
- Torn, ripped, or crushed boxes often indicate damage. Look inside the box for dented cabinets, broken accessories that fell off the top, or any other damage.
- Holes or slits about five inches wide might indicate a forklift hit the box. Look inside.
- Oil or Liquid Stains. Generators ship with the oil in the engine. Stains may indicate damage to the generator or that that something happened which caused the oil to leak out. Look inside to see where the damage occurred so you can document it, but refuse the delivery.
- Stretch wrap on the box. We don’t use it. Sometimes when a carton is damaged, the shipping company will wrap it with stretch wrap to hold the box together. Ask why they wrapped it up. Look inside for signs of damage even if you must cut the stretch wrap.
- Taped up boxes or unsealed tape falling off the box. Was it opened? If it does not look like a factory job, someone added tape after it left the warehouse—another reason to look inside for damage.
If you suspect damage, use your cell phone to take pictures for proof. Do this before you open the carton or box.
Don’t Sign for a Damaged Generator
Ask for the Delivery Receipt, Bill of Lading, or Freight Bill. Mark it REFUSED FOR DAMAGE and Write down the visible or suspected damage and return it to the driver. DO NOT SIGN. Tell the driver you are refusing shipment because the unit is damaged.
In Case of Damage, Do Not Sign the Delivery Receipt, Bill of Lading, or Freight Bill.
At this point, the driver should put the generator back on the truck and leave.
Call Norwall PowerSystems (855-453-4494) right away and tell them you refused shipment. Have your order information ready. We will verify the refusal with the freight company and get things moving to send a replacement generator out to you as quickly as possible.