Foward Air

I used Forward Air (FA) in conjunction with South African Airways to deliver a Zimbabwean sculpture to me. On 11/30/17, I visited FA in Irving, TX to pick up my piece. FA broke procedure and protocol by making me pay their freight fee prior to inspection. After paying the $40 fee, an FA factory employee carried the freight box to my car and noted the box was already open--I opened it and found my artwork was in pieces. I went inside and was met with an FA administrative staffer who told me I shouldn't have opened my freight on their property--I collected cargo claim paperwork from another staffer. My claim was denied by Chad J for a "clear POD" (again, my freight wasn't released to me for inspection and after it was, I then filled out a form with a description of the damage). The claim was also denied for "original artwork" and "inherently fragile." FA purportedly does not ship artwork and yet it did. I wasn't aware of their "no artwork" policy, as the artist set up shipping arrangements. Further, FA's bottom line is obviously making a dollar since it DID ship my artwork and should be held accountable for breaking my sculpture. At the very least and in the interest of customer service, I shouldn't have been charged for them to deliver broken freight to me. My claim was denied, but not because FA denies fault in any way. Between South African Airways and Forward Air, it must've been Forward Air's staff that broke my sculpture based upon FA's response to my claim.