He hadn’t placed any orders, but Peter Harris got an unwelcome surprise delivery from FedEx to his Toronto residence in May.
Security camera video appeared to capture one of the courier company’s drivers rolled over his prized motorcycle on the street in front of his home and then left without even stopping.
“I had something worth $12,000 and now I have something worth $5,800,” said Harris, who works as an insurance broker.
On May 23, Harris was at home when neighbours began calling out on the street that his bike had been run over.
“It took me a couple of seconds to realize what happened, that he (the FedEx driver) had hit the motorcycle and had run away,” said neighbour Nomena Raharinosy, who witnessed the collision.
After informing Harris, the East York resident retrieved security video from two cameras that look out onto the front street.
The videos appear to show the FedEx driver running over the 2009 Suzuki Boulevard C50, fitted with an array of customized equipment.
Harris contacted FedEx through a Twitter message and subsequently sent emails to the company’s Canadian CEO, Lisa Lisson.
“Please someone call me,” Harris had asked.
Harris said FedEx was cooperative with him during a series of emails. He was directed to file a claim with his insurance company, which he did. But as is frequently the case, the insurance company paid out less than the amount it would cost to replace the written-off motorcycle.
“It’s that gap between actual cash value and replacement cost that so many of my clients and I find myself in,” said Harris.
Harris was paid $5,831 by the insurance company, but it cost him $15,297 to replace the bike.
The replacement motorcycle, the same model, was manufactured in 2018.
“The (original) bike was mint, it was in really good condition and had been well-loved, and finding a bike of that calibre in that condition with those customizations did not exist,” said Harris.
Harris said the base cost of the newer motorcycle was only $2,000 more than what he paid for the other motorcycle about a year ago.
He told Global News that considering the FedEx driver’s actions, and his loss, the company should make up at least some of the difference between what his insurance company paid out and what he needed to spend on the replacement.
But the courier company said it considers Harris’s requests for compensation under the circumstances “unreasonable.”
The company “regrets the incident where one of our couriers accidentally damaged Mr. Harris’ parked motorcycle,” wrote James Anderson, spokesperson for FedEx Express Canada in a statement.
“From the onset, we suggested that Mr. Harris proceed through his insurance consistent with the process for vehicle accidents in Ontario,” he said.
But FedEx, despite admitting its driver was responsible for wrecking the motorcycle, refused to make up any of the difference between the cash value and replacement value.
“We believe this to be inappropriate and unreasonable,” wrote Anderson.
Harris, who provided detailed accounting to Global News and FedEx, said the courier company ought to step up and take responsibility for the damage its driver caused.
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said.