Plasma screen cracked during shipping?

[MacFan25863]

Ok, so the TV Production program at my school ordered a brand new 42in LG plasma for use in our TV studio. We placed the purchase back in June, and the set arrived (and was signed for by the district) in the beginning of July at our school district's warehouse. Since school was out for summer, it sat in the warehouse until now, when it was delivered to our school. Today we unpacked the set and were saddened to find a giant crack in the screen. The district shipping people (who take the screen from the district warehouse to the school) say they aren't responsible, and UPS says that any shipping defects must be reported within 10 days of delivery (which would have been impossible since the district just gave it to us). The company we bought it from says it's UPS's fault and not theirs.

Any suggestions as to what to do? We worked really hard to be able to afford the Plasma (a lot of fundraising and grant requests) so it's not exactly like we can cut our losses and buy a new one...

 

[PumaGuy]

Ask the if they would like to be in Michael Moore's new movie... just joking

Get on the phone with either of the two parties and be argumentative, while at the same time, hassle them with legal threats.

my 2 cents.

 

[Peel]

So sorry to hear that. Plasmas should NEVER be shipped or moved in a horizontal position. The weight of the screen is enough to crack it if there's any bumps at all while transporting. All the plasma screen distributors that I've seen attach a device called a "tip and tell" to the box before shipping. This is basically a plastic sticker that contains a fine colored powder in the bottom and a channel going up from the powder reservoir in either direction like a V. If the unit is tipped during transport the powder goes up one of the channels and gets trapped. The facilities people shouldn't have accepted the unit if this was the case.

 

[-DH]

I'd have to say it's primarily the district warehouse people's fault for accepting the container without inspecting it within the proper time period. Now no one can say if the damage occurred from the UPS shipping or the delivery by the district warehouse driver. I would assume that the district has insurance of some sort ... I'd keep the pressure on the powers that be to make the warehouse people make this right.

-DH