" Fly-Away Pole Protection, LLC has been the shining light in this dwindling market. Chris Boyles’ background as a decathlete, who personally experienced the headaches of trying to get his poles to a meet, has come up with a quick, secure, dependable, affordable way to get your pole from point "A" to point "B" and back. "
SHIPPING QUESTIONS
How long does it take to ship poles to a competition?
What happens if my poles don’t arrive at a competition on time?
Do you provide shipping and insurance coverage for trips outside of the continental United States?
Why am I required to notify FPP prior to every trip? What happens if I don’t and poles are broken/damaged?
Can I have my poles shipped directly to the competition site?
CLAIMS
If a pole breaks during shipping, do I have to get the exact same replacement pole, or can I get a different size?
Once I process a claim, how long will it take for me to get a replacement pole(s)?
Am I required to send in my broken/damaged pole(s)?
What if I don’t have a damage report form with me when I find that a pole has been broken/damaged/lost?
REGISTRATION
Does I have to register with Fly-Away Pole Protection?
INSURANCE
Am I required to have insurance?
Why do I need insurance for my pole-vault poles?
Is there a deductible or any other financial obligation if a pole(s) is/are broken?
What happens if a pole breaks during competition? Am I covered?
OTHER
What do I do if I arrive at the hotel / competition site and can’t find my poles?
What do I do if I arrive at the hotel / competition site and find that my pole(s) have been damaged/broken in transit?
If I ship frequently, is my information stored so future shipments can be handled more efficiently?
How is the value of a pole determined?
Why does the bill of lading show a declared value of $500? My poles are valued much higher!
PRICING/FEES
Is there an annual fee to be registered with FPP?
How long does it take to ship poles to a competition?
Our standard service ships to/from most locations in 2 business days. We also ship frequently with an overnight service (available for most areas). These service typically arrive in the advertised time. If it is imperative that your poles arrive at a competition by a certain date, we recommend either shipping out 1 day early using our standard service, or shipping with our guaranteed service (overnight and 2nd day available). Note that some remote locations are considered beyond points (Fayetteville, Albuquerque, College Station, etc) and cannot be reached in 1 business day, so plan ahead! It's always better to plan on having your poles shipped a day early!
Contact FPP for a rate quote today!
What happens if my poles don’t arrive at a competition on time?
Due to the size of pole vault bags, it becomes very difficult to 100% guarantee a delivery. We do offer shipping with a "guaranteed service", which arrives on time 99% of the time. If you ship with a guaranteed service and your poles do not arrive in time for competition, we will reimburse you for a portion of the shipping fees. You will not find any company out there willing to reimburse shipping charges for vault poles (as there is no "guaranteed service for such oversized items"), but we want our clients to understand how committed we are to providing the best service available for transporting pole vault poles! If you're poles are delayed due to weather or mechanical issues, it is out of our control and we are unable to provide any reimbursement. Please plan ahead, if weather looks like it's coming, ship your poles a day early!
Do you provide shipping and insurance coverage for trips outside of the continental United States?
Poles registered with FPP will not be covered if they are shipped outside of the United States. Most of the time, we are able to provide shipping services outside of the continental United States, however, these shipments will NOT be fully insured.
Contact FPP to inquire about International shipments.
Why am I required to notify FPP of the exact poles I'm shipping? What happens if I don’t and poles are broken/damaged?
It is imperative that FPP knows the exact poles you are traveling with.. This way, we know the total value at risk at any given period of time. This is done to protect us against potentially fraudulent claims. Unfortunately, if you do not notify us of exact poles being shipped,, we will not be liable and not be able to cover those poles.
Can I have my poles shipped directly to the competition site?
We do our best to work with the meet organizers to have a procedure in place for receiving poles at the competition site. If a receiving location has not been arranged at the competition site, we recommend shipping them to the hotel at which you will be staying. Note if you're a college coach and are willing to receive poles for the competitions you host, others will do the same in return. If we all begin to work together, we can make this a very efficient process for all.
If a pole breaks during shipping, do I have to get the exact same replacement pole, or can I get a different size?
Broken poles will be replaced with the exact pole that was damaged, lost or stolen. Should the broken pole not be manufactured anymore, it will be replaced with a pole of equal specifications, as determined by the manufacturer.
Am I required to send in my broken/damaged pole(s)?
In many cases, when you receive your replacement pole(s), we will require you to place the broken/damaged pole(s) inside of the tubes in which the new poles were sent and ship them to FPP (at the expense of FPP).
Once I process a claim, how long will it take for me to get a replacement pole?
We will do all we can to expedite the claims process and get replacement poles out to you as quickly as possible. Depending on the inventory of the manufacturer's, some poles require additional time to ship.
What if I don’t have an damage report form with me when I find that a pole has been broken/damaged/lost?
If you don’t have a form with you and cannot print from the form from the FPP website in a timely manner, please call FPP immediately and we will provide you with all of the information you need to collect. When you are able to access the forms later, please transfer the information and submit it immediately so we can process your claim and get you a replacement! You must contact us as soon as you inspect the poles and notice damage that may have occurred from shipping.
Do I have to register to ship with Fly-Away Pole Protection?
We must collect certain information from all clients prior to any shipments, including contact information,, default pickup locations (to expedite any future shipments) and the list of poles you're shipping. It is imperative we collect certain information for insurance purposes so we're able to handle claims more efficiently. If you (or your school) have not provided us with the exact poles you're transporting prior to shipment, you WILL NOT qualify for insurance!
Am I required to have insurance?
Fly-Away Pole Protection includes full-insurance coverage in all of our shipments. This is part of what makes us unique and unlike ANY company out there! Trust us, if something happens to your poles, you'll soon realize how valuable insurance coverage really is.
Why do I need insurance for my pole-vault poles?
All it takes is one bad experience to ruin your day, or season! If you’ve been in the sport for a while and/or shipped or traveled with vaulting poles, you’ve certainly come in contact with people who have had their poles broken or lost in transit! This can be thousands of dollars lost in an instant, as well as giant headaches, while trying to trying to figure out how to replace them. FPP was created to give you a peace of mind about shipping and traveling with your poles, so that you can focus on what’s really important before the competition. We've created the opportunity to ship fully-insured poles for such a minimal cost that you can't afford to go without it!
Is there a deductible or any other financial obligation if a pole(s) is/are broken?
There is no deductible for broken/lost pole(s) shipped through FPP.
If you have a very old pole that is broken, you may be responsible for the difference between the depreciated value of the pole and the replacement cost of a new one. This is based on the age of the pole as stated by the table below:
1-4 years – 100%
5-8 years – 85%
9-12 years – 70%
13-15 years – 60%
16 or more – 50%
What happens if a pole breaks during competition? Am I covered?
At this time, coverage against breakage during competition is not available. We are looking at introducing this service for high school athletes in the near future if there is enough interest and possibly to all athletes in the future. Please contact FPP if this is a service that would interest you.
What do I do if I arrive at the hotel / competition site (or determined shipping location) and can’t find my poles?
Please contact FPP immediately, and we will assist you in finding them.
What do I do if I arrive at the hotel / competition site (or determined shipping location) and find that my pole(s) have been damaged/broken in transit?
Please contact FPP immediately (24hrs)! You will need to fill out and submit a damage/broken report form so that we can replace your pole(s) as quickly as possible. Please take photographs of the damaged poles with a camera or cell phone for documentation. If we aren't notified immediately (24hrs) and the pole(s) are removed from the bag and used, we will NOT be liable. You must notify us IMMEDIATELY of damage that may have occurred during shipping! We understand that things will happen from time to time and a pole(s) may be damaged. It is ultimately up to the discretion of Fly-Away Pole Protection to validate a claim.
If I ship frequently, is my information stored so future shipments can be handeled more efficiently?
Once you've provided all of the required information prior to your first shipment, setting up future shipments is very easy. You'll refer to the pole inventory form that you initially filled out. Each pole is associated with a number. For future shipments, you will reference the form and send an email or call FPP stating which poles you'll be shipping (ie. Chris, for our shipment to Wake Forest University, we'll be traveling with poles 1,4,5,6,13,14,18). We'll only need to confirm the pickup and delivery addresses and that's it!
How is the value of a pole determined?
The value of a pole is determined by a number of factors. We will look at the retail price for a pole with the exact specifications (make, length, flex) and then assume depreciation based off of the age of the pole. The depreciation is as follows:
1-4 years – 100%
5-8 years – 85%
9-12 years – 70%
13-15 years – 60%
16 or more – 50%
Why does the bill of lading show a declared value of $500? My poles are valued much higher!
Don't worry! Your poles are fully-insured! The couriers we utilize all maintain a $500 maximum insurable value on pole vault poles. We have our own additional coverage above and beyond the courier to protect the full value of your poles! Should your poles be damaged, lost or stolen, we would collect the $500 from our courier for that shipment and use that towards our deductible for the additional insurance coverage! All you need to know is that if something happens to your poles in transit, we'll take care of it!
Is there an annual fee to ship with FPP?
NO! We initially set up FPP as a membership service, offering discounted shipping rates to frequent travelers. Based on your feedback, we decided to change our structure and adpot a new slogan.... The More You Ship, The More You Save! For each shipment after the 1st, you'll receive a discount on shipping costs and no up-front fee is required. More information can be found on the shipping page of the site.