Should have I been charged for a box?

Hey, UPS store employees! I was hoping somebody could give me some more info about my situation. Honestly, at this point, I’ve spent way too much time over a measly seven dollars, but I am just looking for vindication.

I canceled Xfinity service at my home and chose the option to drop off the Xfinity modem at the UPS store. The instructions on Xfinity‘s website clearly state you can bring your modem in without packaging and a UPS store will pack and ship it at no charge. I brought in the printed out label that I got from Xfinity with me to the UPS store.

When I got into the store, there were two people working, a guy at the cashier and another guy in the back who seemed like he might have been the manager or the owner or something. I went up to the cashier and told him I was there to return a modem and showed him the UPS label I had printed out. I asked him if he would be able to box it up for me and he said yes, but that he would charge me for the box. I told him that the Xfinity website says that the UPS store will box and ship it at no charge. The cashier turned and looked to the other guy standing in the back and that guy said “that’s wrong.”

I tried to show him the article on my phone, but he wasn’t interested. So I said to him “are you saying that the Xfinity website is wrong?” . He simply said yes. So I paid the $7 and left.

At that point I should have just dropped it, but I had some spare time on my hands. So I called Xfinity support and told them the above story. They said UPS shouldn’t have charged you for box. Then I called UPS store customer support. They also said they shouldn’t have charged for me for the box and that I should file a claim. I tried to file a claim, but I got an error saying the tracking number wasn’t created at a UPS store.

So my question to you guys is, who is right? Are Xfinity and the UPS Store Customer Support people right that i shouldn’t have been charged? Or was the store employee right?

I did some quick googling and found that people sometimes think they’re at a UPS store but it’s really just an independent shop that does things with UPS. So I checked and this was a legit UPS store. #XXXX.

Again, I know we’re talking about $7 here and that it’s not that big of a deal. But damnit I want to know who is right!

Here’s the Xfinity link: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/returning-your-equipment