I wrote previously about the extortionate “brokerage” fees charged by UPS and FedEx for imports into Canada. That post has attracted a huge volume of response from other enraged people. I have learned more since then, including an interesting response direct from the Canada Border Services Agency.
If you contact UPS, they’ll tell you that you can indeed clear your package through customs yourself, but you have to do so at the customs office in the same town as the UPS depot where your shipment is being held. For me, receiving shipments into Ontario, it would either be Fort Erie or Windsor. They can’t tell you in advance which it will be. But either way, it’s a long drive.
One option that might be acceptable for some people is to use a shipping depot inside the US. You just have your package shipped to the depot. They’ll hold onto it for you until you come get it. Some of them, remailing services, will actually ship it on to you themselves, but then you may end up getting the same brokerage treatment again.
I was considering trying CBI Usa in Niagara Falls, NY. Their rates seem very reasonable, they’re easy to use, and I’ve seen mostly positive experiences reported on the web. But still, it’s a regrettable amount of driving.
I contacted Canada Border Services Agency by email to get their take on doing your own customs clearance:
I’m trying to find a way to import a package by UPS from the US. I refuse to pay their extortionate brokerage fee. I would sooner burn the money than gave it to those bastards (more colourful terms come to mind, but I’m trying to keep this polite.)
As I understand it, I have no choice but to deal with the Customs office in the town where they hold my package, which is going to be either Fort Erie or Windsor. I don’t know why that is, there’s a customs office at the KW airport 15 minutes drive from me, but there it is. But UPS can’t tell me which in advance which office the package would go through. I’d guess Windsor.
After I found out which of those two offices it was, would it be possible for me to complete the clearance process by phone, fax or Internet? It’s a simple process, right? I just give you the Harmonized Codes, you calculate what I owe, and I pay you, probably by credit card. No part of this strictly requires my physical presence. I can’t see any good reason why, in this day of high-speed Internet in every home, I can’t do this whole process in my pyjamas from the comfort of my bedroom.
If we can’t figure out a reasonable way to do this without uselessly converting another tank of fuel into greenhouse gases, then it just won’t happen. I’m not going to pay off those UPS criminals to do this trivial thing (and probably do it wrong) on my behalf. Or rather, it probably will happen, but it will happen by way of me driving to the US to pick up the package myself from a maildrop service. It’s actually a shorter drive to Niagara Falls, NY than to Fort Erie.
But it would be really damn stupid for me to have to do that. There has to be a better way. Tell me what it is.
When I said UPS would probably do the clearance wrong, I wasn’t kidding. My first ever experience with courier brokerage was some X-10 home-automation gear imported via FedEx. After I learned more about this stuff, I figured out that they had use the wrong Harmonized Codes for some of the gear. Because they basically had no idea what the stuff was, they were just looking for similar-sounding words. Fortunately, the codes they picked had the same (ie, zero) tariff rates, so I didn’t get burned that way.
CBSA’s first response to this email was unhelpful, merely referring me to web-pages about Licensed Customs Brokers, and Importing Non-Commercial Goods By Mail. Both of which I had already read, and which did not address the essential question: can I deal with customs at my local office, or by phone, fax, or email, and if not, why not?
After a long delay, I received a second rather more helpful response:
This is in response to your e-mail concerning the clearance of non-commercial goods imported by courier. It should be noted that your inquiry was originally forwarded to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Client Services in Windsor, Ontario, who attempted to contact you in person to discuss your concerns. Client Services was unable to reach you, thus requiring the preparation of a written reply, and hence the delay in responding.
In some instances, an individual who has imported goods by courier may wish to pay the duties and taxes owing for a shipment released under the Courier Program rather than using the accounting services of the courier or agent. Such shipments do not have to be accounted for at the office of release, but may be accounted for at any CBSA office. In situations such as these, the courier does not automatically release the shipment to the importer, but holds the goods until the importer presents satisfactory proof that the appropriate duties and taxes have been paid directly to the CBSA. In most cases, this would be a copy of the B15, Casual Goods Accounting Document. The importer is responsible for contacting the courier to make the necessary arrangements for this type of transaction.
It should be noted that every person who accounts for casual goods should provide, at the time of accounting and before the goods are released, a commercial invoice, current price list, bill of sale, or other similar document that describes the goods and contains enough information to enable an officer to determine the tariff classification and appraise the value for duty of the goods. In the case of courier shipments, the importer must also provide the unique shipment identifier number assigned by the courier to his or her particular shipment.
Payment of any applicable duties and taxes on casual importations can be made in cash, by money order, traveller’s cheque, bank draft, cheque, Visa, or MasterCard. Payment by debit card is also available at a number of sites.
Although the CBSA allows approved clients to transmit data electronically, this is not the case for casual, non-commercial importers such as you. Accounting for your goods must be done in person, and any monies owing must be paid at the time of accounting.
For additional information and/or clarification on accounting for casual importations, please contact Border Information Service (BIS) by telephone. You can access the BIS line free of charge throughout Canada by calling 1 800-461-9999. If you call during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time, Monday to Friday, except holidays), you can speak to an agent by pressing “0” at any time.
Thank you for contacting the CBSA.
Now that’s more like it! Straight from the horses mouth: UPS is full of shit. You can do your own customs clearance at your local customs office, you don’t have to drive to Windsor or Fort Erie!
Here’s a forum posting where a guy (“Drehkraft”) claims to have done it (“UPS REALLY hates this.”). He even used the same Kitchener airport terminal customs office I would use. I stopped by that customs office and asked them in person if I could do it, and they said it was no problem from their end.
That said, I haven’t yet actually done this myself. It remains to be seen if UPS will throw up arbitrary obstacles (“the B15 document must be faxed to us on yellow paper between 3:00am and 3:01am.”) But there is some homebrewing gear I’ve been planning to buy, hopefully I’ll get around to trying it soon.
331 responses to “Avoiding UPS/FedEx brokerage fees”
If you live close to the border you can have your item shipped to a KinekPoint and then go pick it up and clear customs yourself. http://shiptotheborder.com/finding-your-us-shipping-address
What a wonderful bit of advice. I hate UPS with a passion for all the times they have robbed me. I am expecting a parcel very shortly and am going to give this a try.
There were several successful self clearance cases in the last days. Looks like UPS starts to follow official procedures recommended by CBSA in official replies. The list of documents needed from UPS is:
– Courier’s name: UPS
– Unique shipment identifier number: UPS must provide
– Shipment’s invoice: UPS must provide
– Place where the package is being held
And that’s it! Take it to your local CBSA, pay taxes and get B15 back. Here are details of recent self clearance and some advices in comments as well:
http://trueler.com/2010/09/13/ups-brokerage-fees-total-scam-fraud-cheating-avoid-it/
I HAVE JUST RECEIVED A PARCEL BY UPS. PARCEL VALUED AT $143.00. THEY EXTORTED ME FOR BROKERAGE FEES OF $44.00. HOW CAN THE CANADIAN BORDER SERVICES AGENCY ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. WHY DON’T THEY DO THEIR JOB INSTEAD OF FARMING THE SERVICE OUT TO UPS TO GOUGE US?I WILL NEVER USE UPS IN THE FUTURE!!
I feel your pain… I think they need to do an investigative news report on UPS’s extortion practices, and air it on national TV.
Jim… it’s not Canada Border Services job to do the paperwork.
Just like it’s not your provincial vehicle licencing department’s job to fill your name into the driver’s licence form and sign it.
People just don’t get it….
Clearance fees are charged (and kept) by the shipping company, to pay for them having to fill out the forms for you.
If you fill out the forms yourself… you only pay the taxes & duty.. no customs clearance fees.
So either do the paperwork yourself as described in the letter from Canadian Border Services Agency… or have the shipment arrive via US Postal Service so that Canada Post handles the paperwork for the low fee of around $6.
FWIW.. Many times Canada Post doesn’t even charge the $6
ups robing people in the name of brokerage find out other alternative methods
If USPS is used to ship the package to Canada, there are never any brokerage fees charged period…FYI
Close enough. If Customs does decide to charge you taxes and/or duties and USPS/Canada Post is used for delivery, Canada Post only charge a flat rate of $5.00 on top of any taxes/duties.
UPS is run by the mafia. A good friend of mine dated a mamba if the Gambino crime family who has access to untold piles of cash, all delivered in the night by UPS guys…..
I just received a package from UPS and am pissed that they can charge $29.55 for clearing an Item valued at only $78. This is almost 40% of the items value. I have imported many items and have filled out the classification forms at the border on numerous occasions. This takes a matter of minutes… to be charged $29.55 for a few minutes work is simply gouging. Its time consumers were protected from this corporate raping. There needs to be a law enacted to protect consumers from this extortion. Strange how the Postal Service can do the same task for a token $5 or $10 fee.
I just paid 65 CAD as brokerage fee for 508 CAD item. Unfortunately there was no way to choose a different carrier. Seller did not give me a choice. Anyway, thanks to these posts I think I can avoid being robbed by UPS in the future.
Hi everyone,
I ordered $40 US worth of goods from a website for bed comforter…and UPS charged me about $37 for brokerage…. I will give this a try…
Hi everyone,
You all are not alone, I ordered $350 goods from a martial-art site and UPS requested $100.00 brokerage fee. I was shocked when they appeared and demanded payment for what I had paid including shipping, feel like being robbed……so I refused to pay and I am going to call UPS and complain. But of course, I probably has to pay at the end as my goods are not being held hostage by UPS. should I pay extra $100 for the robbery or give up my goods and lose $350?
I meant my goods are now held hostage!
Value of item – $40.54; brokerage fee $38.66 – That’s almost 100%. Merry Christmas UPS – Consider it my gift to you
For everyone who has been burned by the UPS…please take a few minutes and send a short email to: Alert@ctv.ca
Pat Foran is considering doing a story on the UPS.
They just tried to gouge me (again) but I refused the package at the door. I absolutely detest that company.
Just want to help spread the word about the UPS and its brokerage/hostage fees before it’s too late.
So please, send them an email now! Alert@ctv.ca
I just logged a complaint with BBB and sent and email to Alert@ctv.ca. UPS charged me $40 for $45 gift. What the FUCK??
Thank you very much for this link – e-mail complaint has been sent. Just like everyone else, I was “gouged” by UPS today. Their fees, aside from taxes, were $44.18 on a $115 purchase. I’m Pissed!
Just got ripped off horribly on 3 boxes; sent an e-mail to ctv as you asked-please everyone on here do so as well!
Just got refund over phone for half the brokerage fees as a one time goodwill gesture. It helped enormously knowing the info on being your own broker-no prior authorization to act as my broker-etc on this site-thanks so much
still will NEVER use them again!
Fuck UPS. Bomb Them all to hell. I hope there workers get killed.
Lydia: Thanks for that info. I’ve emailed CTV. UPS has tried to stick us for a total of $152 for four packages this month. Three of the packages were surprises from the kids’ grandparents. YEAH, surprise! The fourth one? Hub ordered me a $40 necklace. UPS tried to collect $38. (The real customs due wsa $5.50.) Picture me running to the door and seeing a package from my favorite silver jewelry place. No I can’t have it until I pay the driver the entire worth of the item again.
Yeah! Merry Christmas!
an absolutely lucrative scam.
I have all of you beat!
I ordered a small box of Business Cards…value $20.00.
That’s it…$20.00.
I am getting hammered $17.95 for the UPS Broker Charge!
They gave me all of the same crap about my option to pick it up in WINNIPEG (I live over 700 KM’s from Winnipeg…actually – I live in Regina, SK!!).
I asked the agent if they knew about the current Class Action Suite against them for their Racketeering practices…they immediately started to offer me a “one time good will” bull shit discount.
I told them it didn’t matter and that I wished them the best of luck at their Trial!
If a package is sent back to sender, am I still resposible for the brokerage fees?
I have items worth $46US + UPS standard $16 shipping. A notice at the door states I have to pay $39.61. That is $56 for a $46 item. I’d rather lose the $16.
I bought 2 muffler tips off of Ebay this Christmas Value was $26.99 each so total $53.98.
I had to pay the UPS lady $56 before she would give me my item. How does it make any sense that I have to pay more for my item?
I am in the wrong business.
I used to work at the UPS call centre you’re all getting this crap fed to you from. I, as a matter of fact, was involved in training people to answer the calls you’re all talking about. It truly is a scam. The worst part is that despite the enormous profits they’re making on the backs of us Canadians, they’re taking our Canadian jobs and sending them to the phillippines! And they don’t even have the guts to lay people off, they just made our lives miserable until we quit. I left and am now getting paid far more to not rip people off. Sorry to all.
I ordered my son a pair of shoes for his birthday. The cost of the shoes $85.00 plus shipping – UPS shows up with the shoes and a bill for an additional $63.00 – never dealing with UPS again! What a SCAM!
Thank you for this info! UPS is currently holding an item hostage while I figure a way around their brokerage fees. I understand the HST, no problem. But their brokerage fees have always ticked me off. Now I specifically request USPS shipping on anything coming across the border – someone from this company decided to give me a break by shipping it UPS which appeared to be cheaper. ha ha!
I finally switched to a much cheaper broker after I was under the spell of UPS’s exorbitant fees for commercial service. There are a lot of brokers that can do the job for a fraction of UPS’s rates. Just google.
A few years ago, I had a $45 USD item and UPS charged me $68$ CAD in brokerage fees!!! I was livid! I since learned that you can refuse the package, REQUEST that UPS emails you or fax you the Customs documents and go clear it yourself for only the price of GST and provincial taxes at the nearest customs office. Whenever there is no other choices than UPS, that is what I do – I live in Montreal and go clear the goods at the Customs office in Dorval. You don’t need to be gauged by these criminals! They are preying on people’s ignorance of how it works.
Hi Christian. I’m dealing with this now (45$ fees on a $30 computer bag). To confirm, do I refuse the package if they are asking for brokerage fees, ask them to hold it, then call UPS and get the customs forms? I’m worried that it’s too late since I didn’t arrange it in advance.
Hi Audevourahn. Any tips on how to deal with UPS on the phone in this situation? I’m curious, did you work at the call center in F’ton?
Update: I called UPS and spoke with an agent named Angela. When I told he I wanted to clear it through customs myself she offered to remove all of the brokerage fees (but not the taxes owed of course). Maybe they are getting the message that their customers are angry.
I am trying to order additional school books and facing brokerage fees of $70-100 on 2 books that are costing my $70 USD. When I got my initial shipment of school supplies I got a nice bill of $200.41 from UPS for charges and taxes on my shipment value of $982. Now most of that was GST & PST, but the brokerage fee was $73 in total. Now I am have looked at USPS, and it looks like I can have my new books sent regular mail for $10 or Express mail for $30, which is insured and can be tracked. USPS was not able to give me any info on brokerage fees only quoted me that the taxes, duty, and excise taxes are applicable based on various value amounts and that gifts are giving a higher value thresh hold. I say UPS should be ashamed and made to pay back all these fees they have taken and someone should go to jail because this is robbery.
I just received a package from UPS $105.26 Brokerage fee. This is brutal… To fill out the clearance documents takes less than a few minutes. I have done it many times doing a commercial import at the border crossing. Does UPS’s excessive charges relate to a fair price for service provided? You be the judge… Lets say it takes them 5 minutes to fill out and transmit clearance documents. At this rate they can process 12 shipments per hour/person. $105.26 x 12 = $1263.12 Not bad hourly income for UPS. The government needs to intervene and put an end to this extortion. They should only be allowed to charge a price that is fair for the service provided.
hi everyone ,
i went to ontario court of justice in ottawa and i got the form to sue ups through small claims anybody wants to join forces the more we are the better chance we’ll have to be heard . i got charged 45.01 extortion fee for an 80.00 used item so i refused to pay…the 5 days expired and now they said it’s considered abandoned and it will be auctioned off…the seller don’t take returns [ebay item] .
this is like hostage taking demanding ransom i’m outraged !
and i won’t let them get away with it, i’d rather pay 75.00 to the court and drag them there than paying 45.00 to these pirates .
the good thing is a group of people can sue one person or a business and vis versa .
let me know if anyone is interested .i’ll check this blog tomorrow, thanks…
Hello!
I would be interested to join you on the suit.
I was charged 55 CAD for a shipment of my own personal items, which i shipped to myself in order not to have to take on the airplane.
let me know what you would like to do and I will support you….
contact me at marcelagiesche@yahoo.com
-marcela Giesche
A package was delivered to me today while i was at work . They left there UPS Infonotice . Okay cool my stuff came . Then when i finaly got into the door i realized they were charging me $62.00 for brokerage fees ! I saw red .Can you say extortion !I am going to have them ship it back , i will take my losses , i will be dammed if i will pay them that kind of money for 2 minutes work.
What do I do now that FedEx has sent me a bill? There was no mention of brokerage fees when they left my item on my porch!
Oh and for the UPS package? I called UPS back (after giving the shipper heck for NOT sending by post office which is what it said on my invoice) and they offered to do a “one time deal” by cutting their own fees in half. I agreed.
Then when the package arrived, it was marked UNPAID!! So the poor delivery guy wasn’t sure what to do. I gave him my CC info again, but sure enough they charged the full amount.
Yes, I have also felt the sting of UPS brokerage fees.
I just today called CSBA’s BIS line (number indicated above), and it appears that UPS is telling the truth. The agent from CSBA told me that I cannot clear the item through customs anywhere except where the item is physically located. The CSBA agent who would accept my paperwork and payment must be able to physically inspect the item, which isn’t going to happen anywhere other than where that item is physically located.
So, UPS appears to be right about having to go to Fort Erie if that’s where your package sits waiting.
Which brings us back to the only tried-and-true method of avoiding having UPS stick it to us – do our best to avoid having the item shipped UPS in the first place…
I’m a regular eBay shopper, so I come across this often. I always ask my eBay sellers to ship USPS Priority Mail International, and sometimes even offer the seller a premium for the service. Better to know up-front what I’m going to pay for customs clearance, and give extra to the seller for doing things my preferred way.
Allister
By the way, I also came across this page on the UPS website:
http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html
which lists the cost of clearing a package through customs into Canada, based on the declared value of the package. This can help you decide up front whether it may be worth buying from a US vendor who insists on shipping with UPS.
Thanks Will.. At least someone on the thread has a few brains.
People….
Next time you get something shipped to Canada, learn what’s involved first.
Then check the courier/shipping company’s published fees.
It’s not brain surgery unless you are 16 yrs old.
Yeah UPS fees are high, but you decided to have it shipped by them without checking the full cost.
Ignorance of the cost is no reason to say they are ripping you off. You agreed to have them ship it.
Your own damn fault for not being an adult and checking the cost first.
Look, maybe you have time to sit around and hunt down the actual cost of receiving parcels through UPS, but most people lead rich and fulfilling lives and would prefer the companies they deal with to do business ethically so they don’t HAVE to call around, email, and Google a bunch of agencies and sales reps just to find out how much the sweater Granny knitted is going to cost when it arrives at the door.
UPS is pretty good in regards of speed vs price, at least in my experience. The “brokerage” fees are pure evil, but luckily many company’s (i.e Newegg) take care of the customs for you, and therefore you’re not charged.
Of course, you could always go with USPS, but they are one of the slowest shipping services I have ever used, and their “tracking” system is a joke (like this: “Package sent” “Package arrived”, holy derp! Thanks USPS for confirming that I am indeed holding my package!).
Here’s an even more egregious case. I was head of an annual conference that is usually held in the USA. We had a lot of leftover materials after each conference that we would offer to people the next year at very little charge. I arranged to have the material shipped to me in Canada for safekeeping; the plan is that I would bring it back to the US for the next year’s conference. We figured the value was $0 since the material was just documents that had been paid for,
But I used UPS. Bad mistake. I was nailed for several hundred dollars in taxes and brokerage fees. I refused the shipment, so they sent it all back, but charged the sender the shipping fees all over again.
Here’s what pisses me off. I ordered (a) item ($299.00) from the states UPS, $23.00 shipping plus $49.95 brokerage fee will be billed to me when delivered this was asked of me via a phone call from UPS, so I will pay at my door $49.95 when UPS shows up.The part that kills me is that we (Canada) pay a brokerage fee of anything over $20.00 from the States when using a independent courier (UPS, Fed-x, Purolat. etc), but the States will not have to pay a fee unless the amount is over $200.00 !!!
POINT BLANK DON’T USE THESE COMPANY’S, that came from our own Government, they want us to buy Canada and use our postal service, onerously at our cost.
Get even, get educated and call your government, call them ask why.http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/contact/menu-eng.html
Click on importing, they are very pleasant.
hi everyone
i am fucked by UPS today,
and i just wanna know if i can pay the brokerage COD with a debit card? that delivery guy said i can only make payment by cheque and credit card…..but i dont have any of them. can someone answer me quickly pls? that guy said he will come again tmr
they charged me 5.69CAD$, i am okay with that after seeing all the comments lol
UPS is lying to you. You can clear custom anywhere where the CBSA office exist. You just have to obtain the waybill and receipt ahead of time.
Simply don’t buy from seller who only ship with UPS is the strategy. Cheers.
Yeah – I don’t deal with any US Vendor that wants to ship via UPS to Canada and I tell them up front (and most of them aren’t aware) that UPS is ripping their customers off using their products.
Amongst the many horror stories, that I’ve had the worst was when my wife forgot an item in a California Hotel. She noticed it missing when she got home.
A quick phone call confirmed that the hotel had it and wanted to ship it back…. their cost! They asked what the value was and she unfortunately told them $250.
UPS arrived with a bill for $95 brokerage fees and duty and taxes …. we said no way it’s our item, being returned to us. They said pay it or they’ll send it back, which is what happened – the hotel was NOT happy.
It was sent to us by US Post and didn’t cost us anything!
The second worst – my wife bought me a wonderful gift from the US and didn’t tell them to ship USPS. Since it was an anniversary gift they expedited it by UPS. My $200 gift ended up costing $350 after the taxes and brokerage fees were added. Again the US company wasn’t aware of UPS’s usery fees. They have since switched to strictly US Post for Canadian orders!
Never again…
UPS adds a flat rate of $30.00 onto international shipments..period. Then there is a price point increase based on the price of the product being shipped, then there are the taxes that the Canadian government want. If the seller didn’t already do it, UPS pays the taxes for you at the border. If your product is tax exempt you can file a claim and have the money refunded buy the Canadian Government (google it).
However, the best method to avoid all of this is to pressure the sellers to use the USPS instead. Strangely when the parcel comes across the border, Canada Post takes posession of it from the USPS and doesn’t do anything, they just deliver it. I have never been asked for a penny at the door from a Canada Post delivery person. I’ve attached an email below that I sent to LeisurePro.com regarding their choice to only use UPS and Fedex. I checked what the shipping charges were using USPS and called them on it. Pressure the sellers to change and UPS might get the message. Tell the sellers that your not interested in being their customer if they align themselves with shipping companies that overcharge and negate the savings their stores offer. Point out to them their competitors that are shipping with USPS. They’ll eventually get the point.
Cheers.
Email sent to LeisurePro.com 06/04/2011
“Is there an option to ship via USPS to Canada? UPS and Fedex charge us Canadians brokerage fees that amount to extortionism; I only buy products from US sellers now if they ship via USPS or are willing to offer it. The good old US Postal Service just hands the package over to Canada Post at the border and we Canucks aren’t asked for a penny more. And…their initial shipping rate is $17.00 cheaper that the UPS rate you offer.
Essentially UPS and Fedex eliminate any savings I get shopping with LeisurePro versus an LDS…pretty bad business model for you.
Thanks”
Got charged today CAD41.79 for an item that costs 59.99 plus the shipping fee of CAD18.00
This has to stop!!!!!
I NEVER buy from companies that use courier services (UPS, FEDEX, etc.). USPS and Canada Post are the best if you are in no rush and sometimes they are even faster.
Just talked to UPS on the phone, once you have paid for the item at the door they will not refund the brokerage fee. Your best bet is just to NEVER use the UPS. They should be obligated to tell the shipper that the receiver will be paying this outrageous fee. I will never use UPS again, what a disgusting practice they have in place, $29.55 for a $76 item. And you pay GST on the brokerage fee. Outrageous.
NEVER have I seen this … $45.50, what the hell ? Who do they think they are ? Honestly, this is extortion at its best !
What really pisses me off ? I cant do anything but to pay. But never again am I taking or advising UPS to ANYONE, ANY-MORE. I hope they get sued big time one day … and very soon ! Go bankrupt
I just paid 57.22 for an $80 dollar package. Something needs to be done about this. Where are our consumer rights. We buy something and have to pay for it before it gets shipped, then before UPS will hand it over to us we have to pay again whatever amount they ask for. We have already paid for the merchandise and are forced to pay the UPS brokerage fees otherwise UPS will not release the package and we lose our money. Where are consumer rights here. This is bullshit.
It`s bad enought that even with the Canadian dollar stronger than the US dollar we still have to pay more for goods here ( not to mention the HST) So as a consumer we try to find ways to make money and shop in the US but somehow the consumer still gets screwed.
UPS wanted me to pay $60 in brokerage fees on a shipment worth $200! I refused to continue to get gouged by this company so I refused it at the door. I called UPS about this and they told me I had no choice or find my own broker. I looked around and found another broker by the name of Bay City Brokers from another blog site that a user has used.
Anyways long story short they cleared my shipment for a brokerage fee of $16.00, I don’t know how UPS justifies such a huge fee. Just so everyone knows we do have other choices. They have a chart on their website at baycitybrokers.com which compares fees. Hope this helps!
This fee, i have experienced multiple times. Once 45 on a 50 dollar item, that was the first time. The latest was just stupidity on my part, i knew about their little fee and i still ordered using non-expidited shipping, but had it shipped to one of my clients offices. The fee was only 20 dollars for the bussiness to intercept and it was 300 dollars of goods. I’m wondering if i made the same order to my house what would those fees be, because the last time as damn near 100 percent, and from what I’ve read here – those profit orientated cock suckers are still raping us for a form that most of us had no idea about. If i ran my business like they do id have no clients to support…. Yes let me fix that for you, as i submit the invoice… that will be an extra 50 dollar fee for processing your invoice, Fuck you UPS
I say we harrass UPS several times a day to get some action by calling them over and over again and wasting thousands of dollars of their time with obnoxious complaints and endless questions and requests to talk to higher ups for a start. Extortionists deserve to be heckled endlessly.
This is wonderful, to be amongst many others that feel as I do about UPS. I am disappointed to see their trucks roaming around because, to me, this is an indication of the many lemmings are probably paying these extortionist fees. The last order (about 3 years ago) where I was charged about $45 extra to cover the cost of some knob to move this simple product across the border, I wrote a nasty email to them. I told them that I would never do ecomm with any business that would not see their shipping beyond UPS, I would bring attention to all that would listen about these extra charges etc etc They reimbursed my entire amount. However, I still follow through with this to this day. I have convinced almost all online sites in the US to ship via USPS. No brokerage fees but it will take a few days longer, which is fine by me. Always verify on how a company ships. If they only list UPS, try contacting them and request another service. Put the word out and let us all do our part at removing these brown turds off of the roads. LOL
Hi everyone and thank you all for the information provided through this thread. I was hesitant for several days and didn’t know if I should place a big order from US or not. After several weeks of research I’ve found that ordering from US is cheaper (only product cost) than purchasing locally. I had to also calculate the shipping, HST and brokerage fee if ordering from US. Fortunately I am getting FREE shipment on my purchase but the downside is that UPS is shipping, extra charges would be over $100.
I searched and found a website which can give you a rough estimate of the total amount it would cost you receive your shipment from UPS/FedEx/USPS/etc. Check it on http://www.thefinalcost.com. It also gives you an option to check off “Made in USA” as there should be no Duty Charge to us as customers if we purchase products that are made in USA.
Thanks to all the msgs on this thread including the last one from Mark, now I know I can arrange a different company for less cost and not worry about UPS brokerage fee and still get my free shipment from US. Thank you all once again for showing me a better way to save money.
Hello all,
I have been robbed twice by UPS on a pair of sunglasses and some toys ordered from US web sites.The UPS custom clearance fees were about 40% of the good’s costs.
That should be illegal ,especially since most people are caught by surprise and given no choice when they receive the bill. I will never ever use UPS services for anything.
When I order things from the US I now ask it to be shipped by USPS and I take care of the customs for very little money. Surprisingly, several online vendors do not offer any alternatives to UPS… they probably share the fruits of robberies.