UPS “Brokerage fee” class-action


Apparently a guy in British Columbia has filed a class-action lawsuit against UPS, for the ridiculous “brokerage” charges they demand from the recipient of any US->Canada shipment. Frequently the brokerage fees will be more than the shipment is worth.

Unfortunately, the case is in BC only at this time, but if one starts up in Ontario, I’ll be there. Those bastards have fucked me one time too often.

FedEx used to be better, but they started doing it too (I guess they could smell the money too). The only viable option remaining is the regular postal service (which charges a flat $5 for the same service). That is cool, I’ve had good luck with simple US Postal Service shipments of CDs ordered from the US. But some stores refuse to ship that way.

I want to buy a Technivorm coffee maker, only available from the US, but haven’t been able to figure out a good way to do it without paying off those gangsters. I think there may be an option whereby I drive to a customs office and clear the package myself. That would likely cost me more in gas than I save in brokerage fees, but it would be worth it.

Update: Man, close to 200 comments so far, almost all of them from very angry people. I’ve have since learned more about doing your own customs clearance, including some relevant information straight from Canada Border Services Agency.


399 responses to “UPS “Brokerage fee” class-action”

  1. I bought a juicer for $350.00 paid shipping of $49.00. The package had been delayed as I tracked and I get another bill for $106.93..
    I said this is a scam, he says well it’s not us. I say “well who’s this broker fee going to?” ahhhh that’s us. So I guess no only do you pay these clowns to ship your merchandise they decide to milk you twice because they can. He says it doesn’t happen if you’re a business. I say hey they milk you even harder. I order a body form from New York. They packed it in two boxes and filled the paper work out correctly and they charged me shipping and brokerage fees twice because it was in two boxes. This is ridiculous, If this is how they do business it should be outline before purchase. You’ll see how business will drop. Strange when I order from ebay it’s shipped with UPS but I never get these weird fee’s out of left field.

    Peace,

  2. I tell customers all the time..if you want to avoid brokerage charges,ship via USPS. Or,ship via Air,not ground(standard)..so expedited or better,you pay more for shipping,get it there faster,and no brokerage fees…
    Or what you really could do,in this age of ‘Green”…SHOP LOCALLY. Support your local merchants(who probably had some of their stuff arrive via UPS)…
    Or even better still,do you really need all that stuff??
    Drivers just drive and deliver,they have nothing to do with brokerage fees etc…don’t blame them…it’s a job,with long hours…
    We are all just human beings..
    “A Fed-Ups household”

  3. Bought a pair of golf shoes on ebay for $50, shipped via UPS standard.
    I get a notice saying I owe $38.88.
    Called UPS.
    Me: What is this brokerage fee exactly?
    UPS Girl: here’s the breakdown: clearing customs fee + gst,pst on (clearing customs fee) + gst,pst on item + collection fee.
    Me: if it was USPS, I would’ve been only charged gst,pst and $5 handling fee.
    UPS Girl: yeah well…
    Me: $38.88 that’s more then 70% of the item value. And I’ve already paid $18 for shippinig (to UPS!)
    UPS Girl: …
    Me: Isn’t that ridiculous?
    UPS Girl: …
    Me: would I or the sender get charged anything if I refuse the package and send it back.
    UPS Girl: no.
    Me: But I’ve been thru this ‘scam’ before and I was told that UPS wouldn’t charge anything for returning the package, but you guys did and I got burned.
    UPS Girl: oh yes, there’s a freight fee for returning.
    Me: and what did I just ask you?
    UPS Girl: I didn’t say it would be free.
    Me: …

    I was seriously thinking about suing these brown bastards..
    Hope the BC case goes well.

  4. Yea I want to file a class action law suit against them in ontario too. It is a joke how much they purposely rip you off. These kinds of sneaky tactics are unethical.

    All other companies seem 2 have brokerage fees but UPS is by far the worst of them all charging pretty much the same price that I got my item for.

  5. Just a side point- if you are going to sue UPS for fees you already know about, you are not going to win- if you know that you are going to be charged fees to use a service, and you don’t want to pay them, you should not use the service.

    You may state that you do not have the opportunity to select not to accept the UPS brokerage fees, as you package is delivered to you already cleared. This is, however, not the case. If you do not want to accept the brokerage fees, and want to clear the package yourself, simply refuse the package at the door, and then call UPS asking to clear it through customs yourself. They will be more than happy to let you do this, and you won’t incurr any nasty brokerage fees, however you will have to go to the port and do the paperwork yourself. Alternatively you could check with another brokerage firm, although I’ve done this before, and those firms charge more than UPS!

    These fees are clearly published online, and will be explained to you if you call and ask about them. The postal services do not charge brokerage fees as they do not have to interface with the government the same way that courier companies do. The postal services are the government. They don’t use brokers- they don’t have to. No matter how you cut it, brokering packages into a country is not cheap. It never has been, and it never will be. Using courier companies is not cheap either, but we still all use them as they have certain distinct advantages. We pay for these advantages. If we don’t want to pay the service fees to use a courier, then we should not use them- but its not realistic to expect everything to be done for free. Its not how the world works, no matter how much we whine and cry about it.

  6. I successfully avoided UPS for years after a $40 fee for a $10 item. Today I was not so lucky 🙁 just got dinged $48 brokerage and duty for a

  7. If they ever have a class action against them in Ontario I am all for it!

    If they know what the fees are ahead of time, then they should be collected before shipment proceeds. I have no problem with them charging the fees, it is just the sneaky underhanded way they do it.. oh yeah here’s your package .. by the way ..

  8. I hate UPS as well. I don’t understand why so many companies decide to do business with UPS when there are a lot better shipping companies out there, including the post office.

    Not only is UPS very expensive for us Canadians, but I find that they are very slow. I ordered an item on Nov 30, 07 from North Carolina. I went online to track the shipment. It was UPS ground, so I knew it would be a little slow. It started off in NC, then made it to Winnipeg, then back down to Minnesota, then back up to Winnipeg, then finally out to Edmonton. It went across the US/Canadian border 2 times. Then on the delivery date, they lied and said that no one was home to accept the package and pay the charges. Someone is at home here 24/7 and they never heard the doorbell. UPS just stuck a note to the door. On the note, they said that they will attempt another drop off the next day between 10:30am – 2:30pm. Those idiots finally came at 7:00pm! The only thing that I was happy with, was that they charged me $5.96 on a $99.99 item. I was actually shocked.

    Then today, I received a different order from UPS. It was a $30 iPod case. That too took a while, also coming from North Carolina. They just dropped it off at my door 1/2 an hour ago. I had to pay $23.48 in charges from UPS ($17.10 for brokerage fees, $3.33 duty, $2.02 GST and $1.03 brok GST). $23.48 for a $30 item!!! I seriously HATE UPS with a passion! Never again from those crooks.

  9. I wish I would’ve read this page before… I just picked up my package (they had problems delivering) from UPS. Had to call 3 times to arrange that pick up! They kept trying to deliver while I wasn’t home even though I told them not to cause I’ll pick up.
    Anyhow, long story short. $16 taxes – that’s fine of course but $40 brokerage on $120 package that I paid $50 s&h on with ebay seller already… What a deal! 30% surcharge!
    Never again! Canadians – stay away from UPS when importing from the States.

  10. Oh dear God… found out way too late about UPS. I have a package that’s worth a bit over $300 on the way… now I have the feeling I’ll have to pay nearly $200 in fees, GUH. How is this even legal? How are they allowed to make so much off our backs! I NEVER thought they could charge so much. I expected maybe $50 at the most but now I’m afraid that they’ll slap me with a $200 fee or something. It seems like there’s no way of knowing how much you’ll end up paying, sigh. Staying WELL away from them in the future.

    And is it even normal for your package to reach it’s destination (ie: my city) and then cross the border to the USA? It was originally from HK. What is it doing in the US now if it used to be HERE? Seriously, what the fuck UPS?

  11. How do I get my name on the class action lawsuit?
    Two years ago I shipped 12 large boxes which contained my whole graphic design business to northern B.C. where I was supposed to start a new job. To make a long story short, my new boss failed to pick me up in Calgary and the job turned out to be a scam. I contacted UPS to put a stop shipment on my boxes and at the advise of the head supervisor arranged to have the shipment sent back to Nova Scotia where the shipment originated from. She informed me that it would not be delivered in B.C. and even arranged the return shipment to arrive one week after my return to the east coast. I only recieved one small box back which contained a handfull of lego, a heavy machinery ball bearing, and someones prescription medicine from Edmonton. ( None of which was mine.) After a year of fighting with them regarding the whereabouts of my boxes and finally threatening them with a law suit they finally admitted ( and I have the signed delivery notices to prove it) Delivered some boxes to an address in Cochrane, Alberta, left some at a campground in Fort Nelson, BC and one in Edmonton. The RCMP admitted that this was a case of theft by the people who accepted the boxes, but that I would have to file theft charges by going to the RCMP in each of those cities, and other than that it was a UPS problem. The only compensation I was able to get from UPS was a rebuilt computer, an E-Machine, which they had lost on someone else, and a used lexmark printer with no ink which they had in their overflow warehouse. The value of my business I shipped through UPS was $14,700. They refused to replace my software, fax machine, cell phone, Graphic design books, cameras or any of the other items in the boxes, nor the actual replacement value of my brand new computer system.

    Last year I bought a violin on E-Bay for $19.99 plus $29.00 shipping. When it arrived UPS just dropped it off and 3 weeks later I recieved a bill from them for an additional $39.00 plus $4.10 late fee, along with a very threatening letter saying they had already placed the account in collections. UPS cahrged me a total of $43.10 on an item worth $19.99. I ended up paying it but will never buy anything shipped by UPS again..

  12. A customer of ours in Canada has stated that they get acceptable service from DHL for shipments originating within the US. If DHL is an option for your purchases choose it. Otherwise use the postal service. I prefer UPS here in the states. There is no competition and I don’t mean they are a monopoly, they just have the best service bar none. FedEx air is alright, but ground is very poor so far.

    Regards,

  13. I just got a customs brokerage invoice from UPS. $39.10 total brokerage charges + $2.09 GST on top. This is for an item that cost $140. The site I purchased from ships UPS and I foolishly forgot to verify who they ship with. I learned my lesson a couple of years ago when UPS charged me $25 brokerage on a $65 pair of motorcycle gloves. I always insist on USPS but I forgot this time.

    The difference this time is UPS just dumped the package on my doorstep three weeks before sending me this invoice. I don’t even know how long it was there as I hardly ever use that door. I’m going to fight this brokerage fee on the basis that I never signed for the package and never had any warning about the fee so I couldn’t make an informed choice to refuse it.

    As for Hans’ comment, I agree that we shouldn’t expect the service for free. I don’t think anyone here has said that. What bothers me (us) is they are charging an exorbitant fee for a service I was not aware of and did not consent to. I can clear my own packages, thank-you. It’s ridiculous to expect people to scan UPS’ entire web-site in an effort to locate all their hidden fees. Why doesn’t UPS just come clean right from the start and show all the charges up front so there’s no harsh surprises? I think the answer is clear; people would tell them to go to hell. I will never knowingly give my business to UPS or any other business that uses underhanded tricks to screw over their customers. They should be ashamed of themselves.

  14. i recently got ripped off as well. ordered a laptop that was worth $940 and had to pay 173 at the door. i hope UPS goes down for good someday

  15. Just got the same situation days ago.
    Purchased a item from eBay, $24+$30 shipping. UPS charged brokerage fee $17.1+ GST $0.85.
    UPS should be ashamed!

  16. You guys need to blame Canada Customs…. EVERY brokerage company charges fees to clear shipments.

    Ship United States Postal Service (USPS) for the best deal on brokerage fees as Canada Post only charges a small fee for this service.

    That being said, most of UPS, FEDEX etc… clearances are automatic due to the sheer volume of freight that they ship. I am sure most of it never gets touched – except by the administrative BILLING person.

    Huge profit for UPS…
    BTW….don’t forget the GST/PST we complacently pay to our awesome governments.

  17. UPS is the wrost by far. To the previous idiot who thinks the government is to blame … I’m no gevernment defender but its UPS who makes up the outrageos fees not our government.

    Canadapost $8 …. UPS $50.

    UPS will say the government subsidizes Canadapost but that is a bold faced lie.

    Look up UPS’s financials. YOu will see how profitable their brokerge fees are. In fact the CEO of UPS was on ROBTV (now BNN) fall 2007 and he himself stated on camera their brokergae services are extremely profitable.

    UPS charges brokerage fees for items that require so close to zero effort. Canadapost makes money of it at $8. Thats right, the MAKE as in GAIN charging the $8 fee.

    I tell all my UPS shippers if they ship UPS I will refuse shipment and chargeback for a refund if I have to. THats the only way anyone will see change. Right now a bunch of whinners are just complaining. Tell your merchants that you ban UPS. Thats it, that would be the end of it.

    and join the class action, they are bending us over, lets bend them over.

  18. I found this blog by Googling for “United Parcel Service class action lawsuit”. I am a small US manufacturer and have had a shipping contract with UPS for 24 years. For most of those years it has been a running battle with them over what I *thought* were erroneous billings of extra tariffs for “one side longer than 60 inches” which I never ship, and “not encased in cardboard container” which I never ship. When I got these in the past, I would always call their 800 number and get them taken off, but I finally realized that each time I called to remove a $6.00 tariff, it was costing me double or triple that to wait through their ridiculous and arrogant telephone system that is designed to make me go away.

    So finally when my 12/8/07 bill came with two parcels dinged for the “not encased in cardboard container” tariff, I said screw the wasted phone time and just wrote a note on the invoice why I was deducting $12.00 from the check. The next time I saw my driver I asked how such a charge ended up on the bill, and he told me that the shipping label has to have its bar code scanned and the appropriate button pushed to denote the reason for the tariff. So there it is, in my face — it isn’t an error, because the UPS employee who did it had to have the parcel right in front of him/her to do it, and the scanned label is firmly pasted and taped to a cardboard container…….. This is not an error, it’s FRAUD.

    So I wondered what would happen to the bill with the $12.00 deducted without going through the phone system, and today I found out. I got a nasty call this morning from a rough-sounding Mexican threatening to cut off my UPS service for an unpaid bill. Since there was no caller ID identifying the call as coming from UPS (it just said “out of area”) and I KNEW all of my bills were paid, I assumed it was a con artist out phishing for my bank information and I got rid of him. But then I started to wonder, and called UPS myself to find out what was going on. They claim that they never got the check, and that the entire bill for $547.15 is owed. I checked my bank records and sure enough, that check was never cashed. So at first I was prepared to believe their claim that it “must have been lost in the mail”. Well, I thought about that all day and it finally struck me: 24 years of weekly billings is almost 1,200 checks, and never ONE late or lost. Now I’m supposed to believe that the FIRST time I deduct a fraudulent charge without submitting to their telephone torture, THAT check gets lost in the mail…..

    Here’s what I think really happened: Some cubicle jockey saw the deducted $12.00 and said something like, “Screw this guy — we make the bills, shut up and pay up.” Then he threw the check in his round file, knowing that I would think it was paid, and when their computer showed it not paid, it automatically hit me with a $27 “service charge” for being late. When that charge appeared on a bill a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was for a UPS bill that sat on my desk a couple of days too long over Christmas. Only today did I learn it was for the 12/8/07 bill which I definitely paid on time.

    So UPS is systematically, as a matter of policy, applying fraudulent charges to their client’s bills, and then screwing them again when they try to fight it. A UPS employee who refused to go along with the fraud and was fired for it won a wrongful termination suit. As was claimed in that suit, this adds up to tens of millions of dollars of fraud.

    I paid UPS $32,000 to ship my products last year. If I averaged one fraudulent charge every two weeks, that would only be $156 extra if I didn’t fight it, which costs them employee time as well as mine. I suggest that it isn’t worth it for any business to risk their reputation and good will for such a measly amount. This is pure corporate stupidity in action.

  19. I have used UPS on two occassions to deliver packages from the US into Canada. The first time was about four years ago when I purchased a $60.00 item and got charged $58.00 in duties and taxes. Apparently, the shipper insured the package for $80.00US or $105.00 Canadian at the time and UPS computed taxes and broker fee on the insured value rather than the purchase price. When I offered to provide UPS with my copy of my invoice they would not accept it, as they claimed that it had to be provided by the shipper. When the shipper attempted to clarify the purchase price, UPS wouldn’t adjust the price for him either. When I requested an explanation for the brokage fees, UPS claimed that it was duties on the package for Customs Canada. But when I contacted Customs Canada I was informed that this was a fee charged by UPS and the government did’t get a cent other than the GST/HST on the purchase price.

    I challenged UPS that I wasn’t aware of the extra fees and that they should of contacted me prior to acting on my behalf. They were adamant that I had to pay for it but I was determined that they could not charge me for a service that I did not request nor I was aware of. After making three telephone calls to UPS I insisted that I speak with a manager and that was when UPS dropped all the brokage fees other than the taxes which I had no problem paying.

    The second time I dealt with UPS was about a month ago. I made another purchase in the US. When the item was shipped I immediately emailed UPS and informed them that I did not want UPS to act on my behalf to clear my package through customs and that I would do it myself. I did not get a reply.

    A couple of days ago, I contacted them again reminding them that I did not want UPS to act on my behalf to clear customs. This time I did get a reply. I was informed that the package had cleared customs and UPS had done it for me and I was expected to pay brokage fees. I made it clear to UPS that they had no right to act on my behalf without consulting with me first. They claimed that if I didn’t want to pay UPS brokage fees I could direct them to ship the package back to the point of entry and have another broker of my choice clear the package. I reminded UPS that I had already paid for shipping and that they had a obligation to deliver the package. If they wanted to return the package they could do so but I wasn’t prepared to pay any additional shipping. My point to UPS was that I had a contract with them to deliver the package but I had no obligation to pay any brokage fees since I had made it clear that I didn’t want their service. I was prepared to clear the item myself if they had contacted me. Again, UPS dropped the brokage fees and I was left to only pay the taxes.

    The bottom line if you do not want to pay the fees, have the shipper clearly write on the package that you will clear customs yourself, that is if you are near a Canada Customs office. Have UPS call you when the package enters Canada and fax a waybill to you. Go to Canada Customs office and pay the taxes. Canada Customs will fax the clearance back and UPS can proceed to deliver the package (no brokage fees). UPS will try and convince that they are the only ones that can clear the package since they are the carrier, but this is not the case.

    On a another note, UPS claims that for those who have an account with them there are no COD charges to collect their brokage fees or to collect the taxes. I was informed by UPS that only businesses can open an account not individuals. They give us no choice but to pay the COD charges. If UPS is so adamant on charging the brokage fees they should include it in the shipping fees up front.

  20. This stuff is ridiculous! i just got my package yesterday i bought a hat online for $22.00 and the brokerage fee + taxes came up to $20.86! Thats like buying the hat twice that is pure bullshit. Fucking thieves i’m going to call the authorities and report a theft!

  21. If every one that has been screwed here would take the time to just disable one UPS truck the next time they see one, I think they may get the message.

    Don’t get mad at a corporation. They are not alive. Get even instead.

  22. Well they got me today…I got home and there was a slip that I had a package. The item I bought cost $58.00…their scam fee is $38.02. Tomorrow I will go get the package with a check…Go straight to my bank and put a stop payment on that check. 2 can play at this game. I will NOT pay for a ghost service that I did NOT enter into contract to do.

  23. what a bunch of complainers. Do you realize you are ordering from another country? did you even do any research before you ordered? there are charges to process shipments through customs.

  24. I just received a gift from my parents in the States for my daughter’s birthday valued at $60 with a $39.07 C.O.D. brokerage charge.I have never heard of this before and paid the fee at the door since they threatened to send the package back to the vendor. I would love to clear my packages myself in Toronto however the UPS woman on the phone said that I would have to go to the port of entry (if sent ground either windsor or fort erie) pick up the package myself and that I could not pay the taxes and clear it from Toronto and have them deliver it to my home. Is this correct?

  25. I have also had many problems with UPS. We ship paintball guns and paintball markers to Canada. There are complications because of the rules that say “paintball guns” are prohibited. However, in researching, paintball guns are not prohibited if they are under 500 feet per second. Then there is another rule that says if they are replica firearms they cannot be brought in to the country. So given working through these regulations, UPS tacks on crazy brokerage fees on top. With NAFTA being such a boon to our economies (USA and Canada) you would think the governments would figure out a way to let our economies flurish and buy the products we want without worrying about needless confiscations, delays and gouging brokerage fees.

  26. I tried the cheque method today. I handed him the cheque, then cancelled the cheque. They can send all the threatening letters they want, they won’t get a cent from me.

  27. Mike,

    You’re an idiot! You have no clue whatsoever about what comes out of
    your mouth. Please take me God…

  28. So Mike.. tell me this.

    If UPS decided to charge 80% of what the cost of the item is, is this justified? If Joe Blow is told there are “Brokerage Fees”, I believe he will assume $10-15 MAX (like I did). If people are told what the brokerage fees are going to be up front (or charged up front), NOBODY will use UPS. They’re hidden fees and UPS are crooks

  29. UPS is aware of all the commotion they’ve caused because of their brokerage charges.

    One of their brokers confided in me that there is a reason their point of entry for Southern Ontario is Windsor.

    Now you are thinking, that is normal Windsor is next to the USA border. However, UPS knows that a large percentage of their customers are located in the GTA area. Since Customs needs to be cleared through point of entry,being Windsor, their strategy is most customers would rather pay UPS brokerage charges at the door rather than driving to Windsor.

    Point of entry used to Toronto Pearson Terminal. Why then, it is now Windsor? You guessed it, more money for UPS. Think for a minute. If they have over 1000 coming in daily from the USA and they charge an average of $18 brokerage for package, then they are making additional $18000 daily just on brokerage fees. That is in addition to the shipping fee they’ve already charged the USA shipper. Multiply that by 365 days and they’ve made over 6 million dollars in a span of 1 year.

    Yes, that is over 6 million dollars in unreasonable fees when you think that it is FREE to fill up your own custom paperwork. It is not that difficult.

    If you cannot be bothered with filling up the 1 sheet of paperwork, then it is reasonable to pay a minimal fee but not their outrageous fee since everything they do is electronic.

    I clear custom paperwork daily but too often UPS makes lames excuses to get your money.

    Their brokers are idiots. Couple of days ago, I had another UPS broker tell me “are you willing to drive to Windsor from Toronto to clear the customs paperwork?” Just goes to show you they not only like ripping you off but are also smug when they know you know of their scam.

  30. Is that true? You really have to go the specific port of entry to clear it yourself, not just the nearest customs office? I find that surprising.

    What’s really irritating about having Fed Ex or UPS do it, and paying their unconscionable rates, is that they don’t even do it right. I looked back at the customs paperwork Fed Ex filled out for some X-10 home-automation switches I ordered a few years ago (before I knew about the scam.) They classified an X-10 switch (which is just like a regular household light switch, except that it can be remotely controlled) as 85.25.20.00.99, a classification that meant (at the time) cell-phone base-station equipment and TV transmitters and stuff like that. Off by miles.

    And another shipment, which came by postal service, was a Barley Crusher malt-mill for homebrewing. Canada Post assigned it 39.24.10.00.99, which means “Tableware, kitchenware, etc, of plastics.” Doesn’t seem very accurate either, but at least that one only cost me $5.

    It just goes to show that it’s not even really all that important what classification number you use. Just, for your own convenience, try to avoid the classification numbers for nuclear reactor parts and firearms and stuff like that.

    This whole idea of trying assign numbers to every product ever devised by human ingenuity is pretty loopy to begin with. It can be pretty difficult to find a close match.

  31. Hello, you have on your [b]search[/b]?
    A very uncomfortable all the time to search for information manually.

  32. I had an experience with this way back when I first started buying items off the internet, 7 years ago. I had purchased an R/C airplane on Ebay for about $150 including UPS shipping.

    I was really excited to receive it. When it arrived the UPS guy said I owed $45 in tax and brokerage fees. 1/3rd the cost of the item! I asked him what exactly the brokerage fees were and he said that he didn’t know. I really wanted the item so I just paid the fees.

    Later on I researched this and there were a ton of angry people confronted with this same situation, even back then.

    I have not used UPS since; I refuse to. Which is too bad for them, since I buy a lot of stuff online. For that extra $40 bucks they made off of me that one time they lost a customer for life. If a US seller only ships by UPS I do not buy from them, period.

    It is quite the scam for sure. If they were to include these charges up front in the shipping fees their prices would be far above anyone else and no one would ship with them. Instead they wait until they are dangling your item in front of your nose after you waited two weeks for it to arrive, and your only other option is to send the item back and fight with the seller to get your money back. I guess it’s fitting that their company color is shit brown.

  33. Anyone still checking this post – when you have a shipment through UPS call (800) 742-5877 and give them the tracking number and ask to self-clear. This is the UPS line to change the brokerage. The system for Canada customs: once you have received anything imported to your address, customs has the broker you used on file for next time, so if it was UPS, then they have they are on file as YOUR broker for other shipments even if it’s Fedex, etc.

  34. got ripped off as well.
    bought a nokia phone from ebay for $117 (that includes a $12 shipping fee), received the package today, and the UPS dude was like “yeah, there’s a brokerage fee…… for $46”

    WTF. i bought that phone for my dad, so i couldnt refuse the package.
    but yeah, no more UPS for me!!

  35. Anybody know if the class action suit is going through? I’ve just been charged brokerage on a FREE item! $30 for an item I didn’t have to pay dime one for! That’s robbery! I’m going to dispute the charge through Visa. Maybe the 2 corporations can battle for $30?

  36. OK…

    What happened? I’ve experienced most of the horror stories that I see published here in past (go back a year or so), but the suddenly SEEMED to get their act in order and become competitive.

    Today, it was like a blast from the past. I had to pay $58 on an item that was only worth (and declared) at $129US. Wot up with that? Has someone thrown a switch because some court ruling has been made that exonerates them from their earlier (evil) ways?

    I was blown away – I’ve been routinely receiving UPS shipments from the US for the last several months which were actually reasonable.

    Grrrrr…

  37. I just received my first UPS “screw you”. A $60 item and $33.01 brokerage fee. The worst part is I have 2 more packages coming in from UPS Ground that will get dinged at least that much, likely more. I officially and completely boycott UPS. USPS/Canada Post is the way to go from now on.

  38. I bought item off ebay for $51 dollars.
    Charged 20 some dollars by seller UPS.
    after reading ups write up, I decided to call them and
    see what was brokage fee. They said it would cost me $42 dollars. Then I read post where they said you could do your own brokage. So I call UPS saying I want to do my own brokage. They said they will fax me papers. Arrived at my house few days later with ups notice that I need to pay $42 to get my package. Phone them up and tried to keep cool. They said they did the brokage cause package arrived at the port of Montreal and am in New Brunswick. They said I would of had to gone to Montreal (12 hours drive) to release package so they did it for me. I said I don’t want to pay the $42 dollars cause I was told I could of done this and that I would of drove to Montreal for that price (wich I wouldn’t am not that crazy). UPS told me they would give me a “one time good will” exact quote from UPS. So I ended up paying 11 dollars for the Canadian tax. I am going to avoid UPS like the plague.

  39. I just recently got burned with a notice on my door when I got home from school saying that I owed $208.34 to UPS in brokerage c.o.d.! I f#(%ing flipped. I was thinking of using the cheque method that was previously stated where you give them a cheque then go to your bank and cancel it. But I told my dad about it and he said I can’t do it because he doesn’t want me or himself to get into any legal trouble–which I’m not sure of (if someone could make that clear to me as to what would happen if I cancelled the cheque, let me know).

    There was also a post about beating the UPS brokerage fees by calling their bluff. I think this would be the best way for me to try and fight these fees. Could someone explain to me the manner in which I should talk to them and what exactly I should say to get my way?

  40. I ordered a pair of boots online from the US for $100 bucks and surprise surprise, they came with a $45 brokerage fee from who else but UPS. Now RMS has been harassing me for months and today, mysteriously my credit card no longer works – this is fucking bullshit. If anyone knows someone who works for RMS please punch them in the face for me – tell them it’s from Colleen Hartwick – another person they fucking ripped off.

  41. What kills me is that it’s taken three months to settle an outstanding brokerage fee of $12. When I first received a letter from RMS in March indicating I owed an unpaid brokerage fee, I called in immediately. Of course the letter informed me that I had to pay the fee by a certain date (which was the day before). I called in to settle the claim, gave them my CC info, and went on. I received a call a month later in April informing me the claim was still not settled. I told them that I had called in, and the agent admitted that they knew that I had, and that the cc number was invalid. I use this card daily. I gave them the number again.

    Today, reviewing my credit card account balance, I noticed that they still had not charged me. I called them today, and all the agent could say was “we know you’ve been trying to settle this, but I don’t know why the amount wasn’t charged on the second call.” I’m getting really frustrated with this company, and I don’t want my credit being affected. If I am ordering from the US in the future, I will demand USPS or not order from the vendor at all.

  42. Just called Canada Border Information Service (1 800 461-9999). They told me that self clearing does NOT have to be at the point of entry (in my case Winnipeg while I’m in Calgary). Just let UPS know you are self clearing and they will ship your package to your town’s warehouse. Once it arrives, you go to the warehouse and get the documents, bring the documents to a Canada customs office in your town, pay taxes & duties, get it stamped (agent may have to look over the documents), bring documents back to warehouse and UPS will release the package to you. Done.

  43. After ordering a few items over the past couple of years from the US, I’ve encountered my first hitch – ‘taxes’ and such charged at the border… My order was placed in November 07, received December 07… a few weeks ago I get a call from RMS saying I owe $16.72 to UPS. After a hurried explanation of why/to whom I owe money, I say – well wtf would UPS leave a package without asking for money? It had been delivered when no one was home, with no mention of money being owed. First I thought, SCAM! But, alas, RMS is a real company, and after talking to UPS, I found I did indeed owe the money – and I asked the UPS guy again, WTF would someone leave the package without asking for money? So I’ve paid my $16.72, as it’s not a staggering amount. I called RMS back to let them know I had paid the amount using online banking – and they asked for the reference number for the transaction (sure, have my bank number and password too), so that they could confirm with UPS I had actually made the payment and thus could close the account. What still gets me is I NEVER received a bill/notice in the mail. Five months of nothing, and then this. It all smells fishy, but hopefully now it will be settled.

  44. Hey guys i recently got an order the shipper used UPS and got raped 355.38 for a 2034.56 order. There was 261.95 taxes ,89.29 brokerage Fee ,4.14 of Brokerage GST. One of the items in the order was wrong so i shipped it back with an RMA#. The shipper again shipped UPS I got a tracking number so i called ups to ask if there will be any brokerage fee and taxes on the returned item they said there will be taxes and brokerage charge. My question is wasn’t i already charged for the taxes and brokerage fees in the first order the item is same value nothing changed. It’s like i buy an item at the store its the wrong item i exchange it for something of the same or less value and the store charges me again.

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