The following is self-explanatory, and this was for a USD$764.99 Blue Goose Hudson, plus Factory Direct’s shipping costs to me. You might find this offensive. I do:
NOTE: the total value used for calculation of all Duty-based fees is 0.00.
Crandell, my wife does a tremendous amount of shipping all over the world in both directions. She tells people as firmly as she can that if they ship her anything UPS we will not accept it.
We have had fees of over $100.00 on a $30.00 item. All those brokerage fees are a scam. I worked in logistics for 36 years and we never went anywhere near UPS.
I think the only legit charge on there is the GST/PST.
What are Government charges, and other Government charges? Showed this to the wife who is the expert in such things and she has never seen that on anything she has brought in.
I am sure I selected USPS as the shipping option, maybe I made a mistake. I’ll never again deal with a company that only ships with couriers. I thought I had learned my lesson 12 years ago, and have managed to avoid them until now. This is a costly reminder of why I made my personal vow all those years ago. I guess lessons wane over time. [|(]
I have been ripped off by UPS too. The last major purchase that I made from the US was shipped via UPS, and they managed to lose it. However, they would not refund the brokerage fee that they had charged me.
I asked the supplier to ship the replacement unit via USPS and it arrived just fine in a few days with no additional fees. The supplier stated on their website that they only shipped via UPS but they had no problem with using the Post Office. In fact they were happy to do it, and they sent a note to UPS asking them to refund the brokerage fee, alas to no avail.
I avoid all of the hastles of ordering things from south of the border by ordering most items from Cedar Creek Hobbies in Canada. If Walthers has it they can get it, and for far less than the usual shipping fees from the US. Sometimes I have to wait for a bit while they accumulate a large enough bulk order, but that has never been a problem. They will also monitor back ordered items so as soon as they become available they add the item to their next order. They also buy direct from other suppliers like Digitrax.
I have PWRS close enough and their order goes in on Friday to Walthers, so if I get an order in Friday I can pick it up Wednesday. I don’t pay shipping so I have to factor that into the price.
Thanks, but CBSA won’t refund UPS’ ‘brokerage’ fees, or that ‘government fee’. It’s just an egregious money grab, and I am not pleased. I will have to look at my Factory Direct Hobbies account to see what I selected, but I’m sure I was careful about doing so. Who knows…
Crandell, I have been buying stuff from here. He is in Maple Ridge and gives good discounts and brings in whatever I want. I have ordered my Rapido D-10s from him.
AS the CBSA site explains, you can do the paperwork yourself and not pay the extortionate fees UPS demands. But why would CBSA rebate you on fees the they never assessed?
Write your MP and complain. The current regulations allow UPS to charge whatever they want. How does Canada Post manage on the small fee they charge, while Purolator (owned 100% by the post office) can’t?
(Remember: Canada Post is a Crown Corporation, so it can’t lose money.)
“But why would CBSA rebate you on fees the they never assessed?”
I never thought they should, or to ask them. The text I quoted in the original post is what UPS sent to me before they’d deliver it. This is not information from Factory Direct.
My point all along has been that UPS (not CBSA) charges at least double what they have to pay for ‘brokerage’ at the border, but the list I posted also shows a ‘government fee’ of approximately the same tonnage. Why should I have to pay that when Factory Direct already ponied up $50 to have UPS carry the parcel to me, across border or not?
Suddenly all my text is grey-highlighted. I don’t see a way to activate that feature or to get rid of it. [:(!]
No guarantee, but you could try to highlight all the text again, then click the “Format” drop down menu and at the bottom is “clear formatting”. Then click the “Update Reply” button.
They seem to overcharge on “government fees”, based on what I have read on the CBSA Website (they have a calculator online).
I’m not a lawyer, but this is my guess: Since you must pay UPS, that makes you a client. So if you are being overcharged, you could sue UPS. But who wants to sue a major company for a few hundred dollars? Nobody, which is why they are getting away with it.
Complaining to CBSA is a good idea, but they are not responsible. I would let the seller know though (Factory Direct Hobbies). This is bad for their business.
Like others, I avoid UPS like the plague. I can’t imagine them surviving in the long-term with such bad business practices.
“Government Fees” sounds like a misleading term, just like the “CRTC Fee” the cell phone companies padded the bill with. The CRTC does not regulate cell phones…
At the most the invoice should show their brokerage fee, any duties assessed and owed (which would be zero for model trains…) plus the amount of HST or PST and GST owing.
UPS et al is treating you as a commercial entity importing tens of thousands of dollars every month, when you are a private individual importing items for personal use. If you were a large importer, you would hire your own broker or do it in house…
I’m sure they must have small claims courts in Canada, thats the bway you sue them. We have a school system near us who thought they could get away with things, many parents sued them in small claims court, many won small amounts but after the 5th case the school ststem gave up because they had to show up to each case and 30 more were in the que.