UPS Stickup

I'm not sure why im posting this, but maybe someone has some insight to make a little less mad...

i live 6-7 hours from the Canada/USA border so i cannot just hop over and ship packages.. in this case i packaged up my crankcase and cylinder head to send to Jim in CO. i had the local UPS store file the papers and then get it on the way. so today i got a notification the UPS has determine that there is duty and tax of some form when this all arrives at Jims place, partially refundable once the items are shipped back to me . i declared the items with replacement value so 2600 for a head, 1100 for a crankcase and 600 for the cam..

does anybody know what triggers this kind of invasive knife to the throaty money theft? i have previously had canada post turn a nice set of headlights into plastic trash and now they will not offer any insurance beyond $100. so they are not my first choice.

second question; is anyone familiar with independent customs broker other than livingston ? i used to use Peacebridge but they have now been eaten by Livingston, and livingston is just a paper mill of forms and approvals...

its not been a happy day, and my beer shelf is emtpy...

NEVER use UPS! they are the worse carrier by far, their "brokerage fees" are out of this world, you are much better served with Canada Post or find a real shipper and ask them what they charge to send something for repair and rework. Call the customs office, they will (probably) tell you what paperwork to use to send something to be repaired.

Jean

Tellum to Return To Sender. PRONTO .

Many international parcel movers charge you for turning you in to customs - their brokerage fee. Why are they not going to do it?
At one time it was rare to get caught out importing stuff from the US, now it happens pretty much every time.
Brokerage from the carrier plus duty and VAT from the govt. You can't even tell them to forget it, you still owe them money.
It can also add up to a couple of weeks to the transaction, and often a near 100% increase in cost to me.

nickguzzi said:

Many international parcel movers charge you for turning you in to customs - their brokerage fee. Why are they not going to do it?
At one time it was rare to get caught out importing stuff from the US, now it happens pretty much every time.
Brokerage from the carrier plus duty and VAT from the govt. You can't even tell them to forget it, you still owe them money.
It can also add up to a couple of weeks to the transaction, and often a near 100% increase in cost to me.

Click to expand...

...and now you know how your "free" medical care is paid for!

The higher the costs go up for the government, the more they must collect from 'wherever' to cover them.

in this case the package was going to the usa and they want to charge USA duty and customs before Jim even gets to touch it ..

...and now you know how your "free" medical care is paid for!

The higher the costs go up for the government, the more they must collect from 'wherever' to cover them.[/quote]

Put like that, it seems like a bargain.
My whinge was as much with the carriers who now charge us for turning us into the govt - I have heard the same complaint in the land of the free.

I don't object to paying for the NHS, didn't all the time I was working. Now I'm old and starting to get decrepit, I will endeavour to get good value.
I do object to paying vast sums for obsolete nuclear weapons, over which the US govt has ultimate control.

If you want to take the discussion further take it to the Pub, you seem to feel the need to express your rightwing agenda at every opportunity, I'm sure others will accomodate.

It's just Texas, Nick. Sometimes I wish they were the independent country they want to be.

I was just in Austin for the MotoGP and 4 years after the inaugural race, they are finally building some roads to get back and forth. Even so, traffic congestion, in a city of 790,000 is triple what it is around here, a metro area of 3.5 million. It's even worse around DFW and I can only imagine Houston traffic. Is it better for government to be broke, having spent billions on roads and social services or to brag about all the taxpayer money they have stacked up and have 2-hour one-way commutes in the large cities? Everything's a tradeoff.

I tried to help a friend in England get an engine freighted from Canada and it turned onto a total nightmare. When it comes to international shipping and customs, the idiots who like to blow things up have added so many layers of bureacreacy and security, it comes to the point of diminishing returns very quickly

And as far as UPS is concerned, they do a helluva lot better job than those morons at FedEx, who couldn't find their asses with both hands. Exactly what happens when you misclassify employees as independent subcontractors. I've had FedEx trucks with Florida plates running up and down my road looking for an address they can't seem to find. Once, having given up, they tossed the package in my yard, where it laid overnight in the rain. In the race to the bottom, they are way out in front.

nickguzzi said:

... you seem to feel the need to express your rightwing agenda at every opportunity, I'm sure others will accomodate.

Click to expand...

Hardly, but I'll take note.

Danno said:

And as far as UPS is concerned, they do a helluva lot better job than those morons at FedEx, who couldn't find their asses with both hands. Exactly what happens when you misclassify employees as independent subcontractors. I've had FedEx trucks with Florida plates running up and down my road looking for an address they can't seem to find. Once, having given up, they tossed the package in my yard, where it laid overnight in the rain. In the race to the bottom, they are way out in front.

Click to expand...

I've had the exact opposite experience over MANY years.

I stopped dealing with UPS altogether, and FedEx almost exclusively unless it's a heavy item that will fit in a USPostal flat rate box.

grandpaul said:

nickguzzi said:

Many international parcel movers charge you for turning you in to customs - their brokerage fee. Why are they not going to do it?
At one time it was rare to get caught out importing stuff from the US, now it happens pretty much every time.
Brokerage from the carrier plus duty and VAT from the govt. You can't even tell them to forget it, you still owe them money.
It can also add up to a couple of weeks to the transaction, and often a near 100% increase in cost to me.

Click to expand...

...and now you know how your "free" medical care is paid for!

The higher the costs go up for the government, the more they must collect from 'wherever' to cover them.

Click to expand...

GP, I don't mind paying taxes, I know what they are used for OTOH, giving money to UPS does nothing to me or anyone in Canada, they probably don't even pay any corporate income taxes anywhere. UPS is the butt hole of goods carriers, I would not shed a single tear if they went belly up. I send and receive stuff with Canada Post, they have built in brokerage fees up to (I think) $1,000 and going past that is less expensive than anyone else. Parcels get to my door and if I'm not there, I can walk two blocks to the post office, with UPS, I can of course "arrange for another delivery" BUT I must be home for the whole day, if they show up twice and I'm not there, the package is sent back. I can also drive 20 Km to their distribution facility...

Just say NO to UPS!

Jean

grandpaul said:

Danno said:

And as far as UPS is concerned, they do a helluva lot better job than those morons at FedEx, who couldn't find their asses with both hands. Exactly what happens when you misclassify employees as independent subcontractors. I've had FedEx trucks with Florida plates running up and down my road looking for an address they can't seem to find. Once, having given up, they tossed the package in my yard, where it laid overnight in the rain. In the race to the bottom, they are way out in front.

Click to expand...

I've had the exact opposite experience over MANY years.

I stopped dealing with UPS altogether, and FedEx almost exclusively unless it's a heavy item that will fit in a USPostal flat rate box.

Click to expand...

99% of the stuff I ship goes USPS. I'm sure there are horror stories about them also. I just mailed a friend two crush washers he never received. I have twice found packages from FedEx thrown in the yard. The UPS guy always brings it up on the porch. I think a big part of it is familiarity. The UPS guy and the mail lady are on regular routes. But what the hell is some guy in a rented truck from Florida with a magnetic FedEx sign doing all the way up here?