I dealt with this just now with a $300 item shipped in September.
I call them and let them know before the package reached Canada that I intend to self-clear.
I call them again after I get info that the package is in Canada that I will be paying the duties and taxes myself and will self-clear. Still, their online site tries to bill me $120 for $36 worth of taxes and duties. I don’t receive any emails with the form.
So then I go to Richmond where their office is open until 3pm to try to get a copy of the self-clear document. But only after the second time they tell me I can’t get this form until they try showing up at my door once, and then the package ends up held at the service centre.
The third time I arrive there and get the paper, then head to the CBSA office, pay the taxes, get the stamp, get a photo, and head back to the service centre for the fourth time, I then get the package, sign off and hand off the sheet. I thought I was in the clear since I have my package, they have the documentation, everyone’s happy right?
Nope, they are still trying to collect the $36 I already paid and the $84 in bogus fees. After the first bill, I call them and they tell me to email the documents to [email protected] but they didn’t answer. A month later they are trying to tack on late fees to this, so I call again and they tell me to email [email protected] with the same form and the order of events. I got a “we received it” email this time so we’ll see if this fixes it.
I will probably contact BC Consumer Protection because this is ridiculous. Fedex does the same thing but more like in the video where they just drop it off then bill later. We need to end this practice, and give the consumer a choice: (A) We will do the brokerage for you for $x.xx, (B) select your commercial broker, send us the contact info we should email or mail documents to, © you will self-clear the package, and we will give you the Cargo Control Number that you need to give CBSA.
It’s our right to be able to clear your items yourself, it’s just that UPS makes a lot of money by playing hard to get and extorting people of their packages.
You can always self-clear your package. Then they don’t see any extra fees from you.
Super simple
- Tell them to email you the commercial invoice.
- Bring invoice to Canada customs and pay any duties or taxes-they stamp your paper.
- Bring stamped paper to courier and they have to give you your stuff with no additional fees.
Done
Done it many times. Super easy here because UPS and Canada customs are a 5 minute drive from each other.
UPS and Fedex have play hard to get even after I have emailed and called them several times.
Also in Vancouver it’s not bad with an airport and downtown location, but in Toronto it’s actually insane, your only option in the city is Pearson Airport, where nobody wants to be.
I’m glad this is working for you. When I tried (a few years ago), UPS refused to send the commercial invoice and bounced me around from person to person on the phone, all of whom seemed to have no idea what I was asking for. My partner tried and had the same experience. I think we tried about 5 different times and got nowhere.
For us, they had delivered the boxes while we weren’t home and then sent the bills later and then to collections (their own private collections company as it turns out). We sent a demand letter to them requesting proof that we accepted the delivery (we obviously hadn’t), and ultimately never heard another word from them. Collections letters and phone calls stopped. Not saying this will work for everyone, but we were relieved as we didn’t actually owe any duty (we were shipping our own stuff) and tried so hard to complete the process the right way.
Well… that’s one way to do things. For the past 20 years, I’ve refused all shipments via UPS from the US. I always ask sellers who they plan to ship through, and if it’s UPS, I tell them that’s a deal breaker. I also encourage others not to accept shipments via UPS from the US.
I’d switch to this method but it’s just such a headache to go through the dispute process.
I did have one parcel that arrived via UPS in 2020. They dropped it at the door without ringing, and sent the bill for their customs processing in the mail. I called them up and demanded they drop the fees because a) I don’t accept international packages from UPS (as the local UPS guy knows), and b) they have no evidence I ever received the package. When they investigated the signature, it wasn’t mine, but was the delivery person’s.
They dropped the charges.
Summarized the transcript using Firefox Orbit
- The speaker had an unexpected experience with UPS, a shipping company, regarding high brokerage fees for a package shipped from the US to Canada.
- UPS charged significantly higher fees than competitors for customs clearance, holding the package hostage until the fees were paid.
- The speaker ordered a hot sauce collection and was not informed of the shipping company used, resulting in unexpected fees.
- The fees included entry preparation, disbursement, and GST, with the entry preparation fee being more than the initial shipping cost.
- The speaker contacted UPS to dispute the fees, citing the Consumer Protection Act of Alberta and arguing that the fees were unfair and an unwarranted additional cost.
