UPS "Brokerage Fees"

LaurieR · Oct 25th, 2006, 03:49 PM

I too fell victim to UPS brokerage fees with an item from ebay. I'm happy to see some action being taken and I hope this makes UPS change their evil, greedy ways.

gordguide · Oct 25th, 2006, 04:18 PM

" ... Brokerage fees are payable to UPS and never to the sender. The UPS brokerage fee on a $35 item would be their minimum $16. UPS is also collecting any duties payable, GST and provincial tax as they are required to by law. ..."

A minor point, but important none the less: UPS collects the fee on behalf of a brokerage firm they contract to clear their shipments; they do not charge brokerage fees themselves.

UPS will be quick to tell you that if you complain; they will state that they do not charge brokerage fees, but instead pass on the fee, that they have already been billed for to clear your shipment, directly to you. In fact I have heard them say they've already paid it (which is probably not true, but a technicality; we all understand how a bill gets sent, then paid).

Of course, what they won't tell you is the broker they do use is a wholly owned subsidiary set up specifically to clear UPS shipments. So, in practice it's a moot point. But, UPS can and does defend the fee by saying "it's not us, it's our broker."

As for paying brokerage fees directly to the seller, the contract the sender signs states that if the recipient does not pay the shipping and associated fees (taxes, brokerage, whatever) then the sender must pay them. Generally it's not an issue, but occasionally the item is delivered before the brokerage bill that normally would accompany it. The shipper will bill the recipient by letter, and if the recipient doesn't pay, then they bill the shipper.

" ... Don't get me wrong - the UPS brokerage fees are outrageously high, but the case does not have a leg to stand on. ..."

The grounds for the suit are, in essence, that they are "outrageously high", which can be deemed to be an illegal practice. What the chances of success are I don't know, but I think I can clearly see at least one leg :-)

lcsim · Oct 25th, 2006, 04:27 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by gordguide
	" ... Brokerage fees are payable to UPS and never to the sender. The UPS brokerage fee on a $35 item would be their minimum $16. UPS is also collecting any duties payable, GST and provincial tax as they are required to by law. ..." A minor point, but important none the less: UPS collects the fee on behalf of a brokerage firm they contract to clear their shipments; they do not charge brokerage fees themselves. UPS will tell you that if you complain; they will state that they do not charge brokerage fees, but instead pass on the fee they are charged to clear your shipment directly to you. Of course, what they won't tell you is the broker they do use is a wholly owned subsidiary set up specifically to clear UPS shipments. So, in practice it's a moot point. But, UPS can and does defend the fee by saying "it's not us, it's our broker."

You are absolutely right of them being "separate entities"

However, UPS Customs Brokerage also advertise themselves as "One Courier, One Broker, No Hassles" on UPS Canada's website, all inbound UPS carried shipments by default get cleared by UPS Customs Brokerage unless the shipper stated otherwise or the receiver has on file with them a different customs broker. FedEx Ground at least have the courtesy to call you up and ask if you wish to use FedEx Trade Networks to clear your incoming package, of which they also own

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/res...oms/index.html

kps · Oct 25th, 2006, 11:35 PM

Yup, UPS went on a customs broker buying spree a few years back. They bought Livingston International in Canada and Fritz-Starber in the US. Although FedEx always had their own in-house brokerage for their express shipments, they bought C.J. Tower in the US for ground shipments and re-branded them as FedEx Trade Networks. Trade Networks also does some freight forwarding and logistics.

I myself got burned several times by UPS ground shipments, I wish this class action suit success.

KreenysMac · Oct 26th, 2006, 02:48 PM

I was outraged as much as everyone at the brokerage fees. Then once I started to build a robot for a grad-school project, having to import parts from the US, the brokerage fees started getting outrageous.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THESE FEES!

So, I was doing all this importing, and getting to know the desk agents quite well (because I work during the day and was never home when they delivered, so I had to go to the main depot) ...

Then ...

... one of the service-desk agents tipped me off. When you get your first delivery notice call (don't accept the package, or make sure you're not home), call the 1-800 number and press "0" to speak to an agent.

Give the agent the notice # and say to them "I would like to clear this package through Canada Customs myself". At this point they'll do a bunch of typing, get a contact phone # from you and probably give you a location of their brokerage office. In Winnipeg, this office is right at the main UPS depot.

UPS will now put together a couple of forms for you. You will have to pick these up from the brokerage office. The phone agent will give you the location when they call you about the forms being ready. It's almost always at the main depot. The hours are limited, usually only 10am to 3pm, Mon to Fri.

You now must have an original receipt from your purchase, like the one most companies email to you or say "print off for your records" when you purchase the item. PayPal receipts usually work too. The receipt should have your info on it as well as a brief description of the object purchased and the price (whatever currency) that you paid for it. Bring a copy with you to UPS.

You now have your UPS forms and receipt. You now go to Canada Customs. They have your package on file. You will have to pay GST and PST on the package, but believe you me, this is FAR less than the brokerage fees for most small items.

Bring the stamped Customs form back to UPS and pick up your package!

A bit more of a hassel, but this saved me over $50 in brokerage fees once!

-- Kristine

gordguide · Oct 26th, 2006, 04:38 PM

CCRA is quite flexible as to what constitutes a receipt or invoice as far as self-clearing goes (printed letter, printed eMail, handwritten, etc) but they really like to see the quantity and per-unit price as well as the total price listed. Only a big deal if you have multiple items and quantities on the invoice, but there you go.

lcsim · Oct 26th, 2006, 04:46 PM

You are right in terms on the flexible CRA documentation requirement, unless the import is more than CAD$1,600.00 which they consider as a high value import, that they will be a little more picky in terms of documentation where some officers asked the importer to produce printed invoice with all the vendor information and exact description of line items in the shipment. Although the LVS (Low Value Shipment) threshold is being used by courier company in terms of reporting to CRA, but we did see some customs officer used that as a guage for the amount of documentation they ask on clearing.

CanadaRAM · Oct 26th, 2006, 08:51 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by HowEver
	CanadaRAM, the "brokerage" is charged on the insured amount. It is possible that the sender supplies an inflated insured or perhaps even 'replacement' amount, UPS sees this and charges based on that.

Of course -- they are legally obligated to collect tax and duties if any on the declared amount as well. The shipper lied, how is that UPS's fault?

Look, I don't want to defend UPS's rates, which are too high. But there is a lot of disinformation being promulgated here as well.

Mike: If it was brokerage fees, you made the cheque payable to UPS or their brokerage service. You said that the $35 cheque was instructed to be payable to the SENDER. That is simply not correct. The only time payment is payable to the sender is on a COD shipment where the check is being sent back to the sender.

Kreenys: Of course you can clear it yourself, if you have several hours of free time and live close enough to the UPS office. You can also send it to a private customs broker who will charge $35 - $75 for the paperwork, minumum.

When you sign for a shipment, there's a bunch of fine print on the back saying that there may be fees payable by you. Just like when you buy a ticket to a ball game, the fine print on the ticket says you've just waived your right to sue if you get beaned by a home run and become injured. Didn't read the terms? Didn't ask what the charges were? Ignorance is not grounds.

Oct 25th, 2006, 04:18 PM	#22
gordguide Honourable Citizen Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Saskatoon Posts: 5,202	" ... Brokerage fees are payable to UPS and never to the sender. The UPS brokerage fee on a $35 item would be their minimum $16. UPS is also collecting any duties payable, GST and provincial tax as they are required to by law. ..." A minor point, but important none the less: UPS collects the fee on behalf of a brokerage firm they contract to clear their shipments; they do not charge brokerage fees themselves. UPS will be quick to tell you that if you complain; they will state that they do not charge brokerage fees, but instead pass on the fee, that they have already been billed for to clear your shipment, directly to you. In fact I have heard them say they've already paid it (which is probably not true, but a technicality; we all understand how a bill gets sent, then paid). Of course, what they won't tell you is the broker they do use is a wholly owned subsidiary set up specifically to clear UPS shipments. So, in practice it's a moot point. But, UPS can and does defend the fee by saying "it's not us, it's our broker." As for paying brokerage fees directly to the seller, the contract the sender signs states that if the recipient does not pay the shipping and associated fees (taxes, brokerage, whatever) then the sender must pay them. Generally it's not an issue, but occasionally the item is delivered before the brokerage bill that normally would accompany it. The shipper will bill the recipient by letter, and if the recipient doesn't pay, then they bill the shipper. " ... Don't get me wrong - the UPS brokerage fees are outrageously high, but the case does not have a leg to stand on. ..." The grounds for the suit are, in essence, that they are "outrageously high", which can be deemed to be an illegal practice. What the chances of success are I don't know, but I think I can clearly see at least one leg :-) __________________ "Being an artist doesn't take much, just everything you got. Which means, of course, that as the process is giving you life, it is also bringing you closer to death. But it's no big deal. They are one and the same and cannot be avoided or denied. So when I totally embrace this process, this life/death, and abandon myself to it, I transcend all this gibberish and hang out with the gods. It seems to me that that is worth the price of admission." —Hubert Selby, Jr. Last edited by gordguide; Oct 25th, 2006 at 04:37 PM.

Oct 25th, 2006, 11:35 PM	#24
kps Throttle Pusher Join Date: May 2003 Location: YTO Posts: 3,991	Yup, UPS went on a customs broker buying spree a few years back. They bought Livingston International in Canada and Fritz-Starber in the US. Although FedEx always had their own in-house brokerage for their express shipments, they bought C.J. Tower in the US for ground shipments and re-branded them as FedEx Trade Networks. Trade Networks also does some freight forwarding and logistics. I myself got burned several times by UPS ground shipments, I wish this class action suit success. __________________ "We've taken all the fun out of childhood just in the interest of saving a few lives." --G. Carlin Macbook Pro Intel 2.66GHz Core i7, 8GHz RAM, OS X 10.6.4 PowerMac G5, 2.0GHz, 2.5GB RAM. OS X 10.5.3 PowerMac G4, 1.2 GHz 768MB RAM OS X 10.4.x iPhone 3G

Oct 26th, 2006, 02:48 PM	#25
KreenysMac Full Citizen Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Winterpeg...erm Winnipeg Posts: 54	You Don't Have To Pay!!! I was outraged as much as everyone at the brokerage fees. Then once I started to build a robot for a grad-school project, having to import parts from the US, the brokerage fees started getting outrageous. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THESE FEES! So, I was doing all this importing, and getting to know the desk agents quite well (because I work during the day and was never home when they delivered, so I had to go to the main depot) ... Then ... ... one of the service-desk agents tipped me off. When you get your first delivery notice call (don't accept the package, or make sure you're not home), call the 1-800 number and press "0" to speak to an agent. Give the agent the notice # and say to them "I would like to clear this package through Canada Customs myself". At this point they'll do a bunch of typing, get a contact phone # from you and probably give you a location of their brokerage office. In Winnipeg, this office is right at the main UPS depot. UPS will now put together a couple of forms for you. You will have to pick these up from the brokerage office. The phone agent will give you the location when they call you about the forms being ready. It's almost always at the main depot. The hours are limited, usually only 10am to 3pm, Mon to Fri. You now must have an original receipt from your purchase, like the one most companies email to you or say "print off for your records" when you purchase the item. PayPal receipts usually work too. The receipt should have your info on it as well as a brief description of the object purchased and the price (whatever currency) that you paid for it. Bring a copy with you to UPS. You now have your UPS forms and receipt. You now go to Canada Customs. They have your package on file. You will have to pay GST and PST on the package, but believe you me, this is FAR less than the brokerage fees for most small items. Bring the stamped Customs form back to UPS and pick up your package! A bit more of a hassel, but this saved me over $50 in brokerage fees once! -- Kristine __________________ "A scientist discovers that which exists. An engineer creates that which never was." Theodore von Karman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PowerbookG4: 667 MHz, 512 RAM, OSX 10.4 iMac 20": 1.2 GHz, 1GB RAM, OSX 10.4 Software: Matlab, LabView, OrCAD

Oct 26th, 2006, 04:38 PM	#26
gordguide Honourable Citizen Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Saskatoon Posts: 5,202	CCRA is quite flexible as to what constitutes a receipt or invoice as far as self-clearing goes (printed letter, printed eMail, handwritten, etc) but they really like to see the quantity and per-unit price as well as the total price listed. Only a big deal if you have multiple items and quantities on the invoice, but there you go. __________________ "Being an artist doesn't take much, just everything you got. Which means, of course, that as the process is giving you life, it is also bringing you closer to death. But it's no big deal. They are one and the same and cannot be avoided or denied. So when I totally embrace this process, this life/death, and abandon myself to it, I transcend all this gibberish and hang out with the gods. It seems to me that that is worth the price of admission." —Hubert Selby, Jr.

Oct 26th, 2006, 04:46 PM	#27
lcsim Full Citizen Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 161	You are right in terms on the flexible CRA documentation requirement, unless the import is more than CAD$1,600.00 which they consider as a high value import, that they will be a little more picky in terms of documentation where some officers asked the importer to produce printed invoice with all the vendor information and exact description of line items in the shipment. Although the LVS (Low Value Shipment) threshold is being used by courier company in terms of reporting to CRA, but we did see some customs officer used that as a guage for the amount of documentation they ask on clearing. __________________ Mac Pro 3GHz Quad/8GB with Dual 30" Cinema Display MacBook Air 1.8GHz/2GB/64GB SSD

Oct 25th, 2006, 03:49 PM	#21
LaurieR Full Citizen Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 217	I too fell victim to UPS brokerage fees with an item from ebay. I'm happy to see some action being taken and I hope this makes UPS change their evil, greedy ways.

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