Another reason to avoid UPS
 

The other day Alan complained that his AllGlass 2X55W PC Strip light had failed. As I had sold it to him, and the light was only 2 1/2 years old, I undertook the repair job. I fired off an email to AllGlass with a query as to the warranty. All Glass replied that there was a five year warranty on the ballast, and that they would send me one sight unseen. To make a long story short, today UPS came a'knockin on my door with a parcel, but there was a $15.75 brokerage fee plus GST on a ballast that came to me no-charge. Just another UPS horror story. :( :(

Yea that's a typical story for most manufacturs.
The warranty "usually" covers the product and any labour and shipping costs are passed on to the consumer or store but the store can pass those cost's onto the customer if they choose to do so.

I only know all this cause I deal with many of these cases weekly at work.

Just as a matter of interest. They replaced it with a Workhorse 5. It was a about an inch (2.54 cm for you young guys) longer, so I had to drill a new hole. Now to dissemble the old one to see what makes it tick, and possibly repair it. :D

The brokerage fee was only $16? I think the price has come down. I've been nailed with their brokerage fee once before, and it was more than the item was that I bought (I think it was a $25 fogger machine, and the brokerage fee was $30).

Interesting that they just sent a WH5. Those are nice ballasts.

Hello,

You shouldn't have been charged brokerage fees on $0 goods. UPS only charge brokerage fees on ground shipments if the items are over a specified amount. For example, my US customers will be charged if the product is over $200.00 USD when shipped via UPS Standard. Free if it's faster service. I'd call UPS up and see what they can do. But usually once the fee has been collected, they couldn't care less.

Titus

Actually yeah, maybe whatever Titus said...

When you are getting a return/refund/replacement etc. product it should arrive at 0$, or as in a replacement for a product that duty has already been paid on, if you did get the original from the US...

I asked the driver why I should pay for a no cost item. He said they must have placed a value on the item. I now see on the AllGlass invoice that it was invoiced at $15.00. The GST on $15.00 is not $1.63. I am more confused than ever. :x

Customs converts your $15 US to about (they use the proper conversion factor which differs for each day) $22.50 Candian and then charge the GST on the Canadian value. The last time I received an item via UPS, they quoted the brokerage fee as a percent of the value in Canadian funds plus $5 (I think that's the correct amount) for COD since they would have to collect money from me.

Yes, I have paid over $30 Canadian for a $24US gift from my sister.

Vickie

I suppose the real confusion arises as to why AllGlass would put an invoice for $15.00 on the box. The ballast was supposed to be a warranty replacement. I don't imagine we are going to pay that. They could simply have put no value on the package, and sent me an invoice in the mail. That way the UPS guys would not have gotten any money. :cry: :cry:

Sorry rcipema, I should have been clearer. I was just trying to explain why you paid $1.61 GST on a $15 item.

You are correct. If the value was $0, then you probably wouldn't have had to pay anything.

Vickie

Bob, that is a declared value for insured shipping. to get there shipment insured it has to have a declared value and there for they screw you by making you pay taxes on the value not what you paied.. and it isn't ups at work there but good old Taxation Canada who is out to screw you one what ever they can.. the way they look at itt is to stop fraud in getting stuff sent and declaring it a gift they will tax the insured value of it..

a noraml company would have prepaied those charges. for example when I got my RO/DI unit from Aquariumspro, they dropshiped it from Reefpure and I had 20.00 ish in charges.. I called AJ and after he got mad at the shipping company , hehe he refunded that charges I paied to my credit card. aparently Reefpure was suposed to prepay thease charges when they shipped.

mine had a declared value of 50.00 on it thats why the charges were cheep..

Steve

That is similar to what they did after "free trade" went into effect. Instead of charging duty, they promptly started charging a $5.00 "handling fee" on every package from the USA. In the olden days that would have been called Usery. :x :x

I remember now, I had to send the shipper the original invoice showing where I had paid duty the first time so that he could enclose it in the customs documents with the return shipment.