Re: Discuss" B.C. man sets off class-action lawsuit against UPS over hidden brokerage
jokerofdeath, stop trying to defend UPS.
Stop living with your eyes closed.
How do you explain the fact that Canadapost only charges $5-10 for brokerage fees on all items?
I never once said that they are not. What you are either unaware of or are choosing to totall ignore is the fact that Canada Post is a former Crown Corporation that still recieves transfer payments from the Government and therefore is not responsible to actually worry about profit. They are also well capable of using revenue from stamp sales however they want.
Compared to UPS charging 1/3rd value of the item or more.
This is an absurd generalization. The fee at UPS is proportional to a degree but is only overkill at the low end. The fee, for instance, on a $750 to $1000 declared value shipment is only $53. That ammounts to between 5% and 7%, not this blanket statement of yours claiming 30% on all shipments.
Why does the fee vary? It all goes through the same paperwork whether it's a $25 or $250 item, why do we have to pay more brokerage for higher value items?
The process for clearing shipments into Canada is set
BY THE GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE REMEMBER THIS WHEN i SAY THE FOLLOWING!!!!!
There is a program in Canada called the Corurier/LVS program. It allows carriers like UPS and FedEx and Canada Post to clear LVS volume themselves. LVS is short for Low Value Shipment and covers shipments up to $1599.99. This value and the classification is enforced by the
GOVERNMENT AND IS THE LAW OF CANADA SET BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA. With this ability, the courrier can arrange for whatever method of customs brokerage they want. It can be hired out to a third party that I guarantee you charges FAR more than UPS or the courrier can get their own brokerage license and start clearing it themselves. UPS chose to do this themselves due to the fact that with UPS clearing the goods, there is no more waiting for a third party to clear the goods and cause delays on packages.
To that note, if you are a licensed customs broker in Canada, you are required to meet a myriad of legally binding requirements. One of these is that you
MUST maintain 6 + current year of
ALL records in regards to
ALL shipments that have come into Canada and were brokered by you. For UPS Canada, this is in the 10s of thousands per day. That can ammount to twice that in actual sheets of paper and
ALL of that has to be stored somehow. For years, many did it by paper but the warehouse space for that is cost prohibitive. Even the electronic systems that almost everyone uses still costs a great deal of money.
From that there is also the
FACT that if a package is inappropriately cleared and customs discovers this, there are
VERY steep fines. On the order of
$10s of thousands each in some instances. If you as a private citizen chooses to clear your goods at the border and you do it wrong, the government will simply come and seize your goods and there is nothing you can do about it.
And beyond that, there are import restrictions on all kinds of foods, textiles and animal products. All of these require permits to allow you to import them.
Sure, you argue that Canadapost only has 2 ports of entry which delays items, but I'm sure most of us average internet buyers would rather wait an extra few days than pay these ridiculous fees.
And as I have said on other forums, if that is the case, then use CP instead of UPS. I do just that.
As for accusing other couriers, you're also wrong. Fedex doesn't charge this much brokerage, and there are no delays when they process packages.
This is just pure BS. There is also a lawsuit from the
SAME firm that is worded the
SAME and is leveled at FedEx. The FedEx rates are near identical to UPS. The difference is that rather than give you the chance to refuse the package, FedEx will deliver it and then send you the bill in the mail a month later. The real trick is that FedEx never goes to collections and then eats the cost regardless of it being against the law or if not at least against reasonable business practices to pay the taxes and duties in a subsidizing manner on the behalf of the importer.
This, by the way, is something that Canada Post does
ALL the time. The entire courrier industry in Canada is still suing the government for allowing CP to
TOTALLY ignore CBSA(Canada Border Services Agency) regulations on importing goods.
To wrap up, I cannot say it enough. Canada is
THE hardest country in the world to import anything into. The checks and balances and the red tape is immense. If you choose to totally ignore what I have to say, then you are plenty welcome to go the the CBSA website and start educating yourself as to what the reality is on Canadian import regulations and standards.
And if you want to know, I am an 11.5 year UPSer that
SET UP the brokerage facility in Fredericton so trust me when I tell you that I am pretty freaking sure I know what I am talking about.