Hit by Canada Customs on shipment via USPS [Archive]

tharsan

Jan 14th, 2003, 09:20 PM

i used to get stuff from ebay all the time, all marked "gift" and i got some great deals that way - then a few months back, someone sent a package via USPS marked "merchandise" and i got the package without any extra fees, but a couple months later, BAM a letter from PBB Logistics demanded payment for the cash they coughed up to get my package across the border, but this fee worked out to be about 15% of the purchase value (so i figured it was tax).

and UPS demanded money up front when i got my last package from eBay - now i'm alot more picky about where i buy my stuff from!

mrgreenjeans

Jan 14th, 2003, 10:45 PM

I've been dinged with the fee 5 times, of which 3 of them were appealed successfully.

The CPC $5 fee is NOTHING compared to what UPS would hit you with on transborder goods.

Hey, do you remember how long it took for the refund to arrive? I sent in a refund request back in September and haven't heard back since. The silly thing is that the form doesn't provide a phone number for the refund centres, just the addresses (I sent mine to London).

JayPatel

Jan 14th, 2003, 11:05 PM

Ive heard from the post office that disputes with Canada Customs can take up to 90 days for resolution. ive got a dispute of my own that im waiting word on as well.

HighFlyer

Jan 14th, 2003, 11:14 PM

JayPatel

Jan 14th, 2003, 11:16 PM

whats the worst amount youve been hit for?

for me, $75.00 for a Plextor burner I ordered a few years ago

hardwired

Jan 14th, 2003, 11:19 PM

Always been hit up, but I claim it at the end of the year, via business and good accountant.

HighFlyer

Jan 14th, 2003, 11:50 PM

I generally ship the expensive stuff to an Amerifriend and declare it myself when I bring it back.

Worst by mail: $49 appealed, $15 not appealed
Worst at airport customs (YYZ): $32

kenazo

Jan 15th, 2003, 12:11 AM

I've got a USPS postal box in Pembina, North dakota for just such a situation. I claim everything, and pay my 14%. most things are still cheaper than here.

Free trade just means there are no tarifs on items traveling between the countries, it doesn't mean that you won't get taxed.

BoneMonkey

Jan 15th, 2003, 01:48 AM

adwoodw

Jan 15th, 2003, 02:10 PM

I got hit with about $50 for a portable CDR burner that I won from Comdex. Naturally, it was UPS that delivered it to my door. At the time, I didn't know that they charged a handling fee on top of GST/PST.

As for Canada Post, I've been charged the $5 and tax before on a DVD that I bought from the states. After all was said and done, I only saved about $2 CDN!!

Action Jackson

Jan 15th, 2003, 07:04 PM

Ah geez.

I ordered some stuff from the states shipped via USPS!

Now I have to get dinged?!

Nuts. :x

TheBrain

Jan 15th, 2003, 07:52 PM

Ah geez.

I ordered some stuff from the states shipped via USPS!

Now I have to get dinged?!

Nuts. :x

USPS is the cheapest way, other than smuggling it across.

ud666

Jan 15th, 2003, 10:05 PM

Ok how about if we asked the shipper to ship it as a "present" ? You think they will do that? or put some BS value on that green customs sticker..

I had an extreme case.. my shipment was only $24 US, and the guys over there screwed up and put it was worth $50US on the green sticker. So CCRA taxed me on $50US = $77cdn!!!

well the company who sold me the things refunded me the difference anyway after i complained :)

HighFlyer

Jan 15th, 2003, 10:53 PM

Ok how about if we asked the shipper to ship it as a "present" ? You think they will do that? or put some BS value on that green customs sticker..

Private sellers on ebay generally will do it, or automatically mark it as a gift. Businesses won't, as they have a lot to lose if they are caught.

EDIT: Just because it's marked as a gift doesn't mean that they won't open it to check if it is in fact a gift :x

KiLLaKoW

Jan 15th, 2003, 11:05 PM

I bought some stuff from www.yourhappyplace.com recently, it totalled to a little over $300, I had to pay over $50 worth of duty fees. shipped via USPS

tharsan

Jan 16th, 2003, 12:58 AM

EDIT: Just because it's marked as a gift doesn't mean that they won't open it to check if it is in fact a gift :x

but how can they tell if it's a gift or not? if they see the item, what would make them think it's not a gift?

and i was considering buying a laptop off of ebay, but now.... heh s*** no, unless it's from somebody in Canada :)

bylo

Jan 16th, 2003, 07:17 AM

EDIT: Just because it's marked as a gift doesn't mean that they won't open it to check if it is in fact a gift :x

but how can they tell if it's a gift or not? if they see the item, what would make them think it's not a gift?
A real gift comes with a gift card -- not an invoice -- inside!

Immortal

Jan 16th, 2003, 10:38 AM

I get dinged more than 6 times. Now I don't buy anything that is business type. Unless that person selling is going to mark it as a gift. Since it's trading I do mostly.

Seriously I'm peeved about this too. I've been on sites that are located in ontario and I thought... hmm this could be nice. Then I read... shipping to america 0 tax. Shipping to other province a lil tax. Shipping to ontario the most amount of tax. Why the heck!

ahbert

Jun 16th, 2003, 02:25 PM

tharsan

Jun 16th, 2003, 05:11 PM

EDIT: Just because it's marked as a gift doesn't mean that they won't open it to check if it is in fact a gift  :x

but how can they tell if it's a gift or not? if they see the item, what would make them think it's not a gift?
A real gift comes with a gift card -- not an invoice -- inside!

but if you buy something off ebay, it usually doesn't even have an invoice inside...

shinichi

Jun 16th, 2003, 07:21 PM

how much they gonna charge you if they have no idea how much that item is ??

fwhc022883

Jun 16th, 2003, 07:34 PM

I have recently been buying stuff off ebay as well and I found out that if your merchandise amount is less than $20 or your gift amount is less than $60, then Canada Customs can't charge you anything...

pegasus00000

Jun 16th, 2003, 09:49 PM

I'm not an expert on duty stuff, but I did red the Canada Customs site regarding import goods.

Normally no duty will be charge on goods that came through the US, but they do charge 15% tax based on the value of goods in Canadian dollar.

If it's a gift, nothing will be charge if it's under $60

If over $60, the difference is taxable, meaning if something worth $200 and you mark it as a gift, Canada Customs have the right to charge you $140 on the gift.

So I guess some time it's just dumb luck that you get away with it.

warpdrive

Jun 16th, 2003, 10:07 PM

shinichi

Jun 16th, 2003, 11:01 PM

how do they know how much that stuff is ?
Let's say I buy a cellphone from Finland, worth around $1000 CDN. How much they will charge it ? Since this phone has not been released here !

gambit_360

Jun 16th, 2003, 11:09 PM

I find that they make up arbitrary ballpark values when no value is declared or when you declare a value less than what's it's really worth.

HighFlyer

Jun 16th, 2003, 11:39 PM

I've been dinged with the fee 5 times, of which 3 of them were appealed successfully.

The CPC $5 fee is NOTHING compared to what UPS would hit you with on transborder goods.

OK, how the heck do you appeal the $5 fee?
If you successfully appealed the taxes on goods that were supposed to be tax and duty free in the first place, you are entitled to get the $5 fee back.

JAC

Jun 17th, 2003, 08:53 AM

Ha! Free trade in my opinion is equal to Canada dropping it's drawers, bending over and ROYALLY getting f****d by the US. Just look at the Wheat Board or the issues on soft lumber, among many other things. Free trade is one of the contributors to a downward spiralling Canadian dollar. I can remember when our dollar had close to the same purchase value as the US$, and I am not old.

1. You must be pretty damn old, since the Canadian dollar hasn't been on par with the US dollar since the early 1970s.

2. The Canadian dollar HAS to be lower than the US dollar, to make our exports more attractive.

warpdrive

Jun 17th, 2003, 09:33 AM

ranjeet2000

Jun 17th, 2003, 10:45 AM

i'm used to canadians getting screwed over. so yep i have had that lame 5$ handling fee. must be a payraise for them each time they charge it.

grant

Jun 17th, 2003, 12:57 PM

I can't believe people actually ***** about a brokerage fee of only $5.

Zeev20

Jun 17th, 2003, 02:31 PM

I had a friend who lives in Europe purchase a Video Card off Ebay. HE shipped it via UPS to my home. UPS charged a $75 duty fee for filling out the paperwork. Since then I only ship via USPS $5 fee is cheaper then $75! Or I ask a friend in the states to accept the pacakge and then ship it to me.

Cheers

cl8ter

Jun 17th, 2003, 04:17 PM

tharsan

Jun 17th, 2003, 11:11 PM

wow.
I just received this letter from PBB telling me to pay $8 customs and duties fee for a package I received way back in March! It was marked as a gift, its value was under $60 too!
Took me a while to figure out what the package was :shock:

what's PBB?

PBB Logistics is a brokage company - they are a 3rd party that handles getting your stuff across the border, and then bills you later for all the hard work they had done (without asking you... so how is this even legal?)

charge

Jun 18th, 2003, 03:07 AM

This was posted a while back, I keep it on file in case I ever decide to buy anything again, last time I was PBBed for about $40 on a $175 purchase. :(

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/h...fees/steps.html (http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/home/courierfees/steps.html)

el_diablo007

Jun 18th, 2003, 10:15 AM

I can't believe people actually ***** about a brokerage fee of only $5.

this is so true...i mean come on people, the only thing you're paying extra to get the product is this fee + shipping. You live in Canada, you've been paying taxes on items all your life, what's the big deal when it's shipped from the US?

edit: i've only ordered twice from the states....once got dinged heavily for three sticks of RAM, the second time i ordered rollerblade wheels and came off fairly clean, just the $5 fee and 15% tax

Flux

Jun 18th, 2003, 01:53 PM

Wow. $5. You poor bastard.

I certainly hope you took a baseball bat to that jerk. :roll:

wintech

Jun 22nd, 2003, 01:06 PM

just to confirm...

do you guys know if UPS charges brokerage fees on duty-free/small merchandise items/gifts?

wintech

Jun 22nd, 2003, 01:14 PM

oh, and how about used items?

grant

Jun 22nd, 2003, 04:37 PM

Why don't you just call them and ask?

gambit_360

Jun 23rd, 2003, 01:36 PM

wow.
I just received this letter from PBB telling me to pay $8 customs and duties fee for a package I received way back in March! It was marked as a gift, its value was under $60 too!
Took me a while to figure out what the package was :shock:

PBB is messed up. They charged me a $7.50+tx handling fee for taking care of my package for customs. I didn't get taxed on the package because it was marked gift with a value under $60, which isn't taxable.

It's just that they charge their "handling fee" which from the looks of it, consists of typing up the form to bill you.

Package was received through Purolator by the way.

blainehamilton

Jun 23rd, 2003, 03:02 PM

PBB tried to hit me with charges on the HP laserjet free pad replacement offer a couple of years back.

I go to pick up the parcel and there's an amount oweing. I refused the parcel and told them to send it back.

The pads arrived by air about 10 days later from HP with an apology letter stating HP was reevaluating it's shipping providers.

UPS better watch out. They piss off enough customers and US businesses will stop using them.

poppa

Jun 23rd, 2003, 04:08 PM

Back a while ago on my first ever purchase from USA, I thought to myself, "oh what a good deal, I think my parents will like this". So I went on ebay, won the auction, and had the package sent to my parents. So when the mail courier arrived and asked for <insert my mothers name> because there is a package for her and that she had to pay fees before receiving package. Well, she got into a little argument about how she didn't order anything and then she say the birthday card, so she accepted and payed i think around 80 bucks in taxes, handling and duties. So she called me up, explained, I payed, end of story. In the end, i payed more than I thought I was getting it for. After that, right onto CCRA website!

suntzu

Jun 23rd, 2003, 10:38 PM

Postal Program -- Duty-free and tax-exempt importations

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) can examine any item that comes into Canada by mail.

You may have to pay duty, the goods and services tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST), and provincial sales tax (PST) on items mailed to you. This depends on:

» the item's value in Canadian dollars
» whether or not it is a gift.

Value in Canadian dollars

If someone mails you an item worth $20 CAN or less, you don't have to pay duty or tax on the item (see D8-2-2 (http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/cm/d8-2-2-eq/d8-2-2-e.html) for details).

If the item is worth more than $20 CAN, you must pay the applicable duty, the GST or HST, and any PST on the item's full value (see D8-2-2 (http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/cm/d8-2-2-eq/d8-2-2-e.html) for details).

Some items do not qualify for the $20 CAN exemption:

» tobacco
» books
» periodicals
» magazines
» alcoholic beverages
» goods ordered through a Canadian post office box or intermediary

Items that qualify as a "gift"

For an item to qualify as a "gift", another person must send it to you personally and must include a card or other notice indicating that it's a gift.

» If you receive an imported gift by mail and it's worth $60 CAN or less, you don't have to pay duty or tax.
» If the gift is worth more than $60, you must pay duty and tax on the amount over $60 CAN.

For example, if a relative sends you a gift worth $200 CAN, you must pay the applicable duty, the GST or HST, and any PST on $140 CAN.

Please note:

The $60 CAN gift exemption does not apply to:
» goods such as tobacco, alcoholic beverages, or advertising material
» items sent by a business, company, or association.

As well, the $60 CAN exemption that's available on gifts cannot be combined with the $20 CAN exemption that's available on all items.

suntzu

Jun 23rd, 2003, 10:39 PM

Postal Program -- Reassessment of Personal Importations

If you disagree with your parcel's assessment, you can ask them for an adjustment either before or after you pay your duty and tax (see D6-2-6 (http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/cm/d6-2-6eq/README.html) for details).

Before you pay duty and tax: Tell Canada Post that you want to return the item to us for reassessment.

» Canada Post will write your telephone number on Form E-14, Customs Postal Import Form, give a copy to you, and return the mail item to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA).
» The CCRA will contact you to discuss the assessment once they receive your goods from Canada Post.

» If you still have to pay duty and tax after their reassessment, they'll put a new Form E-14 on your mail item.
» You'll have to pay the indicated amount to Canada Post when it delivers the item.

» If you don't have to pay duty and tax, the CCRA will let Canada Post deliver the item to you.

After you pay duty and tax: If you don't want to wait for your mail item to be delivered, you can pay the assessed duty and tax at the time of delivery and then request a reassessment and possible refund.

» To request a reassessment, complete Form B2G (http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/b2gbq/README.html), Customs Informal Adjustment Request.
» Form B2G is part of Form E14, printed on the back of the top copy.

» Send the completed form B2G and any supporting documents -- such as invoices that show the correct value or other material that describes the products -- to the nearest Casual Refund Centres (see below).
» The CCRA will review your claim and process any applicable refund.

» Canada Post's $5 CAN handling fee will be refunded if it's determined that the goods should have been duty-free and tax-exempt at the time of importation.
» However, the handling fee will not be refunded on Priority Post items.

» The CCRA will not refund any broker's fees or any shipping and handling costs.

Casual Refund Centres:

British Columbia
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Casual Refund Centre
685 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6B 2R4

Manitoba
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Casual Refund Centre
530-266 Graham Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 0J8

Ontario
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Casual Refund Centre
2724 Roxburgh Road, Unit 2
London, Ontario
N6N 1K9

Quebec
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Casual Refund Centre
P.O. Box 1454
555 McArthur
Ville St-Laurent, Quebec
H4T 1A0

Nova Scotia
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Casual Refund Centre
P.O. Box 3080,
Station Park Lane
1557 Hollis Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3G6

bebepooh

Jun 28th, 2003, 01:53 PM

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not you have to pay duty on used goods coming in the mail. I just received a used Sony Clie and was hit for $65 in duty (shipped USPS). I plan to dispute the charge bceause I only paid $86 US + $10 shipping for it. Can I dispute the entire cost since the PDA was used ? Or should I only be disputing the extra cost that they charged me taxes on?
Any help would be appreciated.

Rehan

Jun 28th, 2003, 02:00 PM

I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not you have to pay duty on used goods coming in the mail.
Yes, you do have to pay customs fees on used goods.

HunkaHunkaBurningLove

Jun 28th, 2003, 11:47 PM

Thanks to this thread, I'm currently appealing a DVD import from the US. I got it from ebay.ca for about $15 CDN, and some joker at customs opened the package and determined the value at $30! Yeah, it's only $7 in duties, but I've received tons of DVD's from the states, and this one is the first to get dinged. And for a DVD to be $22 instead of $15, I could have just bought it in the store.

I'll try to let you know how the appeal works. It was quite easy - just fill out the form, include documents showing the actual cost, etc.

HHBL

spike-spiegel

Jun 29th, 2003, 12:21 AM

To those who got an invoice for a package much later then when you received without paying duties, what happens if you don't pay the fee?

gambit_360

Jun 29th, 2003, 12:35 AM

To those who got an invoice for a package much later then when you received without paying duties, what happens if you don't pay the fee?

Says on my PBB invoice that "interest may be charged at 24% per annum".

I suppose if you never pay, you'll get sent to collections where your credit rating will be shot.

clive

Jun 30th, 2003, 07:14 PM

This Thread should be re-organized into a "shipping and fees 101" and post it as a sticky.

I personally got dinged the worst by TNT(PBB?) when I bought a spoiler from Sweden. I paid almost $100 of fees.

Beside that, I've bought 10-15 items online via ebay or other shops, luckily, only got dinged for a total of $50 (only got dinged by UPS).

Anyway, I'm pondering of buying a Trikke from the states, but they only ship via Fedex. I've only recieved letters/small packages via Fedex, and never any parcel. Can anyone share their experience with Fedex?

spongecake

Jun 30th, 2003, 08:15 PM

Got hit for a $20 game. $5 handling fee $5 processing fee and then another $19 for whatever it is they charge for (on top of the regular shipping price).

It is sad that two allied countries connected by land have these things going on.

Do Americans actually have to pay duty when they get stuff from Canada?

JayPatel

Jun 30th, 2003, 08:18 PM

Got hit for a $20 game.  $5 handling fee $5 processing fee and then another $19 for whatever it is they charge for (on top of the regular shipping price).  

It is sad that two allied countries connected by land have these things going on.  

Do Americans actually have to pay duty when they get stuff from Canada?

yes but the yanks get something like 200.00 before duties are charged.

anyone know what Free Domicile is?

Rehan

Jun 30th, 2003, 08:39 PM

My wife just received a package with a declared value of $39, shipped via USPS, and they didn't charge us anything. Her last order from the same store also came through with no customs charges, even though the value was about $150... The number was a little hard to make out on the declaration form, and looked like $15. :shock:

I guess we're due...

rp_guy

Jun 30th, 2003, 08:42 PM

use Fedex :)

spongecake

Jun 30th, 2003, 09:27 PM

How do you appeal these things and on what grounds?

gman

Jun 30th, 2003, 11:01 PM

How do you appeal these things and on what grounds?

On the bill, it states how those numbers were calculated. Does those number makes sense to you.

I don't think you can appeal the $5 handling fee.

I don't know what processing fee for. I guess you can't appeal that either but you should know what it is first.

Now, you need to figure out what that $19 for. If it is tax/duty, you need to what it is calculated from. Is it the invoice price? I guess not. I assume it is the value they guessed. What you need to do is to contact custom and tell them they overcharge you and the evidence which is the price in your invoice and the "price" they wrote in the custom paper.

I got my $8 to $12 overcharge from custom years ago.

spongecake

Jun 30th, 2003, 11:29 PM

[quote]
Now, you need to figure out what that $19 for.

You would think if they charge an extra $30 they could afford to include a little sheet explaining the costs. :P

HunkaHunkaBurningLove

Aug 15th, 2003, 09:40 PM

Let me raise this thread from the dead! Rise I say rise!

Anyhow, just to let peeps know that this appeal process really works! I just got a cheque for $7.10! ($5 processing fee and GST). My appeal must have been really appealing!

I basically just including a copy of the Ebay end price auction page, all the particulars, filled out the PDF form, and mailed the works off. So... if you've been dinged, definitely try the appeal process out. I really think they've got some monkeys working the import customs office or something because they really could have avoided all this hassle, paperwork, and gov't time by sending my DVD through.

gecko

Aug 15th, 2003, 09:47 PM

I was hit $120 when I won a panasonic dvd player and vodoo 2 3dfx card back in 98 (guessing been a while)

Sharp

Aug 15th, 2003, 11:27 PM

I never recieved my sTUFF from USPS, son of a ..... :angry:

B40

Aug 15th, 2003, 11:31 PM

Originally posted by HunkaHunkaBurningLove@Aug 15 2003, 10:40 PM
Let me raise this thread from the dead! Rise I say rise!

Anyhow, just to let peeps know that this appeal process really works! I just got a cheque for $7.10! ($5 processing fee and GST). My appeal must have been really appealing!

I basically just including a copy of the Ebay end price auction page, all the particulars, filled out the PDF form, and mailed the works off. So... if you've been dinged, definitely try the appeal process out. I really think they've got some monkeys working the import customs office or something because they really could have avoided all this hassle, paperwork, and gov't time by sending my DVD through.
And how much time did the appeal take? Was it worth the time even? :rolleyes:

sfu_lifer

Aug 16th, 2003, 07:04 AM

UPS gives you a nice Kobe.
I thought FedEx was better but I got Kobe'ed as well :P but not nearly as hard.

iambored

Aug 16th, 2003, 11:42 AM

i got dinged by customs on a small USPS package recently... it was some laptop memory, worth about $19US... i've never been changed this for small items via USPS before... has their policies changed? one problem i saw with my situtation in particular was a misdeclared weight of 5 pounds...

B40

Aug 16th, 2003, 12:01 PM

Originally posted by iambored@Aug 16 2003, 12:42 PM
i got dinged by customs on a small USPS package recently... it was some laptop memory, worth about $19US... i've never been changed this for small items via USPS before... has their policies changed? one problem i saw with my situtation in particular was a misdeclared weight of 5 pounds...
I don't think weight has a factor.

I believe it's $20 cdn tax free on merchandise and $60 on gifts, so you were rightly charged taxes.

inf

Aug 16th, 2003, 01:30 PM

You idiots that are referring to Nafta are morons

This has nothing to do with Nafta :wacko:

It's our federal govt. jerking us around one more time

GST IS ONE of our biggest ripoffs

It's on so many things that it never should have been put on :angry:

hammer

Aug 16th, 2003, 01:49 PM

I just recieved a 450$ GPS unit from California duty and tax free via FEDEX! I guess its all just hit and miss. Lucky me :rolleyes: . I guess I could be PBBED in the future though but I have moved since then and I don't see how PBB can get my new address. Should I contact them to see if they have a bill for me :unsure: ? Hmmmm... ;)

wintech

Aug 16th, 2003, 05:49 PM

CP is really good on appeals.

It's UPS that sucks.

dvdvideo

Aug 16th, 2003, 10:13 PM

On a set of speakers from the U.S, UPS sent me an invoice a month later for "brokerage". I've paid it in the past on other packages at the door, but invoiced a month later? I sent a leter in with the GST amount and told them to stick the Brokerage charge, that I would have refused the package.
They sent me two noticed about a month apart after that, haven't heard anything for about 6 months now......

Fedex charges a brokerage fee sometimes, $20-30 vs UPS's 30-40.
Sometimes they charge nothing......

sfu_lifer

Aug 17th, 2003, 12:19 AM

Originally posted by hammer@Aug 16 2003, 06:49 PM
I just recieved a 450$ GPS unit from California duty and tax free via FEDEX! I guess its all just hit and miss. Lucky me :rolleyes: . I guess I could be PBBED in the future though but I have moved since then and I don't see how PBB can get my new address. Should I contact them to see if they have a bill for me :unsure: ? Hmmmm... ;)
Haha.
Wait 3 months.
That's what those Fedex bastards did to me.
I thought my stuff came in free until I got the notice a few months later.

v00d00

Aug 17th, 2003, 02:40 AM

Originally posted by hammer@Aug 16 2003, 01:49 PM
I just recieved a 450$ GPS unit from California duty and tax free via FEDEX! I guess its all just hit and miss. Lucky me :rolleyes: . I guess I could be PBBED in the future though but I have moved since then and I don't see how PBB can get my new address. Should I contact them to see if they have a bill for me :unsure: ? Hmmmm... ;)
Just because they don't have your new address doesn't mean one day when going for a loan you'll discover you have collections on your credit. Surprise Surprise.

I discovered that just recently. I was never notified from the person or the collection agency they used, which I suppose they could say they didn't have my current address or telephone.

But it's there, and until I pay it or fight it (it's going to be pay it), I'm screwed for bank loans.

HunkaHunkaBurningLove

Aug 17th, 2003, 03:26 AM

Originally posted by B40@Aug 16 2003, 04:31 AM
And how much time did the appeal take?* Was it worth the time even?* :rolleyes:
June 28, 2003 sent in. August 15, 2003 received. So that's about 6 weeks which is sometimes a heck of a lot better than some mail in rebates I've sent in! Yes, it's definitely worth it for the price of a piece of paper, envelope, and stamp. Took me all of 5 minutes to complete the particulars. I would have happily waited 3 months to get ANY money back that I could. What's the big deal, and what do you have to lose? Sure $7 here and there isn't that bad, but over time, it can add up (this has happened to me at least 3-6 times previously for wrongly estimated goods). Just pretend it's a mail in rebate from the government. :D

I wasn't expecting anything either since I didn't bother copying my particulars, but you might want to do that just in case they want more info. I just sent the works in (all paperwork on the package plus my Ebay receipt and ebay ID page showing who I was). I also explained clearly on the form what the error was and gave full details about the correct information.

As long as you have proof positive, the government has to follow their own rules. They made a mistake so you shouldn't be penalized. It's like needing to pay GMT (government mistake tax) when you really shouldn't have to.

As Jean Chretien once said, "A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven." (ref: Proof (http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/09/05/iraq_pm020905))

RE: Fedex / UPS - If you receive something that's overnight or express 2 day etc, then you might not need to pay import fees or so I hear. Taxes are another thing though.

warpdrive

Aug 17th, 2003, 07:24 PM

Originally posted by HunkaHunkaBurningLove+Aug 17 2003, 03:26 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (HunkaHunkaBurningLove @ Aug 17 2003, 03:26 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--B40@Aug 16 2003, 04:31 AM
And how much time did the appeal take?* Was it worth the time even?* :rolleyes: [/b][/quote]
I appealled once to get back the tax and GST for an item I returned to source for a refund. It took a bit more than three months, and I had even forgotten about it.

jed

Aug 18th, 2003, 09:49 AM

I received a Matx power supply from the US awhile ago, shipped by UPS by mistake. I saw the bill and refused the delivery, returned the PS and reshipped using USPS. PBB still charged me for the first delivery and sent me to collections. It took almost a year and threat of a lawyer before I got to talk to a real person who could do something. The guy finally said he would take care of the screwup, and it went away. Checked my credit report and all is well.

Apparently UPS Air is OK, FedEx allows you to set up an account with them to get past the big handling charge, but USPS is best. You want to do something about it, send a letter to your MP. Tell them to get rid of this silliness, or at the least, raise the limits. But I doubt this will happen, we're a country of apathetics. ;)

grant

Aug 18th, 2003, 12:04 PM

Originally posted by bebepooh@Jun 28 2003, 10:53 AM
I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not you have to pay duty on used goods coming in the mail. I just received a used Sony Clie and was hit for $65 in duty (shipped USPS). I plan to dispute the charge bceause I only paid US + shipping for it. Can I dispute the entire cost since the PDA was used ? Or should I only be disputing the extra cost that they charged me taxes on?
Any help would be appreciated.
If you paid $65 in duty, you were seriously screwed and YES you should dispute it.

If the PDA was manufactured in USA, then you owe $0 in duty (thanks to NAFTA)

If the PDA was manufactured in China, Japan, or Taiwan, you should only be paying ~$4 - $7 in duty. That's assuming a duty rate of ~7% - 10%.

For you pay $65 duty on a $85u.s. item, that would be ~60% duty, which is obviously a huge mistake- maybe someone misplaced a decimal point.

pcguy99

Aug 18th, 2003, 03:56 PM

If you get a parcel via UPS and they are trying to screw you with they handling and brokerage fees simply tell them that you will clear it through customs. The driver will take it back to teh depot and you should get a phone call in a day or so telling you that you can pick up the paper work at the UPS office. YOu simply have to take the paper work over to the nearest CCRA office and if it is for personal use the CCRA employee will determine the amount of PST and GST. You pay the amount there and take the paperwork back to UPS and collect yoru parcel. It takes me about 15 minutes to do it and no stupid brokerage fees, collection fees from UPS!

HunkaHunkaBurningLove

Jan 10th, 2005, 08:34 PM

New location for Customs Informal Adjustment Request form:

B2g-02b Form (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/b2g/b2g-02b.pdf)

laptop-tech

Jan 10th, 2005, 09:24 PM

thats normal....whenever you buy from the US and use USPS, you'll be charged those 5.00 (like a brokerage fee) + the taxes you;d have to pay anyway if bought locally...

believe me...if it was UPS, they wouldn't mind charging you 65.00 in brokerage fees for a 50.00 item...it happened to me before.

kingfencer

Jan 10th, 2005, 09:26 PM

yes, happened to me, i got pissed, and didn't pay for like 3 months. then i ask my friend, he said if you don't pay, credit collectors will go after you and you ruin your credit, over like 12 buck... i rather pay...

Ojam

Jan 10th, 2005, 09:31 PM

Why was a 2 year old thread brought back?

ud666

Jan 10th, 2005, 10:51 PM

Yah this thread was so old I don't even remember. And I was the one who started it :confused:

Why was a 2 year old thread brought back?

motorcycleguy

Jan 10th, 2005, 11:08 PM

:cheesygri

Fedex ground won't charge you brokerage/taxes.Instead,they will send you a letter later one asking you to pay the amount.

HunkaHunkaBurningLove

Jan 11th, 2005, 01:58 AM

Whoops sorry! :cheesygri My bad. I was looking for the form to do an appeal for an over-valued <a href=../autolink/redirectpage.php?linkid=78 target=_blank>ebay</a> package that I got dinged for, and I thought this thread might come in handy for people who don't know that you can appeal those Canada Post fees. My item was less than $20 CDN, but the seller wrote it as $30 US. >:(

Oh well, technically no one's forcing anyone to read this thread... sooooo... walk on baby walk on!

EDIT: The form is also on the reverse side of the carbon multi-page dot matrix fee assessment printout that's taped to your package.

Mike71

Jan 11th, 2005, 02:49 AM

$5.00 plus the GST is what Canada Post charges, its a helluva lot better option than dealing with UPS where you will be dinged with 40$ in fees for something worth less than 100$ Cdn. F*#k UPS! :!:

Montague

Jan 11th, 2005, 09:14 AM

Whoops sorry! :cheesygri My bad. I was looking for the form to do an appeal for an over-valued <a href=../autolink/redirectpage.php?linkid=78 target=_blank>ebay</a> package that I got dinged for, and I thought this thread might come in handy for people who don't know that you can appeal those Canada Post fees. My item was less than $20 CDN, but the seller wrote it as $30 US. >:(

Oh well, technically no one's forcing anyone to read this thread... sooooo... walk on baby walk on!

newbies bringing dead threads back to life! :cheesygri

jlo mein

Dec 13th, 2005, 09:37 PM

Just some notes about what Canada Customs charges, and about NAFTA:

The $5 charge from CC is a handling fee, which they charge to inspect the package and determine if it needs to be charged duty. Second, they have every right to charge items imported from the US sales taxes like PST and GST, that is not omitted from NAFTA.

NAFTA basically states that items that are manufactured and produced in the US can be imported into Canada duty free without tariffs. However, if the item includes parts manufactured abroad, or materials produced abroad (like say fabric materials or something), they can add duty.

So basically CC has every right to charge a handling fee for inspection, and sales taxes like GST and PST.
I'm glad I learned something from that Canadian Macroeconomics course I took... :cheesygri

stealth

Dec 21st, 2005, 08:52 PM

I agree, USPS is the best (lowest for additional charges from customs), and UPS is the worst.
But has anyone had any expereince with things shipped by DHL?
I find that some US sellers prefer UPS or occasionally DHL, Fedex etc., because they will do pick up at residences whereas USPS does not.
So what about DHL, do they shaft us too?

RFD_forever

Dec 21st, 2005, 08:56 PM

yup, iwas just hit $14 customs fees for USPS from the US. I always avaiod UPS and fedex for that reason.....those bastards are catching on! :lol: :lol:

Bought something from the US and had it shipped via USPS.
Got a knock on the door from the mailman, asked me for $$$ I was like what the heck!! She showed me a bill from Canada customs and I had to pay $5 handling fee, and GST PST!!!!!! Anyone else get hit by this before? I'm not sure if it's the same as the UPS brokerage fee that we are well aware of.