Ahh! Help me!!

[d_jedi]

I received this in the mail today:


Attention: Accounts payable

Dir sir or madam

To date we still have not received your payment covering invoice(s) for shipment(s) that arrived via courier:

Date Amount 1 Supplier
5/09/09 29.16 First & second

We regret to advise that unless this account is paid in full within 10 days, regardless of size, we shall turn the information over to a financial collection agency. They will then record this information in their credit reporting division and it may have a derogatory effect when you apply for credit with other firms in the future. Please make cheque payable to: PBB Global Logistics

Should your records indicate the amount as paid, please send complete details of the payment immediately. Any inquiries should be directed to the undersigned

Yours truly,
PBB Global Logistics Inc.

Carolyn Maulucci, ext. 3233
Collection Supervisor


Help me!! Can they do what they're threatening? Do I owe them any money?

I ordered some text books in September (and already paid for shipping to the seller).. picked them up at Purolator, and did not receive any indication that I owed any money or duties (as I understand I should have if I owed anything..).. then, a couple of weeks later, I get an invoice from this company.. for an amount which is much more than what I think I should owe (the order was only ~$85 or so - and the invoice is for almost $30).. on advice of people who said I didn't have to pay it, I ignored it.

What should I do? I feel like I'm being scammed here..

[Oni-kun]

Sounds like a scam. if you really owed money they would know your name and not call you "Sir or Madamm"

SCAM

[d_jedi]

Sounds like a scam. if you really owed money they would know your name and not call you "Sir or Madamm"

SCAM
They do have my name in the address the letter was addressed to..

[Big Brother]

Send an email or phone the customer rep and ask them

[CanadaBoy]

Lol Sir or Madam :lol:
Those retards crack me up :!:

[d_jedi]

Send an email or phone the customer rep and ask them
I'm going to do that.. but I want to know what my rights and obligations are first so they don't try to BS me into paying money that I don't legally owe...

[StrayB]

Do a search for 'PBB' in the OT forum, there are some posts about being burned by them.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32576&highlight=pbb

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164583&highlight=pbb

[Txiasaeia]

Who in the world would give you advice not to pay for the taxes/brokerage fees from Purolator? Sounds like somebody gave you some bad advice. Call them up and ask them what gives; tell them to explain exactly what the charges are for.

[epiphony]

Have you tried a Jedi mind trick on them yet?

[milhaus]

Dude, how did you get burned? You own the money. Purolator and DHL does ths; they deliver first and bill later for taxes, duties and customers clearing fees. It would have been on the contract you signed to get the goods. Of course you didn't read it: but it doesn't mean you didn't actually owe the money.

[B40]

on advice of people who said I didn't have to pay it, I ignored it.


You're a cheap ass. Pay what you owe.

[d_jedi]

You're a cheap ass. Pay what you owe.
Well, cut me some slack, given you asked the exact same question:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32576&highlight=pbb

[d_jedi]

Dude, how did you get burned? You own the money. Purolator and DHL does ths; they deliver first and bill later for taxes, duties and customers clearing fees. It would have been on the contract you signed to get the goods. Of course you didn't read it: but it doesn't mean you didn't actually owe the money.
How did I get burned?
The books were worth $85 (actually less, I think).. I should owe taxes on that - 15%.. but not the extra $20 they want me to pay them.

I never at any point agreed to pay them this money, I never at any point agreed for them to perform any customs service on my behalf. And yes, I did check the website of the company I ordered from - and there is no mention of any such obligations.

[d_jedi]

Who in the world would give you advice not to pay for the taxes/brokerage fees from Purolator?
It wasn't from Purolator. I went to Purolator, and picked up the package.. to my understanding, if I owed anything, they were supposed to let me know at that point (such that I could reject the shipment if necessary).

[B40]

Well, cut me some slack, given you asked the exact same question:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32576&highlight=pbb

Yes, I asked the same question, but difference is I paid and you didn't.

[d_jedi]

Yes, I asked the same question, but difference is I paid and you didn't.
:confused: :confused:
Are you saying you paid before you asked the question?
:confused: :confused:

[B40]

:confused: :confused:
Are you saying you paid before you asked the question?
:confused: :confused:

Obviously I didn't, but I asked the question because I never did any business directly with PBB Logistics.

You can see in that thread I said I would pay within an hour of asking, I never held of payment long enough to get a call or letter from a collection agency unlike you. So don't even try comparing what I did to what you did.

Difference is I asked the question and paid within an hour, you asked and decided not to pay and now you have a collection agency coming after you.

[Txiasaeia]

It wasn't from Purolator. I went to Purolator, and picked up the package.. to my understanding, if I owed anything, they were supposed to let me know at that point (such that I could reject the shipment if necessary).

PBB Logistics = Purolator. Both Purolator and FedEx invoice customers rather than bill them at time of delivery; UPS, Canada Post, and DHL (I believe) charge them up front.

http://www.purolator.com/dbwp/press_releases/aug_19_03.html

[d_jedi]

PBB Logistics = Purolator. Both Purolator and FedEx invoice customers rather than bill them at time of delivery; UPS, Canada Post, and DHL (I believe) charge them up front.
All the more reason to hate Purolator (as if their crappy service didn't give me enough reasons already..).

Is there any way to dispute the charges? I think $20 for "brokerage" is completely unreasonable.. esp. given that the books only cost ~$85..

[Txiasaeia]

All the more reason to hate Purolator (as if their crappy service didn't give me enough reasons already..).

Is there any way to dispute the charges? I think $20 for "brokerage" is completely unreasonable.. esp. given that the books only cost ~$85..

Purolator typically charges $8 for brokerage fees + tax, which was what, $12? Charge sounds reasonable to me. Put it this way: how much money did you save from ordering the books from the US in the first place? If you're still ahead of what it would have cost you had you ordered them in Canada, then what's the problem?

[d_jedi]

Purolator typically charges $8 for brokerage fees + tax, which was what, $12? Charge sounds reasonable to me. Put it this way: how much money did you save from ordering the books from the US in the first place? If you're still ahead of what it would have cost you had you ordered them in Canada, then what's the problem?
It was $20 for brokerage fees + tax.. in total almost $30..

The problem is the fee, in my opinion, is unreasonable.. and I did not have to pay it two years ago when I ordered books from this same website..

[Txiasaeia]

It was $20 for brokerage fees + tax.. in total almost $30..

The problem is the fee, in my opinion, is unreasonable.. and I did not have to pay it two years ago when I ordered books from this same website..

Well, I have no idea why they charged you so much for brokerage. Quite frankly, $20 brokerage sounds like UPS territory ;) (Not quite, but getting up there.) Anyway, you're probably going to have to call them and ask them what's going on, as this is beyond my ken, and I deal a *lot* with Purolator. Sorry that I couldn't help!

[B40]

Purolator typically charges $8 for brokerage fees + tax, which was what, $12? Charge sounds reasonable to me. Put it this way: how much money did you save from ordering the books from the US in the first place? If you're still ahead of what it would have cost you had you ordered them in Canada, then what's the problem?

You obviously haven't seen some of d_jedi's other threads...

$0.15 fee to use Interac is "gouging"
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161298

Wanted to buy a simple bag of chips.. and it became a baffling ordeal. Needed to pay with Interac, because I didn't have any change on me.

Go to one store - they accept Interac. Go to pay.. find out they are going to charge me an extra $0.15 (that's 15%!) for the "privilege" of paying for my item.
Go to ANOTHER store.. they accept interac.. same result
And another..
Finally, the fourth store doesn't gouge me with extra fees.

Guess which store I'll take my business to (with cash or debit) to in the future?

$3 S&H is a "shipping scam" when actual shipping is $1.10
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143560

I bought an item off e Bay, and the cost of shipping was quoted as $2.99US. When I received the item, the envelope had a big stamp on it, stating the cost of shipping was actually $1.10US - almost 3x less.

What do you think I should do? Demand the extra money charged back? Leave negative feedback?

I mean, technically it is legal, because the shipping cost was on the item page, and bidding on an item is a contract.. but this is at the very least dishonest. Don't sellers have a good faith obligation to not exorbanantly overcharge for this?

Just look at several auctions (esp. for cell phone accessories) where the shipping cost is ~$10 for an item that ends up going for $1-2! That seems fraudulant to me..

[Pyro]

i have to agree the interact thing sounds stupid

it costs stores money to offer interact service
so i dont see why they cant recover it like that espcially if its a small locally owned store

[Irb]

You should be so lucky that the store even accepted interact when all you bought was a bag of chips.

[d_jedi]

The Interac issue was discussed previously ad nausium. No need to discuss it here.

[rayesyn]

SCAM. period.

[devious9191]

Well, cut me some slack, given you asked the exact same question:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32576&highlight=pbb

lol. burn!