UPS fees on rebates

[comicwiz]

In this chapter of life is sometimes stranger than fiction, I recently had an issue with a consumer product through a company with one of the best warranty programs. Unfortunately, Canada customs felt they needed to charge import taxes even though it was a replacement part and to my knowledge can not be purchased separately.

 

When the UPS driver delivered it, he told me repeatedly it was pretty straightforward to request a rebate/refund given it wasn't a purchase but a replacement part sent under a warranty program. Requesting a refund was anything but straightforward. After asking the shipper twice to send me an invoice because UPS wasn't satisfied with the information they provided, they proceeded to ask for a third revision of the commercial invoice because the part could not be valued at 0.00 (had to be $1.00).

 

After realizing this was going to need more time than I cared to spend, I asked her for an email to send the revised invoice, and when she came back on the line, she asked me if I knew there was a "fee" to request a refund/rebate. I said "pardon me" and she went on to say UPS charges a fee to amend the commercial invoice. I had to ask if this fee was invented on the fly because UPS probably didn't expect people like me to follow through with a "straightforward" refund.

 

Who charges a fee to issue a refund? Apparently UPS does. Yet another reason of many to NEVER use UPS when sending a package to a Canuck.

[bababooey]

You can file your own B2G Casual Refund

 

I think UPS is giving you bad advice here, not sure if they are gouging you though.

 

If the original invoice had the full declared value for customs purposes AND a statement indicating the items are being sent as warranty replacements at no charge then that would be a correct invoice from your vendor & UPS should file the claim for you at n/c - they messed up.

 

If the statement was missing then UPS would be right to charge you for processing the refund for you however their methodology is wrong.

 

The correction they are asking for leads me to believe that UPS is not seeking refund under the proper provisions. Warranty replacement items under NAFTA are duty & tax exempt so declared value isn't a critical factor in filing the claim; it sounds to me like UPS is attempting to file a claim to recover funds by adjusting the value (their methodology will be to back it off their monthly statement OR duty pay it twice then claim on first entry - both are wrong)

 

[bababooey]

In this chapter of life is sometimes stranger than fiction, I recently had an issue with a consumer product through a company with one of the best warranty programs.

Having dealt with many international firms servicing Canadians, the companies with the best warranty programs take care of the clearance for you...sparing you this BS.

 

[comicwiz]

You can file your own B2G Casual Refund

 

I think UPS is giving you bad advice here, not sure if they are gouging you though.

 

If the original invoice had the full declared value for customs purposes AND a statement indicating the items are being sent as warranty replacements at no charge then that would be a correct invoice from your vendor & UPS should file the claim for you at n/c - they messed up.

 

If the statement was missing then UPS would be right to charge you for processing the refund for you however their methodology is wrong.

 

The correction they are asking for leads me to believe that UPS is not seeking refund under the proper provisions. Warranty replacement items under NAFTA are duty & tax exempt so declared value isn't a critical factor in filing the claim; it sounds to me like UPS is attempting to file a claim to recover funds by adjusting the value (their methodology will be to back it off their monthly statement OR duty pay it twice then claim on first entry - both are wrong)

 

There are at least two unfortunate predicaments. First, and as much as the company/shipper responded quickly (by using a courier), their process requires the replacement part be first sent to the reseller, then the reseller sends it to the customer (me). I tried everything I could to avoid this three-point shipping situation, but the company wouldn't bend. It's their policy, and they did offer to cover shipping both ways so it didn't cost me a cent other than the import charges. The pickle is that somewhere along the way, the reseller did not open the package. They just went to UPS and sent it declaring the value for insurance purposes and that's what Canada customs went by. What seems strange to me is that UPS first told me at the door that the rebate was straightforward. The first call I put in (yesterday) they asked me for a revised invoice and they would process the refund. Today's call, they said the revised invoice wasn't satisfactory and then they came up with this "fee" to issue a rebate. Here is a screenshot of revised invoice, which they wouldn't accept because the value they claimed (even though it was a replacement part under warranty) needed to have a value of $1.00:

 

 

The outlier is of course that I should have put DO NOT SEND USING UPS in my emails to the shipper.

[comicwiz]

You can file your own B2G Casual Refund

 

If I were to file on my own, could I use the UPS invoice which details what was paid in duties? That's the only documentation proving what I paid in import charges.

[bababooey]

The revised invoice you've included here (which I didn't feel was necessary) doesn't answer whether you should be charged or not - only the original invoice will identify if UPS missed something or acted based on info from the reseller's invoice that didn't have a statement.

 

Don't put much faith in what a UPS or any courier's driver tells you about Customs, training thousands of drivers is virtually impossible. Some might know a bit but most are getting half hour Customs training sessions every six months and leave those yawning with a 5 x 7 cheat card that sits in the visor of their truck.

 

I get the impression UPS is pointing the finger at Customs for determining the original value & Customs didn't assign the value, nor is value the issue. UPS is required to pre-report values & other data for shipments before they arrive in Canada. Which is why their requirement to get a nominal value invoice seems fishy to me.

 

If you want to get fancy with UPS, paragraphs 23-25 will help - it explains how warranty replacement items should be declared. Please note if the replacement item is offshore (built in China etc..) duty might be applicable but tax exemption is pretty straightforward.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d8/d8-2-10-eng.pdf

 

 

[comicwiz]

Ok thanks