So, I just got a letter in the mail saying I owed FedEx $40 brokerage a month after the package was delivered. This is complete bullshit, as it was already $20 shipping on an item worth only $40. Worst part? I have to send the item back to the states because it is the wrong size.

I figured that airsofters, used to shipping would know if there was a way to fight this ridiculous fee. Thank you.

shipping and brokerage are two different fees. shipping is obviously the cost of shipping the item, which is actually paied by the shipper and transfered to the purchaser.

brokerage is what the government charges the importer it covers tax and tarrifs and the assessors fees. the importer being fedex, they transfer the fee onto you as well. fedex and UPS are known to bend customers over a barrel on brokerage fees, as they have their own assessors their fees are generally higher than canada post/usps.

sometimes during busy periods they will send the package on through without a propper assessment on the brokerage and send a bill in the mail a few weeks later as the backlog gets cleared up. unfortunately not much can be done about it.

No way to fight it, and if you don't pay it, next time they get a package for the same name / address combo they'll hold it at their depot until you've paid off the outstanding previous balance. Call it a lesson learned in regards to international shipping.

If you are returning the item to it's origin country (i.e., it's not staying in Canada) you can file with the CBSA to get your import taxes back (since the majority of what you paid FedEx is going to the gov't). It's a long process and often not worth the time / money tradeoff unless it's a very expensive item.

(01-09-2012 02:48 PM)Durak Wrote:  brokerage is what the government charges the importer it covers tax and tarrifs and the assessors fees

Not exactly.

Brokerage is what the brokerage company (usually owned by but separate from the shipping company) charges you for their "services" of bringing your package over the border and filling in some paperwork PLUS what the government charges in duty and taxes. The actual government fees is just taxes for whatever province you are in (same as if you drove over the border and declared the items.) Canada Post's brokerage fee is $5 or $10 or something like that. That is why the total fees from Canada Post is only a few dollars + 13%.

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There was a court case a few years ago trying to say that billing after receiving the package should be made illegal since it essentially makes your ability to refuse the package pointless. For a couple years all the courier companies where making you pay all fees at the door, usually 50-110% the declared value of the item, and never sending a bill after. The case failed and the courier companies went back to their post dated billing without notification on delivery practices.

You can refuse to pay and several things can happen:
-If the value is under their write off limit they will send you a bunch of letters asking for payment then give up
-They sell your debt to a collections agency for pennies on the dollar and they start harassing you for payment (usually for several years before writing it off if its under their limit which may or may not be different from the courier companies)
-You get a letter from a lawyer threatening to take you to court if the value is high enough (I've never heard of people actually being taken to court for anything under $5000)

As a courier company they are allowed to withhold future deliveries to your address, even domestic ones, until you pay the fee. Canada Post is unable to do this under federal regulations since they are a crown corp.

I have had $20 fees written off after almost a year but have also had $10 fees sold to a collections agency, both from UPS. They either changed policies or are totally random in what they do. My room mate refused to pay a $140 fee on an $80 item and got a threatening letter from a lawyer out of Toronto. He moved and didn't leave a forwarding address and they gave up. He has received packages from UPS since then at his new address without issue.

For a $40 fee I can't see them doing anything except withholding deliveries to the same name/address combination. If you move or have the items shipped under a different name (room mate, spouse, etc.) then they cannot legally withhold the item. Also if you move they need to prove you are the same person in order to withhold delivery (so don't leave a forwarding address.)

In general I don't buy things from the US that aren't shipped USPS because of brokerage fees. Though that policy may go out the window since USPS is on the verge of bankruptcy and private courier companies may be the only option after that.

I had to pay FedEx $54 in brokerage on a $20 item, the FedEx guy said to get the shipper to send it air mail from the states and I wouldn't have to pay the brokerage fee. Dunno if he was right as I refuse to use them ever again

GOTTA LOVE FEDFUCK! Did they ship you lipstick with it too before they fucked you over? Go USPS or dont get the item at all.

This happened to me also, grandparrents sent a pair of kindle fires to the kids for christmas from arizona. package gets here they charge us $74 for a brokerage fee, and $31 for tax and duty on a fucking gift. This was with ups (up the shitter) had to then take them back with me to arizona when i went because kindle fires dont fully function in canada, so i am now out $105 for a present that the kids dont have. I aways ask for shipping to be sent usps, you will hae to pay tax/duty cod when it get here, but no bull shit brokerage fee.

On another note, this happened to me 5 years ago when fedex shipped up a paintball gun, i just shreaded it and have never herd from them after that, wouldnt suggest that tatic as they wil just hit the credit buro on ya, but it worked for me

how much was the item worth?

FedEX is somewhat fair in their charges, they charge a flat fee just like canada post plus duty and taxes. The only issue I have is when they mail you the invoice rather than charging it when they deliver it or when you pick it up.

Canada post can charge you on every package just the same but for some reason they don't.

I owe just shy of 17 bucks for the mags I got back in september via fedex, and they decided to wait 3 months to send me the notice, so I will wait 3 months to pay.

UPS worldwide express will not charge you anything after the fact.

UPS ground will absolutely rape you.

2 kindle fires were $400 total, and yes they did make us pay cod. Just a shock when it showed up out of the blue, and they say we have to pay all that for a gift

Two more options:

1. Ship whatever it is to the UPS store in Ogdensburg and drive down and pick it up yourself. They charge something like $5 for the service.

2. Ship it UPS overnight. Overnight shipments almost never attract any brokerage or duty. (That is my experience and the experience of others I have talked to about it.)

I was told that the gift option on customs declaration is not always true, and have been charged on gift declared items as much as I have non gift items when I get charged.

The thing about the gift option is that if anyone actually looks at your package and notices that the shipping label is from some company somewhere then they know it's not a gift.

I've had a lot of stuff come in over the years, and I've gotten to think that the biggest thing that keeps a package from attracting duty is a handwritten shipping label. It just doesn't look commercial when it's not printed.