eBay

craftycatsattic · ‎12-01-2008

I'm hoping somebody may have some insight or experience with the issue. In October I purchased $48.53 of leaflets on ebay. The seller charged me $43.56 in shipping and was supposed to ship in 2 flat rate global priority boxes. The seller instead shipped via DSL. The items were delivered to my door in several envelopes and the shipper went on his merry way.

This morning much to my surprise, I've received 5 invoices from DSL for $7 brokerage each plus $1.01 of GST to pay for a grand total of $40.05. Now if the seller had shipped USPS like she was supposed to, the brokerage would have been a flat $5 for 2 boxes plus the GST collected. Even if she shipped DSL but shipped in one box the brokerage would have been a one time $7 plus GST owed----not $40.01! So understandably I am livid about this. Furthermore, each of my invoices has assessed the value of my items at $20.05 CDN each when in actual fact they are each under $9.05 USD. At $9.05 USD, there's no duty to pay and the items should not have been brokeraged in the first place. If you ask me this is a shipper's money making racket.

So now I don't know what my recourses are. I have already left positive feedback for the seller. It's my belief that it was the obligation of DSL to have collected the brokerage and taxes at the door which would have given me to opportunity to refuse the package (I do not have an account nor an agreement with them). I have already phoned them and they will not credit the invoices. Furthermore, they assertain that even if the items were incorrectly assessed I would have still be billed a $7 brokerage fee for each.

What do you think I should do?

recped · ‎12-01-2008

You are screwed!

BUT

You can still escape......

First, I presume you mean DHL not DSL.

Second, if you don't pay the bills from DHL they will eventually re-bill to the shipper.

DHL operate like FedEx, drop and run and send the invoice later, a stupid system but perfectly legal.

If you ask me this is a shipper's money making racket.

They aren't actually smart enough for that.

My advice, just ignore the invoices and let the seller get a nice surprise in a couple of months. If you hear from the seller at that time tell them you would be perfectly happy to send them the GST amount you would have paid but not the brokerage fees.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

craftycatsattic · ‎12-01-2008

Hi Recped. Thanks so much the quick reply and pointing out the DHL error. I have been so frazzled about this since the mail came this morning that I apparently cannot think straight....didn't even realize that it was way past lunchtime! Lol...and my dh just brought me a lunch as I'm typing this as he knows I'm a big worry wart.

Anyhow, I called the consumer protection agency. They told me it was DHL's obligation to collect the money at the time of shipment or let me know that there would be brokerage fees to pay later. They suggested I write back to DHL stating that I refuse to pay the invoices on these grounds and that they should pursue their claim with the sender. So now I've made the company name correction and the letter is going in today's mail.

Having been stung before, I've always taken the time on parcel shipments to let my sellers know to only send USPS. It costs a little more but the brokerage is reasonable so you save less in the end. What really hurt me in this case is she shipped 5 envelopes instead of sending in one box. I'd have gladly bit my tongue and paid the extra $2 more they were charging to broker but $40 is big jump. Lol too much stress for $40 don't you think?

recped · ‎12-01-2008

Personally I wouldn't bother contacting DHL at all. Perhaps I'm wrong but I don't think DHL are "obligated" to anything that the Consumer Protection Agency suggested they should.

DHL won't really care if you pay or not, they will simply charge the amounts to the shippers account who will have to pay or face having their DHL account closed.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

gifts_of_elegance · ‎12-01-2008

I had a similar experience with DHL. I refused to pay them. Had they rang the door bell, I would have refused the packages and had them sent back to seller.

coxengines · ‎12-01-2008

Don't worry about it, don't stress yourself, ignore it.

Legally (and morally) they can't touch you - and they won't.

DHL is a humongous company. They will collect from the seller or write it off; either way it's not your problem.

I never buy unless a seller agrees to USPS from the USA. If they still send via courier,it's their problem, not mine.

Xena