Did my package get sent back to the USA?

[sportsfan100_1999]

I've never had a problem buying items with global shipping before, but the tracking on this item has been all over the place.  First it said that the receiver must pay duties or taxes due on the package, even though I paid fees under the GSP.  Then it appeared that the package arrived in Canada and now it says that it is being shipped to the US Shipping Center.  Within 10 minutes the package departed Mississauga, arrived in Concord and then went on route to the US Shipping Center.  It makes no sense.

Enroute to US Shipping Center

Feb-25-15, 06:50 AM, CONCORD, ON

In Transit-ARRIVAL SCAN

Feb-25-15, 06:45 AM, CONCORD, ON

In Transit-DEPARTURE SCAN

Feb-25-15, 06:40 AM, MISSISSAUGA, ON

In Transit-IMPORT SCAN

Feb-25-15, 05:21 AM, MISSISSAUGA, ON

In transit - Exception-YOUR PACKAGE IS AT THE CLEARING AGENCY AWAITING FINAL RELEASE. / RECEIVER'S CUSTOMS BROKER HAS BEEN ASSIGNED. THE SHIPMENT IS NOW RELEASED TO MOVE IN TRANSIT

Feb-25-15, 02:37 AM

In Transit-DEPARTURE SCAN

Feb-25-15, 02:25 AM, BUFFALO, NY

In Transit-ARRIVAL SCAN

Feb-25-15, 02:01 AM, BUFFALO, NY

In Transit-DEPARTURE SCAN

Feb-24-15, 16:23 PM, LOUISVILLE, KY

In Transit-DEPARTURE SCAN

Feb-24-15, 15:58 PM, LOUISVILLE, KY

In Transit-ARRIVAL SCAN

Feb-24-15, 13:21 PM, LOUISVILLE, KY

In transit - Exception-THE RECEIVER MUST PAY THE DUTIES OR TAXES DUE ON THE PACKAGE.

Feb-24-15, 13:13 PM, TORONTO, ON

In Transit-DEPARTURE SCAN

Feb-24-15, 03:57 AM, GREENSBORO, NC

In transit - Exception-THE PACKAGE IS AWAITING CLEARING AGENCY REVIEW. / THE PACKAGE IS AT THE CLEARING AGENCY AWAITING FINAL RELEASE.

Feb-24-15, 01:52 AM

In transit - Exception-YOUR PACKAGE IS AT THE CLEARING AGENCY AWAITING FINAL RELEASE.

Feb-23-15, 23:53 PM

In Transit-ARRIVAL SCAN

Feb-23-15, 21:40 PM, GREENSBORO, NC

In Transit-DEPARTURE SCAN

Feb-23-15, 20:39 PM, DURHAM, NC

In Transit-ORIGIN SCAN

Feb-23-15, 18:41 PM, DURHAM, NC

[maggiebvintage2010]

Hi pj

Thank you- you are of course correct - just  thought a more detailed explanation would contribute to the discussion.  Pitney Bowes would be in the Customs Self-Assessment Program, PB or their agent is the importer of record, goods are pre-cleared through Advance Commercial Information Program, either at a border crossing, or inland in bond to a sufferance warehouse.  They probably clear at the same place every time, so the CBSA officers know the deal.   Mostly, the goods will clear very quickly with the manifest and the documents from the Customs Broker.   However, there are random inspections, and these will happen to the GSP shipments from time to time.  Individual packages could be pulled and opened, with the possibility of a re-assessment at that time.  The package would have Customs tape and/or note on it, so the buyer would know it had been inspected.   PB would pay if any extra money was due, since they are the importer of record.

I don't know how they have set up the agreement to cover any additional taxes/duties, but I think I remember other posters noting that there is a clause in the GSP agreement about the buyer being responsible for any other such fees.

The OP mentioned that he thought re-assessment could be a possibility because he thought he got a good deal.  In practice, it is a very, very remote possibility.  CBSA is extremely busy looking for other things - assessing an extra few hundred dollars on a few items in a huge truckload is not one of their priorities.  I don't recall any post on the boards about a GSP purchase being opened and inspected by CBSA, or anyone being re-assessed for additional taxes/duties.  Those cases where buyers have complained of paying customs fees a second time seem to be ones where the seller mistakenly sent the purchase directly to the buyer, bypassing PB.

I worked at one point at a Customs Brokerage at a relatively small sufferance warehouse.  Truckloads coming through like that would be cleared in minutes.  Every once in a while a Customs agent would tear a truck apart, and this could take more than a day, because once they start, they need to be thorough.  One officer in particular had a penchant for contraband examinations and random checks.  That was a long time ago.  These days the process is more streamlined.

[momcqueen]

That is a very thorough and useful explanation of the process. Thank you for sharing this insight, maggiebvintage.

in reply to mjwl2006

‎02-27-2015 03:18 AM

I think that your 'fears' are unfounded.  In other similar cases the buyer has been refunded the import fees that they paid to ebay/PB.  They will probably even be refunded the international shipping fees.

I do hope you are correct and I will defer to your greater experience in the matter. Again, I was speaking merely from my own personal experience from one problem that I had with a purchase sent through the Global Shipping Program while it was still in its infancy. The hoops that I had to jump through as a buyer to correct the mistake made by either the seller or Pitney Bowes itself was absolutely ludicrous. I was directed to file a police report in order to 'prove' I had only been sent one of two purchased items (the issue being either theft or fraud) and then I was supposed to mail the one item that I did receive back at my own expense in order to get refunded for both. Internationally with tracking, of course.

The kicker was that the police report had to be submit to paypal within 10 days (calendar, I think) when, in reality, my local police need $25 and a Freedom of Information Request plus a series of other waivers to be filed all of which would have taken no less than 45 business days to complete. (If I were lucky.) And it had to be a completed report, with the outcome of the police 'investigation' noted and not merely the incident number as will sometimes suffice. The 'Item not as described' case closed against me because I was not able to meet the deadline set by paypal for the submission of that required police report. I lost it, figuratively and literally, at which point I called payapl for the twelfth time and finally found someone who could help me. It was fixed in the end but I lost a lot of time, a LOT of time, advocating on my own behalf as well as paying for police reports and assorted waivers and travelling downtown to police headquarters to do it and I think even paying to fax the documents because of something silly like paypal wouldn't accept it by email and I happened to be nine months pregnant at the time when it was also the middle of the coldest part of the winter in Winnipeg. It was not worth it. 

And that, my friends, was the last time I used the Global Shipping Program. It also marked the beginning of the end of my faith in any buyer protection programs. I play it a lot safer now with my purchases. If there is even a hint of stink in a seller's feedback, they are avoided at all costs. Once bitten and all that.

In that frame of mind, I am hoping the original poster has better luck with it.

[momcqueen]

I think that your 'fears' are unfounded.  In other similar cases the buyer has been refunded the import fees that they paid to ebay/PB.  They will probably even be refunded the international shipping fees.

I do hope you are correct and I will defer to your greater experience in the matter. Again, I was speaking merely from my own personal experience from one problem that I had with a purchase sent through the Global Shipping Program while it was still in its infancy. The hoops that I had to jump through as a buyer to correct the mistake made by either the seller or Pitney Bowes itself was absolutely ludicrous. I was directed to file a police report in order to 'prove' I had only been sent one of two purchased items (the issue being either theft or fraud) and then I was supposed to mail the one item that I did receive back at my own expense in order to get refunded for both. Internationally with tracking, of course.

The kicker was that the police report had to be submit to paypal within 10 days (calendar, I think) when, in reality, my local police need $25 and a Freedom of Information Request plus a series of other waivers to be filed all of which would have taken no less than 45 business days to complete. (If I were lucky.) And it had to be a completed report, with the outcome of the police 'investigation' noted and not merely the incident number as will sometimes suffice. The 'Item not as described' case closed against me because I was not able to meet the deadline set by paypal for the submission of that required police report. I lost it, figuratively and literally, at which point I called payapl for the twelfth time and finally found someone who could help me. It was fixed in the end but I lost a lot of time, a LOT of time, advocating on my own behalf as well as paying for police reports and assorted waivers and travelling downtown to police headquarters to do it and I think even paying to fax the documents because of something silly like paypal wouldn't accept it by email and I happened to be nine months pregnant at the time when it was also the middle of the coldest part of the winter in Winnipeg. It was not worth it. 

And that, my friends, was the last time I used the Global Shipping Program. It also marked the beginning of the end of my faith in any buyer protection programs. I play it a lot safer now with my purchases. If there is even a hint of stink in a seller's feedback, they are avoided at all costs. Once bitten and all that.

In that frame of mind, I am hoping the original poster has better luck with it.