Global Shipping Program Question

[mburden319]

I recently bought an item from the UK and it was shipped using the Global Shipping Program. 

Today I received a phone call from DHL indication that I owed duties to be paid before delivery, my question is doesn't the GSP cover all fees and charges, I ordered from the UK before using GSP and have never had to pay extra before. 

I don't mind paying whatever charges I owe but I feel like I already paid when I purchased the item. 

I did talk to eBay and was told by the first agent that it was the fault of the seller who in their opinion misrepresented the item on shipping documents, I contacted the seller and was assured everything was correct and most of the information is auto populated by eBay. 

The next agent blamed DHL saying it was a delivery fee for them to drive to my house, which I feel is not true either since I live in a major city and have never had to pay for that. 

Just wondering if anyone else has had an issue like this or am I missing something. 

[fh991586]

That's the first time I ever heard of such a thing! Interesting problem here...
First, you should ask DHL for a precise quote of what they are asking you to pay (the amount + their fee, separated) and the commercial invoice of the package (which would indicate the description of the item plus its declared value). Now what is the difference between that and what you paid to eBay/GSP?
We can't help much more here without further information, but I would understand that you might not want to share everything in public...
What was the item #, so that we could check the original listing?

[mburden319]

The item number is 254601563070 and DHL is asking $26.32CAD I don't mind sharing whatever is needed, I'm curious about this. I will contact DHL in the AM to see if I can get a detailed invoice since I can't seem to find a way online.

[marnotom!]

Some sellers using the Global Shipping Program miss the plot and send items directly to the buyer's address rather than to the GSP's forwarding centre.  I'm wondering if this is your situation.

Check the tracking information associated with the "UPAA" tracking code you were given for your item on one of Pitney Bowes' tracking sites:

https://parceltracking.pb.com/

https://tracking.pb.com/

Does it look like the seller sent it to a forwarding hub which then sent it on to Canada?  If so, there should be a link below the item's "progress meter" to "track item on carrier's website".  Clicking on that should take you to the DHL website and you might get a clearer picture of what happened to your item once it was in Canada.

By the way, are you sure this item being shipped through DHL is this particular item?  I ask because it's pretty unusual for GSP items to be shipped within Canada by anything other than Canada Post, but I suppose it's possible given that Canada Post is getting pretty backlogged right now thanks to CoVID-19.

[mburden319]

It looks like it went though a GSP center in the UK, the tracking # is UPAAC000000105640071

[marnotom!]

Thanks for that info.  You may want to take a look at the DHL tracking yourself to see if there are any clues, because I couldn't find out anything from that.  The GSP's tracking does note that it was held for some sort of dangerous goods evaluation (probably the laptop's battery), and perhaps DHL's charge has something to do with that.

Or it might be that because they don't handle GSP items that often, somebody at DHL doesn't realize that HST is paid at point of purchase.  The amount you were charged does seem to work out to 13% HST plus rubber-stamping fees.

[retroman_studios]

@mburden319 

The tracking from the two carriers does not add up. DHL indicates it received shipping information on the 28th, and that they cleared customs.  The Pitney Bowes Tracking indicates the GSP package was delivered to GSP Hub on the 27th. 

I'm not sure how GSP works for the UK, but something has gone wrong if they are the same shipment. tyler@ebay might be able to look into this or recommend how to proceed. If the item was truly sent GSP, you should not have to pay any fees. If the item wasn't then you hopefully will be eligible to receive a refund for the fees you did pay in advance.

[pjcdn2005]

That is really odd. Perhaps Tyler can help on Monday but in the meantime, I would contact ebay through Facebook or Twitter as they sometimes know more than the phone customer service.

https://facebook.com/ebay

https://twitter.com/askebay

When you've ordered from the UK in the past, did the packages go through the US as well?  I would have thought a gsp package would go straight from the UK to Canada.

[reallynicestamps]

I would have thought a gsp package would go straight from the UK to Canada.

Me too, and in my experience that is how it works, since there is little point in adding another country's customs officers (even if the shipment is "in bond").

Perhaps the shipment was routed away from Montreal because of the high level of CONVID problems there?

[mburden319]

I ordered a simular product from the UK a month ago or so and I does seem to have taken the same route but with no duties requested and through the GSP.

Here are the two DHL traking numbers.  8406425462 and 7984612915

I'll wait until Monday and see what comes of this on the eBay side, I did call DHL this morning and was told there was nothing they could do on thier end as they haven't received any payment from eBay or Pinty Bowes (not sure who pays in this case).  

[marnotom!]

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@retroman_studios wrote:

The tracking from the two carriers does not add up. DHL indicates it received shipping information on the 28th, and that they cleared customs.  The Pitney Bowes Tracking indicates the GSP package was delivered to GSP Hub on the 27th. 

Keep in mind that Pitney Bowes and DHL may be using different time zones in their tracking information.  Even Pitney Bowes' own information may not be consistent.  I compared the tracking information for my most recent GSP-forwarded purchase between the two Pitney Bowes' tracking sites, and it's not the same.

Given that the DHL tracking is accessible through Pitney Bowes, I think it's safe to conclude that this is the same shipment.  The tracking information is close enough between the two sites.

[marnotom!]

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@mburden319 wrote:

I'll wait until Monday and see what comes of this on the eBay side, I did call DHL this morning and was told there was nothing they could do on thier end as they haven't received any payment from eBay or Pinty Bowes (not sure who pays in this case).  

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I kind of misspoke myself when I said that HST is paid "at point of purchase" for a GSP shipment.  The import charges you're actually paying are an estimate that the GSP bot creates that's anticipated to cover HST, various customs processing charges and a pad to cover any possible errors.  In effect, you're paying Pitney Bowes back in advance for DHL's own set of import charges and then some.  

Pitney Bowes is considered "importer of record" for a GSP shipment, which means they're the ones that should be on the import manifest for the laptop and they're the ones that $26 charge should be going to, assuming that it is for taxes, etc.  (Not duties.  There's no duty on laptops AFAIK.  What laptop manufacturing industry do we have to protect, anyway?)

I'd suggest that you try contacting Pitney Bowes before contacting DHL if you can figure out how to do it.  Your best bet may be to contact eBay again (on Monday) and ask to be put through to a Global Shipping Specialist.  Those used to be around in the early days of the GSP.  They may be able to find out why that $26 charge was made to you and not Pitney Bowes.

If there are no longer Global Shipping Specialists available through eBay Customer Service, then by all means call DHL again.  Point out that this was a purchase made through eBay's Global Shipping Program (if that means anything to the customer service rep you speak to) and that Pitney Bowes is the importer of record, which means that the $26 charge is theirs to pay.

I suspect that what with the rigamarole of your item being detained as possible dangerous goods, somebody forgot to input some important information on your laptop's shipping file that would have ensured that Pitney Bowes would be responsible for any import-related charges levied by DHL Canada, rather than you.

Keep us posted, and good luck!

[fh991586]

The package actually went through 2 different borders, so maybe the GSP only accounted for one in the original quote? Hence the need to pay for the second part...

Still a new thing, AFAIK unheard of! But I would think GSP should pay for it, because that's the service you paid for: "No additional import charges on delivery."

The item didn't have a battery, so this should not be the reason it was held up. The declared amount should be around $60 CAD (wondering what the commercial invoice actually states), but the buyer already paid more than $100 CAD for the shipping and brokerage alone! Checking the details of DHL's invoice is a must for a better understanding of the situation. Trying to get an answer on a public platform like eBay or Twitter might help with the situation, as DHL will most likely not want to keep that package for too long.

[femmefan1946]

The package actually went through 2 different borders, so maybe the GSP only accounted for one in the original quote?

Not likely.

When a shipment (and the laptop is almost certainly shipping on a manifest with a pallet of other items) passes through a third country on its way to its destination, the third country usually ignores it. (Unless the drugsniffing dogs get excited, I suppose.)

It's not stopping, being imported, or being offered for resale in the third country.

So no duty or sales taxes normally apply.

All the more important when a large company like DHL is involved.

As a silly example, if you sent Nonna in Italy a box of maple fudge for Christmas, it would probably go first to the Netherlands where a lot of North American mail is processed, then the Dutch receiver would toss your box into the Italy shipment, with dozens of other Italy-bound packages.
It never leaves the Dutch plant, and only the workers' wages are part of the Dutch economy.

No taxes or duty from the Netherlands.

[marnotom!]

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@fh991586 wrote:

The package actually went through 2 different borders, so maybe the GSP only accounted for one in the original quote? Hence the need to pay for the second part...

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I agree with @femmefan1946's post, this is extremely unlikely.  The OP has already said that they've received two other UK shipments forwarded through the GSP that were handled by DHL with no extra charges upon receipt.  I can also mention from almost personal experience that my wife once ordered something from Indonesia shipped by FedEx.  It went to Alaska and then down to Seattle (or was it San Francisco?) before being sent to Richmond/Vancouver for customs and from there over to us on Vancouver Island.  No additional charges whatsoever.

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@fh991586 wrote:

The item didn't have a battery, so this should not be the reason it was held up. The declared amount should be around $60 CAD (wondering what the commercial invoice actually states), but the buyer already paid more than $100 CAD for the shipping and brokerage alone! Checking the details of DHL's invoice is a must for a better understanding of the situation. Trying to get an answer on a public platform like eBay or Twitter might help with the situation, as DHL will most likely not want to keep that package for too long.

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Somebody processing the laptop wouldn't have known that the item didn't have a battery if they saw it on a list of items to be processed or, for whatever reason, had to liberate it from its original packaging.  It likely had to be set aside for closer inspection.

Getting DHL's attention through Twitter may be useful, although I still think an attempt to contact Pitney Bowes should be made first, as right now it looks to be their error.

For what it's worth, I did find this recent Twitter post with responses of interest:

https://twitter.com/Jim_Sheridan/status/1266714690262110209

[mburden319]

Just to update, I contacted DHL again and explained as mentioned above that charges and duties should have been covered by a third party. The customer rep had no idea what I was talking about and was unable or unwilling to find someone who might have had a better idea.

I have also contacted eBay and as mentioned above asked to speak to a GSP subject matter expert, they said that was not possible and would have to deal with them. The rep again insisted that it was either the fault of the seller or DHL and there was nothing they could do and the matter is considered closed.

In the end I've paid the fees since DHL indicated it was heading back to the UK tomorrow, it's upsetting not because $26 is a lot but because I've essentaily paid double for the same service where the shipping was alredy quite high.

If I'm lucky I might see a refund from someone, but not too optimistic.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@mburden319 

tyler@ebay  Maybe you can address this situation. Weird one forsure.

-Lotz

[tyler@ebay]

Thanks for the tag @lotzofuniquegoodies!

Hi @mburden319 - with a GSP shipment you should not be expected to pay any additional fees (you paid those up front as you're aware). 

This is a good situation to consider contacting CS about - it looks like this got delivered today, but I'm not sure if that's because they sorted things out on their end or you ended up paying the 'additional' fees. If you did please let me know. 

Thanks!

[mburden319]

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Hi tyler@ebay 

The item was delivered because I paid the fees requested by DHL, as they indicated it would be returned.

I've been involved with both eBay and DHL customer support on a number of occasions with no success.

[marnotom!]

Did your two other DHL delivered, GSP-forwarded items have anything like detailed invoices attached to them when you received them?  If so, you might want to give it a good once-over when you receive the laptop.  I find it really weird that DHL wanted so much more $ than the import charges stated on the listing page.