Can Royal Mail Standard parcels somehow end up with DHL in Canada?

[lonelybadger71]

There was a message left on my phone today from Loomis/DHL Kamloops saying they were holding a parcel for me, but that there were customs duties to pay. I am not expecting any parcels by courier, but I am expecting a small parcel via Canada Post, sent by Royal Mail, Standard, no tracking, from the UK three weeks ago. 

Do things posted by Royal Mail in the UK ever end up with couriers in Canada? Why?

I bought the item from this particular seller because she shipped via mail only, at a reasonable cost, and hadn’t opted in to the outrageous Global Shipping Program. Had I known the parcel would end up with couriers (I live in the sticks, four hours from the nearest depot) with added brokerage, I never would have bought it.

The seller thinks it probably is her parcel waiting for me at Loomis/DHL, and that I should just pay the fee. As her shipping methods were clearly shown as Royal Mail Standard on her listings, should I open a dispute if this is the case?

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

If there are customs charges pending, it was not sent via the Global Shipping Program, which assesses and charges Canadian duty and sales taxes plus a small (~$5USD) service charge before the seller is told to ship.

And while any import valued over $20Cdn is liable for duty and sales taxes, if it is under $100 and not bulky, CBSA  usually ignores it, on the sensible basis that the labour cost to collect is probably higher than the applicable fees .**

So your seller didn't ship by GSP.

And she didn't ship by Royal Mail/Canada Post.

She chose to ship by courier - Loomis/DHL. And couriers are required by law to collect ALL the applicable import fees, just as GSP does in advance and just as Canada Post is allowed to ignore them*.

You can go to the Loomis/DHL office and decide whether to pay the (legal) import fees (which go to Canada) and the courier fee (which may exceed $25 -- those of us who remember the pre-GSP cost of couriered purchases are having flashbacks on this) or to refuse it and have it sent back to the seller.

The purchase may be eligible for a Not As Described dispute, since it was not sent by Royal Mail as described in the listing.

But re-read the listing for the exact wording. "Standard shipping" will lose the dispute and you would not be refunded.

*It's technically not legal, but the public servants of CBSA are on the taxpayer's side with this one, against the politicians who have not changed the duty free allowance since 1985 or so.

** BTW, if Canada Post does have to collect import fees, they charge a $9.95 service fee.