I'm sure many of us know what this guy is talking about...

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/061024/K102418U.html

B.C. man sets off class-action lawsuit against UPS over hidden brokerage fees
17:51:11 EDT Oct 24, 2006
Canadian Press: TERRI THEODORE
VANCOUVER (CP) - Hidden fees seem to be an everyday irritant for consumers, but a B.C. man is so angry about a fee charged by United Parcel Service he's willing to become the point man for a class-action lawsuit.

It started after Robert Macfarlane purchased an amplified telephone device from Arizona over the Internet last year. He knew he would have to pay shipping and handling fees and government levies, but he was also ordered to pay a $38.40 brokerage fee charged by UPS.

"It's outrageous," said Macfarlane's lawyer Jim Poyner.

"It's a surcharge that nobody agrees to, nobody knows anything about it until the delivery person is at the door."

Poyner said Tuesday he expects hundreds of thousands of people have been in the same situation across the country, and there are plans to file a similar lawsuit in Ontario.

"It's certainly a problem that affects the entire country."

The lawsuit has been filed under the Class Proceedings Act, but the B.C. Supreme Court must first determine if the case fits the criteria for a class-action lawsuit.

The court action claims the UPS brokerage fee is "so harsh and adverse as to constitute an unconscionable practice."

The same Canada Post service for goods shipped from the United States to Canada costs $5.00.

A spokesman for UPS was unavailable for an interview.

Poyner said people are usually never told there will be an added fee until there's a knock on the door.

"(The delivery person) has your goods in one hand and the other hand is out wanting to be paid more money," he said.

The lawsuit accuses UPS of misleading and deceptive practices by failing to get the consumer's consent, not telling the consumer about the fee and not allowing the consumer to arrange their own customs clearance.

Not only does Macfarlane want his own money back, but the lawsuit wants everyone who paid the fee reimbursed.

Poyner said the other major goal of such a lawsuit is what the court calls "behaviour modification."

In one of 10 remedies requested in Macfarlane's statement of claim, it asks for a permanent injunction stopping UPS from continuing to charge the fee.

It also asks for punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

WOO HOO!!! Damn, if that comes thru, I'll be a happy guy! Where do I sign up???

(I'm okay with paying $5.00 for paperwork & other garbage, or if there's a legitimate duty charge I'm all for paying that, but brokerage should be a fixed fee!)

Ya, and not $20 something dollars on a $30 book!

I've once paid more in brokerage than shipping + item price..

41 something dollars for a manual boost controller that cost me 9 bucks USD and 11 dollars shipping (rip off in more ways than one)

I "inspected the package" and closed the door in the UPS guys face.

Fuck UPS.

Guys in canada and aus have been telling me UPS sucks for this reason for a few years.
Unless someone insists, I refuse to send things via UPS due to people thinking that I am screwing them on shipping out of the country couple times in the distant past.
I hope UPS gets bent. As a side note, the USPS has gotten exponentially better and UPS hasn't improved their service anyway, so I don't feel even a tingle of guilt or significant loss of money boycotting UPS these days.
They also have a new security policy down here where they won't deliver certain things or bother to tuck them out of sight with a slip in your box if you aren't at home. Sure, one have things delivered to work if I knew one was going to be there all the time, but I shouldn't have to wait around because someone can't leave something on the back freaking step!
Further, last year they couldn't find my house, but their tech support takes forever, so tracking down my stuff and then waiting for them to pull it out of a truck at the distribution center up in bloody lynden was kinda of a waste of a night.
So, ya, UPS will hopefully get bent by this and the teamsters union this year!

Where do I sign up? I paid $35 for a "free" Mahle catalogue a while back...just because Mahle put a $50 value on it.

But...if the senders were a little more particular about declared values, we would get bent over nearly as much either. I buy a widget on eBay for $20 but the shipper puts the value at $100 because that's what it's really worth. That's where we get screwed as often as on "retail" items...

Just got front lowering springs off a guy on TB. Paid $50 US for the springs, $20 for shipping with UPS. Its all good....

Nope....
$50 for import fees.

I had forgotten about this thread. I should have insisted he send it some other way.
I seriously can't believe this.
The guy on TB also put $100 for value of the item. So that bumped up the fees as well.

That's seriously evil. Fuckers.

I have found a new way to scam them.

I use expired/over-limit credit cards They don't check that they work at the door, merely write down the numbers

Muahahaha.

- R