Erik Quackenbush wrote:
>
> When I lived in Chester County PA the government contracted with a private
> company called Burkheimer (sp?) to administer their local income tax
> collection. You could argue all day that you never signed a contract with
> Burkheimer, but if you didn't pay they would still nail you for tax evasion.
Therein lies the difference--the _government_ contracted with the
company to do the collections. Did the government, in this case,
authorize the company to charge a fee to the individual in collecting
that tax? That's the issue, not whether or not duties are due.
This difficulty is a direct reflection of Rimmer using this shipper for,
most recently, free delivery specials. Freight has been prepaid, and
customs fees were calculated later. DHL believes it's entitled to more
money by mailing a letter with a list of those fees. I don't believe it
is, despite the fact that I have no argument whatsoever that the duties
alone are due the Feds.
When others say, in effect, "I did not contract with DHL to act as my
agent in collecting customs fees," they are quite correct. Rimmer Bros.
made that contract, and then did not _clearly_ advertise that fact. I
just checked their site, and with regard to both shipping and the
announcement of a change of international carrier, there is no mention
of additional fees upon delivery.
Personally, I don't much like DHL because they have a nasty habit of
opening packages for reasons other than safety, and refusing to ship
items on bases unrelated to safety. This additional fee to collect
customs charges just strikes me as another means of generating income,
rather than a necessary part of doing business--it's generally
calculated into the cost of providing the service by other carriers.
It's possible that Rimmer Bros. contracted with DHL knowing that some of
their price break for service comes at the expense of the recipient, but
it may also be true that Rimmer Bros. was told by DHL that the rates
provided full service, and are unaware of the additional charges imposed
by DHL.
At any rate, the collection charge is excessive, and Rimmer Bros. ought
to be made aware that this additional unspecified charge for customs
fees collection is raising some hackles in the U.S.
Cheers.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM
[mailto: mporter@zianet.com]
`70 GT6+ (being refurbished, slowly)
`71 GT6 Mk. III (organ donor)
`72 GT6 Mk. III (daily driver)
`64 TR4 (awaiting intensive care)
`80 TR7 (3.8 liter Buick-powered)
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