Ah, I understand. You're right- I don't think that DHL should be able to
tack a substantial unnegotiated collection fee on top of the duties.
-Erik
At 09:24 AM 8/30/2000 -0600, Michael D. Porter wrote:
>
>
>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)
--
Erik Quackenbush, V.P. Operations, Midwest Filter Corporation
1-847-680-0566 fax: 1-847-680-0832 http://www.midwestfilter.com
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