'Brokerage Fee' from UPS :(

I just received a package of parts from Canada this morning which was being delivered by UPS.
I opened me door to happily relieve the guy of my goods at which point he said,
"That'll be £18.50!"
I was stunned and asked, "What for?"
He replied, "Brokerage Fees!"
I refused to pay him and contacted UPS to clarify the situation.
Turns out they charge a handling fee on-top of customs tax which they collect off the consignee (you) on delivery :(
To cut a long story short,
*
DON'T BUY GOODS FROM ACROSS THE POND IF THEY ARE SENDING IT TO YOU BY UPS*

Apparently U.S.P.S. is fine tho coz they state their all fees from the beginning.
Z

Fed ex do the same....

So does everyone else.

I have had more problems with USPS than UPS.

why are you so surprised? goods outside the E.U. are liable for duties and taxes, why did you think they would make an exception for you? the fee is partly for them paying the tax due on import then collecting it from you.

So does everyone else.

Really?!
..but ive been getting herbal supplements sent from the US monthly, with no other fee applied (the senders use U.S.P.S.)...

Value of these "herbs" is?

@ MrSmyth ~ I guess im surprised because the seller didn't state that this fee would be applicable...also an added charge of £18.50 for a 15mm lens just doesn't seem right :(
(plus I'm totally skint)

@ Hippy ~ they come to $30 per pack of 60pills

That's probably under the amount where they bother with the duty.

Read how they calc here..
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_001454&propertyType=document

It's also not the sellers responsibility to know about the duty for a country that they don't live in.

@ Seldom ~ true, but i reckon they could at least remind international buyers of impending taxage based on cost of the product.

Read how they calc here..
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_001454&propertyType=document

thanks Hippy.

why are you so surprised? goods outside the E.U. are liable for duties and taxes, why did you think they would make an exception for you? the fee is partly for them paying the tax due on import then collecting it from you.

The carrier does the job of calculating; paying; and then collecting, duty costs. They do not do this for free.

I get caught out on this alot. I live outside of the EU, and am liable for duty on anything over ~£20.The amount of times I've stupidly gone over the limit by a £ or so and had to pay £13 processing fee (to post office) + 25% of the value.......(grrrr). Thing is companys like UPS seem to demand double the fee, when compared to my local post office so I tend to avoid any special delivery offers.

Sometimes they don't mention the fee at all and you get a surprise letter in a week or two asking for it to be paid. I believe this is the case if you sign for the parcel on someone else's behalf.

This has happened to me about 5 times in the last 10 years and each time I have ignored the letter requesting the fee and there hasn't been any follow up.