Canada, Delivery, Fraud/Scam

UPS/FedEx Brokerage Fee – avoid scam (Canada)

582 Comments

Here is the legal way to avoid brokerage fee when importing goods from USA into Canada with courier companies like UPS, or FedEx, without driving hundreds of miles to the port of entry. CBSA officially replied that UPS forces customers to pay outrageous customs brokerage fees illegally.

When you want to order some goods for personal use from US into Canada, you want it to be delivered fast and cheap. It can be orders from eBay, and many other stores across US. Many eBay sellers do not deal with UPS anymore because of outrageous customs brokerage fees. Usually buyers face this fee only at the door, when package is delivered.

It is called C.O.D. (collect on delivery) invoice which includes duties and taxes for imported goods, and UPS customs brokerage fees and other UPS fees like collect on delivery fee, bill integrity fee, taxes on the fees and so on. This C.O.D. bill is usually about 50% of the item’s price! Of course duties and taxes must be paid, but it is usually from 5% to 15% for casual goods (no alcohol, or tobacco, or other goods for which duties applied) depending on the province.

When importers see the invoice to pay extra 50% of the item’s price thay order, some of them just refuse to pay, and item is shipped back to the seller. The sellers do not like this as well as importers, and ship items with more expensive and pretty slow USPS mail service. It goes through Canada Post to the addressee in Canada, and they charge $5 for customs clearance. But USPS delivery can take up to 6 weeks, and theirs delivery cost is higher than for UPS Ground.

Depending on the order’s price, UPS Customs Brokerage Fee varies up to 50%. For example, for the order of $40.01 the brokerage fee is $19.45 + tax, according to the table at UPS website.

If you still want to use advantage of pretty fast, guaranteed, and trackable UPS ground service to ship your imported goods from US into Canada,

You do NOT have to pay UPS brokerage fees!

I’m not advising you to use other courier services, like USPS, or driving hundreds of miles to the port of entry in order to clear items by yourself as UPS forces you to do, otherwise paying brokerage fees.

You do NOT have to be in the port of entry to clear your items!

I’ve ordered some auto parts from California, and UPS forced me to pay brokerage fees. They told that there is absolutely no ways to clear items by myself in local CBSA office other than port of entry. I have spent almost two months to investigate and escalate this issue with UPS and CBSA (Canada Borders Service Agency). Finally I got a call with apologies about the incident and official reply from CBSA which indicates the following:

You are allowed to self clear your personal shipments and pay any duty/taxes owing at an office other than where the goods are being held.

UPS SCS (Ground) was also incorrect to inform you that you had to present yourself at the office where the goods were located.

CBSA also advised me that they are going to inform courier company and CBSA offices to ensure they are aware of the proper procedures.

There are local CBSA (Canada Borders Service Agency) offices in GTA (I’m located in Toronto) where you can pay applicable duties and taxes for imported goods. There is absolutely no need to drive into Windsor or Fort Erie to clear your items. There are also a lot of CBSA offices across Canada, so you most likely may choose one which is pretty close to you.

Here is the way how to avoid UPS brokerage fees:

(Important note: this information is outdated, please see update as of October 17, 2010 below for required list of documents, according to which commercial invoice is not required by CBSA. That list is final and allowed to self clear many shipments successfully)

  • Place your order at US store with UPS delivery option
  • Print out your commercial invoice (PayPal invoice, or e-mail receipt from the store). You may want to make sure that shipper will put the correct price on the package for customs (just send them a note about it)
  • Wait for item to be shipped and get your tracking number
  • Call UPS, give them tracking number and tell that you want to clear your items by yourself in your local CBSA office. They should instruct you what you will need to do

Note: this mechanism can be only applied for Low Value Shipment program (LVS),when order’s price does not exceed $1600 CAD. In case of more expensive goods you will need to present yourself at the port of entry to clear your goods, or find a broker to do this for you.

If for any reason UPS still tells you that you can not clear items by yourself in local CBSA office, and you must go to the port of entry in order to pay duties/taxes – it is illegal! Insist on your rights. Tell that they violate the law. Mention that there is an official reply from CBSA. If you get the refusal from UPS, write down the name of the person you talked to, time, and phone number you called in. Please describe your case to me and I will forward it to the person in CBSA who investigated my case and replied to my inquiry. I’m not posting his contact information here to avoid spam. He advised to contact him if this issue is repeated again.

I believe that it should be applied not only to UPS, but to all other courier services. For example, FedEx brokerage fees must be avoided in the same way.

Updated information as of October 17, 2010.

Canada Customs (CBSA) officially replied and provided procedure of self clearing process which UPS, CBSA offices, and importers should follow:


How to pay duties and taxes for imported goods

…

If you are planning to have future shipments sent to you by courier from outside Canada, you do have the option of refusing the accounting services offered by the company, choosing instead to clear the goods yourself through your local CBSA office. If you choose to do this, you will not incur any brokerage fees. The two options available to you are the following:

1. Prior to receiving your shipment, you can contact the courier company and inform them of your wish to self-clear any shipments that are addressed to you and on which brokerage fees are applicable. The company will explain their procedures to you.

2. As an alternative, when a casual shipment is delivered to you, you can refuse delivery and advise the courier company of your intention to self-clear directly with the CBSA. In this case, please ensure that you take note of the unique shipment identifier number on the package, as the shipment will be returned to the courier’s warehouse.

With both options, you will need to visit your local CBSA office and provide them with specific details, including the courier’s name, the unique shipment identifier number, a description of the goods and their value so that the CBSA can correctly assess the goods. This information is usually indicated on the shipment’s invoice, which will be provided to you by the courier company. When you have paid the applicable duties and/or taxes to the CBSA, you will be given an official receipt indicating that the goods have been accounted for. You will need to present this receipt to the courier’s warehouse where your shipment is stored, in order for the courier to release your shipment to you.

Thank you for contacting the CBSA.

Internet: www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/)

Canada Border Services Agency

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0L8

Government of Canada – Gouvernement du Canada

(Some personal information has been omitted, and CBSA e-mail address also to avoid spam. Some key phrases has been highlighted by editor, not by CBSA)

We may conclude, that in order to self-clear goods in local CBSA office we need following:

The final and proven way of how to avoid UPS brokerage fees:

– Courier’s name: UPS

– Unique shipment identifier number: UPS must provide

– Shipment’s invoice: UPS must provide

– Place where the package is being held

Let’s stop UPS outrageous behavior and lawlessness, and force them to obey the simple law and allow importers to self-clear without paying brokerage fees!

Tell about this procedure to all people who use UPS (or other couriers with high brokerage fees) to import goods from US into Canada! If UPS will hear about it from importers hundreds/thousands times per day, they will definitely start to use new procedure.

The exact procedure of self-clearing with scanned documents is given here:

How to self clear shipment at CBSA and avoid UPS brokerage fee

582 thoughts on “UPS/FedEx Brokerage Fee – avoid scam (Canada)”

  1. This is why I don’t bother with 1-800 brokerage. Same thing happened to me. I demanded to speak to supervisor and she started spelling out correct answers. After this they accepted B15 Faxed as proof. We should start writing agent’s ID and name so we can complile incompetent ones on that line.

    I suspect this is their tactic. If we don’t pay for their “added” service, package will be delayed. I suspect this could fall under either competition bereau. Already called Alberta government consumer line and reported it.

  2. Nope, called back a day later and it’s still not released. The agent said they needed the manifest stamped. I didn’t engage in conversation, I just said I needed to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor said that the stamped B-15 was all that was needed. I faxed the info to them again. They said the package would be delivered in 1 to 2 business days. I am officially pissed off. Btw, if the agent doesn’t comply the first time you call, ask for a supervisor. they seem to know a bit more about the right procedure,

  3. Update:
    I have received a manifest from UPS, B-15 from Customs. Paid duties, faxed info from customs office, home and work 3x to UPS. They received it however Customs did not stamp the Ups cargo manifest (although a completed B15 was provided). The ups agent now says i need a stamped manifest. Called Customs to inquire on the validity of this claim. They said that the B15 is sufficient as they will only complete the B-15 if they are satisfied the shipment is not prohibited or does not require permits. So I called UPS back and Emphatically stated that they have all the paperwork and that in my previous conversation with Customs, the completed B-15 is sufficient. I stated that unless the response is “Yes sir, we will be delivering your package this week” that i will be venting on a supervisor. I buttered up the agent a bit by telling her that it’s not her fault. She put in a request to have the package released. We’ll see….

  4. I got reply from Michel (VP Customs & Trade Compliance at UPS). While he doesn’t deny we can’t do this, he is keeping is vague and there is no timeline on when they will fully implement procedure. It was said six weeks from February and now it is well past that. When anyone calls 1-800 number, no one should be told lies. I am so pissed off about this along with other things they do.

    Patrick, from your experience would you say keeping them in the dark until it leaves first point of entry (Windsor, Winnipeg or Vancouver) is the best? This is what I figured from my experience although UPS insist they need to know it is self-clear.

  5. Patrick, what is UPS brokerage email to email b15 back? I’d like to keep it so I can just email them and tell them to remove COD before delivery.

    “The individual indicated she had done this process before and this is the first time she’d heard of someone having a problem like this”

    This appears to be UPS internal policy to deny the problems. I called them 5 times to ask same thing and each one of them say same thing and one claimed “I worked here for 8 years and it cannot be done”.

  6. UPS fuckers lying again

    I called 1-800 ext.3 to clarify the procedure again. They are supposed to explain to us the correct procedure to clear on our own. Both of agents I got on the line said “I CANNOT CLEAR GROUND PACKAGE ANYWHERE BUT IN WINNIPEG (Port of entry)”. I immediately fired off email to CBSA and will wait for their reply. I am going to see the end of world with this. I am trying to get hold of Michael Valee who did interview with CTV and said I can do htis.

  7. Update #6:

    UPS driver attempted delivery today. Parcel came with a “COD tag”. Wouldn’t release it to me. Called UPS 1-800 number and spoke to a very nice person who confirmed that it should not have gone out with the COD tag. She has called over to the delivery centre and asked them to send an “urgent page” to the driver to remove the tag and re-deliver today. I have to say this was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting the truck to go back to the warehouse today and I would have to wait until tomorrow for this to get sorted out.

    As an aside… The folks at UPS must be getting the message. On my $140 item, the brokerage charge was only $14.25 +HST. Still more expensive than Canada Post / Purolator, but much more reasonable than I expected. And the customer support folks have been very helpful and pleasant.

  8. Update #5:

    Went into the office at 2720 Britannia this morning, paid the HST on my package and got my B-15. E-mailed it to UPS, who has released my item.

    The customs agent I spoke to said this is the first time in his 12 years as an agent that he’s ever seen anyone clear an item that was not in a local (YYZ) warehouse. As far as he knew, it couldn’t be done. I left him a printed copy of this blog entry, in the hope that word might get around and the next person to try to do this won’t have to go through this much pain and suffering. :)

  9. Followup #4. :)

    I was informed this morning by the CBSA Superintendent that the “reason” for the confusion over this item is that UPS gave me a manifest that had a Cargo Control No. that indicated it wasn’t part of the Courier LVS programme. Apparently, because I called UPS before a delivery attempt, they held the package in Windsor, put it in a status of “CLEARS OWN – HOLD”. They also generated a new unique Cargo Control No. and that’s where things started to go wrong. The local CBSA office refused to let me pay duties / taxes, because they believed it was not a LVS. (also, I think there was some ignorance on their part as to the details of the Courier LVS programme and the ability of the individual to pay duties / taxes at a CBSA office that wasn’t the port of entry).

    One minor, yet significant point that’s important here: CBSA had _already_ cleared the package before UPS threw the wrench in the machine by holding the package. So that means that CBSA either inspected, or chose not to inspect the package and released it into the country. At this point, it has been imported. The only outstanding issue is the accounting of duties / taxes. If I had called UPS _before_ CBSA had cleared it, I’m not sure what would have happened, but I fear it would have been an uglier situation.

    I am off to the CBSA office at YYZ again today, with the Superintendent’s assurance that they will let me pay duties / taxes on the item and give me my B-15 form.

    One final comment: I had an e-mail conversation with someone at UPS about this. The individual indicated she had done this process before and this is the first time she’d heard of someone having a problem like this. Also, though, she seemed unfamiliar with the details of how the Courier LVS programme works. For example, she claimed that she couldn’t have the package moved to the local warehouse, because it hadn’t been “cleared” yet and UPS wasn’t a “bonded carrier”. Er… Um… Okay. :)

  10. Calgary Update
    I just came back from UPS Calgary warehouse (22 Aero). I had twenty minutes of constructive chat with 3 CSR as well as Cindy W. from back office. I recieved a bill for one of packages I cleared on my own last month and I was at FedEx to pickup other stuff. I decided to drop by and see what’s up with the double billing.

    After going through B15 I provided to them, it became clear that I did clear packages myself and paid all taxes. CBSA did two shipments on single page of B15 and they listed only one 1Z number which is where the confusion came from.

    For the future if you have B15 form in Calgary, you can fax it to 403-648-3308.

    If you get a bill after you got the pacakge, Fredericton UPS brokerage fax # is (506) 447-3612. This is where you fax B15 to with tracking# on each page.

  11. Update #3:
    Just got a call back from CBSA. Two individuals, one from the call-centre and another fellow from Ottawa. They asked me a number of questions to determine the status of the package, where it was located, etc. I told them that the following entry was in the UPS tracking system: ” RELEASED BY CLEARING AGENCY. NOW IN-TRANSIT FOR DELIVERY”. That satisfied them. They then told me that they weren’t sure exactly why the customs agents in Toronto wouldn’t give me the B-15. As far as CBSA is concerned, they already released the package and at this point they only want to receive their duty/taxes. So they will call the folks at Pearson and get them to do the paperwork. I will get another call to let me know when I can go get this done.

    Hopefully, I won’t have to argue any more with UPS, once I get the B-15….

  12. Update #1: CBSA Agent hasn’t called back yet, so I thought I’d walk in and discuss it again. The agent I spoke to this time said that the Superintendant was trying to sort this out, and get the “right” interpretation of the law. I can understand that… I wouldn’t want to get in trouble for doing something wrong on the job. It is a shame, though, that this isn’t communicated clearly to the local offices. It appears each one is left to deal with this on a case by case basis. According to the person I just spoke with, he said (I am paraphrasing): “what if I choose to inspect the package? It’s in Windsor. I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to pay me to go to Windsor to inspect it”.

    So I gave him my commercial invoice and my copy of the manifest (that UPS freely emailed to me with no trouble).

    While I was writing this, I got a call back from the agent I spoke to on te phone. He states that somehow, the item was “not in the LVS programme” based on some number in the manifest. He said he was going to call someone he knew in Ottawa.

    So… It looks like this process is more difficult than I expected. As a matter if principle, I am not going to let the issue drop, though. I look at this as an issue bigger than me and I am willing to make some personal sacrifices for the good of the many.

    For now, I have to get back to work. But I will keep following up on this and update until it is resolved.

    -PT

  13. Alas, I have another negative experience to report.

    I am typing this from my car as I sit in the parking lot in front of the CBSA office at 2720 Britania Rd (@Pearson Airport). I am waiting for a call back from the CBSA, so I can go back into the CBSA and get my B-15.

    When I went in this morning, I was told by the CBSA officer AND the Superintendant that I would have to go to Windsor to clear my package. I tried to convince them that this was not required, but I did not bring a copy of D17-4-0 with me, and they weren’t going to budge. It’s never a good idea to piss off a CBSA agent, so I just asked for the Superintendant’s name and badge number. and left.

    I then spent an hour on the phone with a very nice fellow from the CBSA phone support line who confirmed that I should be able to get my B-15 here. He made several calls, finally calling the local office, and is now waiting for a call back from the superintendant. He said he would try to get back to me in 15 minutes or so. Hopefully, I will be able to sort this out without offending too many people and without having to wait too long.

    Will update when I resolve this issue.

    -PT

  14. I watched the video from global TV Calgary and CTV Calgary. It says to ask the shipper/seller to stick a note on the package saying, “Customer will self clear”.

    Should I do this??? I ask because I called UPS customs department and they said I can self clear and they will fax the documentation to CBSA, then call the bonded warehouse in Richmond, BC to wave customs broker fees.

    However, 1) it sounds like she is trying to trap me. Like they will do the work for me. At no point did she say I had to go to local CBSA to get a B15.

    2) They were paid to ship this heavy and large item (digital piano) to my house, not for me to pick up at a warehouse!

    If I put the note on, will that just guarentee that they will leave it at the warehouse? Or give them a headsup what I intend to do?

    I have to decide whether to put this note on at the shipper soon. Once the piano is not backorders (as soon as today/tomorrow) it will ship.

    thanks!
    Cindy

  15. UPS is the Devil. Having the same issues as everyone else. The customs office states plainly what is needed. They even gave me the form that UPS faxes to the customers saying they have a package that requires clearance. Customs said this was what they needed.
    – Invoice
    – Manifest
    – ID
    When I contacted UPS however, they stated as expected that I have to go to the port to self clear. I am in SK, my port is in BC. Idiots. So after talking with 3 agents, having them put even more notes on the file, attempting to tell me to refuse (no one’s home in the day to do so) and that the shipment would have to go back to the port, a helpful one said to call them in a day to get the manifest. They said it’s not available until the package gets back to the port. Lying bastards. Anyhow, I will smash through their hoops and say piss off to any other UPS shipments. Did anyone hear about that class action suit against UPS for these brokerage fees. Check it out.

  16. Donovan, some sellers don’t offer options of USPS. Also depending on what the rates are it is sometimes worth it to go with UPS then do the work.

  17. Andrew, why ship with UPS in the first place? There is no good reason to do so. Ship your package with USPS (United States Postal Service) and Canada Post will handle the delivery on this end. That is basically what everyone ends up doing on future deliveries because dicking around with UPS and CBSA is always going to be a lot more effort, even if you succeed.

  18. UPS wanted me to pay 60 dollars in brokerage fees on a shipment that was worth $200. I called UPS about this and they told me I had no choice or find my own broker. Long story short, the broker cleared my shipment for a brokerage fee of $16.00, I don’t know how UPS justifies such a huge fee, but it is ridiculous. The broker (http://baycitybrokers.com) has a brokerage rate comparison chart that you guys can check out to see what UPS would charge and what a typical custom broker would charge.

    Don’t make the mistake many have made – hope that helps!

  19. Clark I hope all CBSA agents get the procedure correct soon. I went there during the day and I encountered at least 3 different agents who knew how to clear it with invoice only. Not even commercial invoice but any invoice.

    Contact Ottawa and let them know local office didn’t know the procedure. They should send a memo when enough complaints are received.

  20. Please keep us updated on the class action suit against UPS. I will gladly join.

    In my opinion, Fedex should be included since they are even sneakier than UPS since they don’t tell you about the charges at the door, but then send you a bill for brokerage & fees 1 months later.

    Lets do whatever it takes to get everyone compensated for the 50% hidden fees + time + suffering that everyone is experiencing due to UPS and Fedex.

    Please keep us informed of the proceedings started by Ryan Wright and Julia Zislin.

    Does anyone have contact information for the plaintiffs or the lawyers?

    What about the status about the class action suit?

  21. Hi Everyone,

    I’m in the process of clearing my own package with a courier shipping my package to me in Edmonton. I ordered some clothes from the UK and I paid a total of $205 (cad) for the items. I was sent a notice to pay the duties before the package even made it to Canada ($94 duties, taxes, and brokerage fee). I emailed the company to ask why they were so high. Response was that duties were 18% plus GST plus $20 brokerage fee. My math added this up to be $69, not $94. On the phone they changed lowered the price to $86, saying that the $94 was just an initial estimate of the fees. Later that day I sent an email requesting the Bill of Lading, Commercial invoice, Unique shipment ID, bonded warehouse location. I also included some references to the CBSA website and that preforming brokerage services without my approval is illegal. I got the requested information this morning and they are awaiting my clearance of my goods.

    Side Note: I bought the goods that were on sale 25%. This was not reflected on the commercial invoice I received so if I left this to the broker I would have been charged extra duties because they would have taxed me on $256 instead of $205, which I paid for the goods. (I’ve been poking around the CBSA website quite a bit the past few days).

    My next step is to just locate the nearest CBSA office. It seems like the one at the city centre airport is no longer there. I’m wondering if I would be able to get a B15 form completed at the sufferance warehouse inside the city. Other than that I’ll have to go to the Int’l airport and get it done there. I estimate I’ll only pay about $47 for duties and taxes. That’s a lot better than the $94 I would have paid.

    TLDR: I’m only going to have to pay $47 instead of $94 once I find a CBSA office and complete the B15 form.

    I’ll let you know how it turns out.

  22. Hi folks great info here.

    I’m currently living in NJ USA and just finished school. I will be moving back to Edmonton Alberta and have a bunch of personal items from my apartment that I want to ship back home with UPS. I have in the past had horrible experiences with UPS brokerage and do not want a repeat. I realise that I can enter the customs value as $1 but I will likely still face the bond fees for each box that is shipped (and believe it or not shipping about 9 boxes ~20lb each measuring 13″x13″x16″ will cost only $180 for all of them!! so it’s a pretty good price for shipping it’s just the hidden fees that concern me.) When I talked to the UPS rep on the phone earlier today he said that when I fill out the shipping forms to make “free domicile” and then I can just select my own broker… anyone know what this means?

    Also anyone have any experience with clearing their own packages in Edmonton??

    Thanks!

  23. Hello i think i was ripped off by UPS i send a packaged worth $140 inside when they deliver the packaged they are asking $44.46 for broker charge fee so my wife pay this coz they don’t give the packaged,and i called the ups they said they cant do anything about this or refund,any suggestion?Pls advise..Thanks

  24. My husband got a pkg a month ago, i arranged for a pick-up because i wouldnt be home, she gave me a bunch of excuses and said it cant be left on my door step without a signature and it wouldnt(and hadnt been) at the UPS pick-up when scheduled. Anyways came home and it was sitting on my front step and about a week ago i got an invoice in the mail saying i owe them $120 for brokerage fees..so now what? do i pay it? its been a month or more and i may have kept the slip from the package but unsure right at the moment but reading all this ino makes me really not want to pay it…

  25. I must really have bad luck as I went down to the CBSA office in Calgary with my commercial Invoice (emailed by UPS very quickly), Tracking # and Unique Shipment Identification Number, HS code and personal ID. The lady at the desk said I need to have the manifest and the commercial invoice, and also the email invoice from the sender. I said that the invoice she had in her hand was a commercial invoice from UPS and that if she wants more I really don’t know what else to provide. She said she had not really looked at what I had handed her. Anyways I am heading over to UPS for the manifest, heading home to print out the email-invoice from the sender, then driving back to CBSA, and then hopefully returning to UPS with the B15 form.

  26. These fuckers at UPS are charging absorbant customs and broker fees!!!! From inside sources… there’s a class action lawsuit going on in Vancouver! Apparently, they’re NOT ALLOWED TO CLEAR A PACKAGE WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT!!!

    e.g.- of their scam: I paid $20.03 for a product – they charged me $22 for broker/custom fees and taxes! Absolutely ridiculous!!!! CLEAR YOUR OWN PACKAGES through your local CBSA office!

  27. Calgary Success #3,#4,#5
    I did more shopping online and shipped all on the UPS. Because all items arrived few days apart, I only made one trip to CBSA. I told UPS to hold first two at warehouse and waited for the last package so I can combine trips.

    Confirmed: MANIFEST is NOT needed. Agents in Calgary are now aware that UPS refuses to give such document and is given an instruction to clear with invoice and tracking # only. They mentioend this is a cash grab by UPS.

    ———————————————
    Up to date instructions for clearing: May14
    ———————————————
    Following is quickest way I found. This instruction gets updated as I learn.

    1) Get an invoice either from seller(preferred) or UPS.
    2) Once package is in town (day before delivery), go to CBSA on 2588 27st NE. Explain you have inbound package and would like to pay taxes and obtain B15 form. Bring the following.

    a. Invoice
    b. 1Z Tracking #
    c. ID (driver’s license, etc.)

    Note: it helps if you have correct HS code for items on invoice. Person I dealt with at CBSA was appreciative of homework I’ve done.

    3. three ways to do this
    a) try to give B15 to driver (may not work)
    b) go to warehouse (22 Aero) after around 5:30PM
    c) fax it to UPS to waive COD then reschedule delivery

    Happy shopping.

  28. Here is my experience with UPS in Vancouver:

    A small parcel with goods worth about $50 and a shipping cost of roughly $50 arrived from the USA at my house and we were asked to pay a further $39 before delivery. I refused, discovered the information on this website (thank you!), phoned UPS and told them I was refusing to pay the charges and would do the paperwork myself. They accepted this as a routine request. Next morning UPS phoned me (!) and told me I could come and collect the necessary paperwork myself. Today I drove to the UPS warehouse. It took them about 10 minutes to fill out the forms (presumably a second set as the parcel had already left the warehouse on its first delivery attempt) and they even gave me a map showing where the Canadian Border Service Agency office was located – about a 2 minute drive away. I went there, got the form stamped (no charges), went back to UPS and picked up my package. The staff were helpful and seemed used to customers self-clearing deliveries this way.

    UPS says the brokerage charge (or ‘entry preparation charge’) is $19.45 for goods worth $40 – $100 delivered by ‘Standard Service’. I don’t know what the extra $19 was for (they asked for $39). It seemed pretty obvious from my experience that the amount of work required for most packages to clear customs is minimal – 5 to 10 minutes per package perhaps, or less, if done efficiently.

    The brokerage charge is excessive.

    The actual charge you will be asked to pay is understated on the UBS web site

    It is wrong that it should be prorated with the value of the goods as the paperwork is surely the same

    The customer is given no notice of the charge in advance and is in a very bad position to refuse to pay with the goods just in sight

    Looks like a scam to me and I hope class action lawsuits and public pressure from sites like this will help to change it.

    For those in Vancouver who want to do the same:

    The UPS warehouse is at 5960 Ferguson Rd. just to the North of the airport – take the Templeton Rd turn off from Grant McConachie Way (the main road to the airport) and it is on your left after about a mile.

    The CBSA office is on Miller Rd., which runs parallel and to the South of Grant McConachie Way.

    You need to tell the delivery person you are refusing to pay, then phone UPS and tell them you are refusing the charges. You also need the tracking number of the package, which you can get on-line. Beyond this, and doing some driving, I didn’t have to do any actual paperwork myself.

    Thankfully, UPS seems to have accepted that they do not have a right to force you to pay ‘brokerage’ charges. I see that as an admission that they are also unjust. The next step is to get UPS (and other companies) to abolish them altogether.

  29. Thanks for this posting. I ordered a small lego package from the US. The declared value was $49.90, UPS charged me $29.70 Brokerage Fee, $3.56 Brokerage GST plus $5.99 GST. The UPS website says I should have only been charged $19.45 for a package worth $50. The $50 item cost me $20 shipping, plus $40 in fees. I will never order from a company that uses UPS again. That is insane.

  30. After reading the instructions – I ordered a shipment from the US – value of approx $50 USD – picked FEDEX ground shipping.

    They delivered the package last week – no monies paid – so now I am expecting an invoice from FEDEX for HST and brokerage fee. To avoid this, I take all the paper work from the package down to the Mississauga office 4525 Dixie Rd. and get refused by the Customs officer because the “package has already been released by customs” and I cannot pay the taxes now – too late for that was basically his response to me.

    Anyone else experienced this happening? Any help would be much appreciated.

  32. Thanks for all these valuable information! I am expecting a shipment from the US and the tracking now says “held in warehouse” even it was supposed to deliver to me last Friday, and toay is Monday. A UPS staff called me Friday asking a receipt of the item and said will clear for me and now I only need to wait for the custom to release the item, so I did what i was told right away, but now it has a new line saying “Fredericton, NB, Canada 04/27/2012 4:31 P.M. Power of attorney documentation is missing and is required for clearance” I called the ups lady again and she said all I can do is wait, so I am wondering what’s going on and the status hasn’t changed at all even I provided the receipt. Now I worry the high brokerage fee and even the package will never arrive! What should I do, and what’s the turnaround time for “held in warehouse”? Please help.

  33. SUCCESS: This is a report from Calgary in order to fine-tune the process.

    1) Register on UPS.com for a free login. This is solely to get the Unique Shipment Identification Number. Once you enter tracking #, you will see reference number on the screen. It looks like this 41X7VVVN3AL. [2 minutes]

    2) Once package leaves Winnipeg bound to Calgary (point of entry for AB,SK,MB) call UPS 1-800-742-5877 ext. 3. Give them tracking # and ask for “commercial invoice” to be emailed. Anyone says no is lying. Hang-up and call again. Do not mention a single word about self-clearing anything (see footnotes) [3 minutes]

    3) Once package is in town (day before delivery), go to CBSA on 2588 27st NE (near Costco/Sunridge mall), walk through only door that looks like warehouse door, grab a number (even if there is no one else in line) and walk up to the counter. Explain you have inbound package and would like to pay taxes and obtain B15 form. They accept credit cards including AMEX. Bring the following. [5 minutes]

    a. Commercial Invoice
    b. Tracking # and Unique Shipment Identification Number
    c. ID (driver’s license, etc.)

    4) CBSA to UPS isn’t a bad drive. I’d go there and drop off B15 right away. You can try to give this to driver (unproven) or go pick it up after 5:30PM ish. I dropped mine off yesterday and package is on vehicle today so I will see how it plays out. People at the 22 Aero are getting familiar with the procedure. When I went there yesterday, the Asian guy made copy and left it for back office. (he’s there every afternoon until 7PM closing)

    Footnotes
    Step 2) It is advised from other reports that you mention intent to self-clear. This is theoretically correct however majority of UPS agents are lying or misleading on their 1-800 number. They are leading you to believe package has to go back to Winnipeg/Vancouver/Fort Erie and you have to present yourself there. This is blatant lie and therefore our countermeasure is going to be keeping them in the dark until the last minute. I escalated this to supervisor and she said I could drop off B15 at the 22 Aero (letting them know of conversation being taped may of helped). I asked how come every single agent I talked to lies/misunderstands and she apologized and said it will be looked into (I don’t care if they do. So many of us are tired of being told of lies on that line. Avoid talking to them more than you need to at all costs.)

    Step3) It appears package has to be in town in order for CBSA to issue you a B15 form. This may not always be the case. They also prepared B15 with 1Z tracking # in my case, however just to be safe bring the USIN as well.

    Step4) It appears we used to be able to fax this form to 1-770-990-1724. However latest trend seems to be they are making us to go to their warehouse to drop off B15. When I asked to confirm fax number, all agents said there is no such way to fax this.

    If someday UPS brokerage decides to become a more ethical business, procedures above could be adjusted. Until then, do not bother talking to anyone on the 1-800 number because more often than not you will hear following:
    1) No sir you cannot clear package yourself
    2) Package will have to go back to Winnipeg/Vancouver/Fort Erie and you have to present yourself
    3) We can’t email you commercial invoice, only fax
    4) No we did not receive B15 form in fax

  35. Hello folks, as Elina above, I am near Montréal. Tommorow or about in two days I will receive my brand new gaming computer bought on Ebay. Total cost with shipping: 1 100,00$CAN. I’ve had long conversations with the seller and he was quite unaware of any additional charges althought he sold over 200 computers before, and so was the girl at his UPS store. To get this clear, I bought it from Houston Texas for 980,00$ with a shipment of 120,00$ throught Standart Ground. Yet this is a lot for me, considering I doesn’t work a lot and it took me a while to accumulate it. That said, im glab I checked around on my old good friend “google” and ended here with such great information. But im wondering, should I pay the bill when the guy from UPS arrive here or return it. Anyway, I am tracking this and will give furter updates with my good!

  36. Hi Trueler,

    I just got off the phone with CBSA (called their 800 number) just to clarify my understanding of self-clearing. What the person said was fairly consistent with the process outlined at the top section of this page. She did say one thing that I felt contradicted the official CBSA response you received (outlined between the 2 grey lines near the top): she said I HAVE to contact the courier company first and inform them of my intent to self-clear. She was quite emphatic about this point. If I’ve read the official CBSA response from above correctly, it says that contacting the courier company prior to receiving my shipment is just one of two options. Because of this confusion, I have several questions:

    1)Are the 2 options identified in the official CBSA response still valid?
    2)Has anyone else had the same response when contacting CBSA?

    My preference is to NOT contact UPS prior to the shipment because I don’t want to give them a reason to screw me around with their FUD tactics. I’d much rather go with the second option (refuse delivery when the shipment arrives).

  37. Hi
    I am about to do this. I too was slapped with a $4o charge on A $50 item from a US retailer! This is such a ridiculous scam. More people need to know about this. I am going to take this to the local media for sure. Thanks to everyone for the info and tips.

    Will let you know how it goes!

  38. I am going to try this when my package arrives but one question, when you refuse the package do you tell the person delivering and call the center because if you don’t tell the person that you are self clearing and refuse the shipment wouldn’t it get shipped back to the shipper or do you tell the driver and call the center? I help thanks

  39. Purolator (who delivers for UPS in my area) showed up at my door two weeks ago looking for 61.00$ brokerage fees for something I ordered, and payed for along with the shipping. So I declined it as advised. I kept a copy of the shipping invoice with all the pertinent info. I called UPS and notified them of my intentions to self clear. They said I couldn’t, and left a note on my file. I then went to the ottawa airport CBSA office at 140 Thad Johnson rd and paid the HST, and was given a B-15 form and receipt.

    I went to purolator with the B-15 form and they told me they would not release the package to me unless UPS “pulled the tag” and sent them some kind of number. So I called UPS, several times, and spoke to several people, and all of them said I cannot self clear, and they want me to pay the brokerage fee or they will send it back to windsor ontario! I advised them over and over again that I legally can self clear, and it does not have to be at the point of entry. I have no clue what I can do now to get them to co-operate. How can I proceed to claim my package 5 minutes away from my house?!

    I had calle dthe cbsa office in Ottawa prior to going there to see what I all needed. had all the p[aper work in order, and got my B-15 and paid the tax. But when UPS started giving me a hard time, I called the Ottawa cbsa office and another lady told me that I should have never gotten the b-15 form with out a piece of paper that was like a carbon copy that they should have stamped (their mistake). So she did some digging and told me to call ups and get them to “pull the tag”.

    UPS even asked me to fax a copy of the b-15 form to their Frederickton office, to show proof I paid the HST, but they claim that it was them (UPS) who “cleared” the package at the point of entry (windsor Ont) and I will have to somehow get refunded the money I paid for HST and still pay the brokerage.

  40. Just wanted to give a quick account of my attempt.

    I phoned UPS and stated that I’d like to get my Cargo Control documentation so that I could self clear my order. The person I was dealing with said they couldn’t give me the number but would fill out the notification of intent to self clear. It all sounded very promising, no arguments, no “you can’t self clear”.
    However, I live on Vancouver island, and although I have a CBSA office just minutes away, there is not a UPS warehouse here.
    Bottom line, it seems I could have easily self cleared, but then I would have to get to the Richmond UPS warehouse to pick up my order. Very cost and time prohibitive.

    Thanks for the information Trueler, I’ll spread the word for sure.

  41. Hi Trueler,

    Thank you very much for your invaluable info. I wanted to give a couple of comments as I was doing this procedure this week.
    It took 4 calls to UPS to get the commercial invoice and they were “black & white”: the 1st & the 3rd rep were trying to persuade me that I either have to go to Windsor or I just won’t be able to do it myself. The 2nd & the 4th on the other hand had no problem helping me, other than they emailed the invoice in .tiff which for me wasn’t a problem but not everyone has Photoshop.
    As people mentioned here, I could just ask the seller for this invoice & not spend time calling UPS.
    The most important lesson from CBSA office on Dixie Rd is that you should NEVER MENTION “CLEARANCE”, just tell them you want to pay tax & get the B15 form. They consider that the package is already cleared in the port-of-entry, so they can’t clear it again (this was told by a senior officer). They also said that if I need to do this again I should only go to either Pearson airport or the VISTA office at 6500 Silverdart Drive since at Dixie Rd they only deal with cargo trucks.
    Right after getting the B15, I picked up the parcel at the UPS warehouse, they just made a copy of my B15, didn’t ask for any brokerage fee, everything was pretty quick. We’ll see if I’d still get their invoice in the mail.
    Saved myself over $40 thanks to your website.

  42. Sorry, the previous post should read “I contacted UPS however the supervisor I spoke with told me she could not send me the shipment invoice”

  43. Hello,
    Your website is so informative! I just purchased an item from ebay and like many others UPS was the selected delivery service. The fee is quite high.

    As you suggested,I contacted ebay however the supervisor I spoke with told me she could not send me the shipment invoice as the request had to come from the seller?

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks!

  44. Hi Trueler,

    Just got a shipment ID number from seller. She provided me a picture of a “Shipment Receipt”

    On it is the:

    Tracking number = 1Z580XXXXXXXXXXXXX = 18 digits
    Shipment ID = MAUVX92XXXXXX = 13 digits

    Plus info like weight, value, etc…

    Is this the number CBSA needs for me to fill out form B15???

    Thanks.

  46. I just have to say thank-you for all the information, you helped give me the courage to stand up for my rights and it worked for the best.

    Stuck to my guns and didn’t let up. After hours of the runaround UPS tried to tell me I would have to go the port of entry to broker my package and I told them they were lying (Which they were. You do NOT have to go to point of entry to broker your shipment, don’t believe them if they say you do) and that I was unimpressed by their manipulative tactics to try to sucker me into paying their exorbitant fees (they wanted $84.13 to broker my $395.00 item.). I mentioned the fact that they have two class action lawsuits filed against them for said tactics in the last decade and told her that if the driver comes to my house I will send him away, take my invoice to the CBSA, ask for my B15 and go to the warehouse to pick up my goods.
    The woman changed her tone, apologized for any aggravation I may have endured, exemplified me from the charges and cheerily ended what was otherwise a heated phone conversation with a “have a great day”! (not before I asked her for her name and employee number of course ;) )
    So, the next time you order UPS ground and they want to try to illicitly (yes, what they try to do is illegal) impose their ridiculous brokerage fees upon you, remember that it is your legal right that you can clear it yourself at your nearest CBSA free of charge. You will still have to pay your taxes but we all know they help grease the gears on the rudder and keep the boat afloat right?
    Total charges for brokerage fees + taxes quoted to me yesterday: $84.13.
    Total charges after standing up for my rights and refusing to budge: PRICELESS.

    (lol, I couldn’t resist. Actually the total charges afterwards is $19.61, I saved $64.52!! Yay me!)

    (Also, it was not easy for me to get the invoice. I phoned them 6 times and every time they told me they could not give me an invoice because I was the consignee and not the shipper. I woke up this morning to find it waiting in my email inbox)

  47. Guys Guys, you’re doing it all wrong. Let UPS clear the item for you don’t say anything yet, once they show up send it back. Then ask them to prepare the paper so you clear it yourself, then ask them to deliver the item to your after you clear it. Do this a couple of times and you go to the border. After that they will just wave the brokerage fee, TRUST me on this. Here is the reason.

    UPS has automated clearance for “personal” package that requires them only about 5 minutes or so of paperwork per package no matter how big or small. Then there is the UPS driver drive the package to you, then he has to bring the item back (UPS already do not like this already). Then they have to revert the clearance and make the paper work for you to clear. This is a 1 hour process believe it or not. Then once you clear you give them the paper. Don’t grab the item then, just ask their guy to deliver it. So in total for ground shipment where you pay $16 or so. they spend about 1.3 hours for you on clearance. The driver etc so that’s a big lost to them.

    Lets beat them in their own game, I’ve done it.

  48. Hi all,

    I had to comment to share my experience with self-clearing in Calgary. It couldn’t have been easier! My package came to the door while I wasn’t home, and I called the UPS # to make sure they didn’t try to deliver it again. This process was automated, and then I put myself through to an agent. I asked her for an electronic copy of my shipment invoice, and she sounded slightly confused, and offered a copy of the commercial invoice. This sounded like what I needed, and she offered to either fax it or email it. I asked for an email, and she sent me the right document in about two minutes. So far, so good!

    The next day, I took my commercial invoice to the CBSA office in the northeast. I told the lady there that I wanted to self-clear a package from UPS, and she said, “Oh, to avoid the brokerage fee? Sure, have a seat while I do up the form”. I paid my taxes and duty and went on my way, spending a total of maybe 10 minutes in the office. Later that day, I went to the UPS warehouse on Aero Drive. The lady spotted my form out of the corner of my eye and said, “I see you cleared this already.” Again, zero fuss. I had my package and was on my way!

    It seems that CBSA and UPS must be getting used to the self-clearing process; no one was confused or stand-offish at my requests, and everyone knew exactly what was going on. For the sake of sending UPS the message that I wouldn’t tolerate their exorbitant fee, I found self-clearing to be well worth it. It does take some time, however. You have to call UPS, then go to two offices that aren’t all that close together. But if you have some free time and/or find the cost of the time less than the monetary cost, this process no longer seems to be the nightmare that some have described.

    Thanks to Trueler and the people who shared information on this forum! You were all so helpful!

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