I am sick of being Bullied by my Big Brother!

[hellosailor]

I think the OP must be the same fellow that was behind the Notre Dame player's mytholigical girlfriend. An Iranian troll, who now really wants to make all Canadians look bad and illiterate, in revenge for their recently re-publicized role in saving the US embassy hostages years ago.

WHy do I say this? Because, as every Canadian knows, the US is not responsible for the "border fees" that US carriers charge. US carriers charge those fees, mainly brokerage fees, because CANADA HAS SET UP BARRIERS and CANADA requires brokerage for imports and CANADA has in fact created all the price bars that make shipping into Canada more expensive.

So claiming to be a Canadian and blaming all these Canadian domestic tariff issues on the US, would be illiteracy at best if a real Canadian was making the claims.

I know my Northerly brethen are highly educated people and they'd never make that kind of blind rabid accusation, so I'm confident that the OP is not a Canadian and his whole point is merely to make Canadians and Americans alike look bad. Which makes it most likely that he's an agent of the Iranian government, with an agenda.

Of course, if he's just an ignorant Canadian...nah, that's impossible. Canadians educate their chiuldren, even the Canadian hockey players do.

And the mods really shouldn't let such aspersions be cast against any country, even the US. Bullied by big brother, indeed. That's totally against the "be nice" credo!

[HappySeagull]

..that's right,HelloSailor. We have a border, and somebody has to be there to control what crosses it. We need pay the sales tax here , that we didn't have to pay there. Some Canadian has to be there to collect it.
Also, we don't want mail-order guns and all the rest coming into Canada. A Canadian has to be on guard.
Not your problem or your fault, in the US.

I think he knows that now, though. Shipping is tricky. USPS/Canada Post is the easy answer.
US companies are often not aware when the hapless Canadian buyer is presented with a Customs Brokerage Fee and Canadian buyers forget they are still liable for sales tax. Free trade is NOT going to change that.
Read the Shipping Policies the US company provide and if still unsure, (or to MAKE sure), contact them

[hellosailor]

Seagull-
"US companies are often not aware"
Right, and that shouldn't matter. The guy who is crossing borders, placing his order in a foreign land instead of patronizing his own home merchants (doubtlessly because the US has also bullied them out of business, ahuh) is the one who should know about these things.
Hey, you want me to ship pork flavored ketchup to Timbuktu? Sure, I'll ship it. I have no idea how well they'll receive it, but if you're asking me to SELL it and SHIP it...why should I question your order, when you come to me looking for it?

Sorry, the "bullying" accusation doesn't wash. Troll or ignorance, you pick one. Either way I say it is casting an aspersion against the US and against forum policies. No one is holding the OP upside down and shalking his pockets for lunch money. No one forced him to buy from a foreign land, no one forced him to choose shipping options, no one forced him to not mention that to the merchant before they shipped.

I've heard from folks in Canada who got the same surprise for the past decade or more, and yes, that's been discussed in internet forums for at least that long. No news here, just another baseless aspersion and sour grapes.

[NorthPacific]

Troll am I. LOL .Steady on darling! Dont get your knickers twisted, it is all tongue in cheek. Well mostly. :-)

Although Canada by population is a very small country, we do realize that it must gaul, some insecure Americans, who must look up to us your Northern Neighbors. It is time forget that we beat you in the last armed conflict we engaged in. That your hockey team has as much meat as your bacon.

There are many great things about your cute little country, including USPS. But the greedy morons at Fedx and UPS let the kindly, benevolent and your O so nice corporate driven society down. It is OK, relax us Canadians shopping in the US are only trying to share our wealth and support the struggling economy of our friends going through hard times.

As my dead Granny used to say " lighten up and enjoy the day":-)

[The Other Gary]

As a liveaboard in Canada and a Waterfront Developer I bring in a lot of items from the US from diesel engines to power towers to small repair items for my boat.
It only takes one lost $200 item in the USPS/Canada Post system to have you tearing your hair out.
Similarily I sent UPS packing in a hurry as they are incompetent, have outlandish brokerage fees and want ou there to pay them COD.
I opened an account with FEDEX and all my shipping is through them now.
A little more expensive but they have never lost anything, have no brokerge fee if you have an account with them, put the GST on my credit card and drop ship to the marina so I don't have to be there to sign.
Depending on when I need it I have the choice of overnight, ground or freight for large items.
I had a 1500 pound Cummins diesel shipped from San Fran to Toronto for $600 and dropped at my mechanics shop in 5 days.
This was a complete turn key Cummins reman that cost me 15,600 landed at his door. Cummins Canada wanted $13,000 plus a $2000 core deposit for a long block plus shipping, and then I had to return the old block.
I saved a second days Crane rental by doing an engine swap in one day and the labour of having all the ancillary items changed from one block to the other as well. I ordered a rebuild kit from Cummins for the old diesel and now have it sitting at my mechanics shop ready to go if I need it or to sell if I want.

Several weeks ago Defender had deals on Marine heads and 50 amp power cords. I saved over $500 over my local costs for $104 shipping via FEDEX
and again I did not have to be there to sign or pay COD. I added a bunch of light stuff to the order that did not affect the basic shipping cost as well.

Pick your battles, know what works for you and there are no border hassles, just good deals.

[NorthPacific]

Just bought one of those new Mantus Anchors from the U S of A. Ready for pick up, at my local post office. Gone are the days when the posty would hand deliver parcels LOL

Just had a thought. WOuld be fun watching the UPS lads throwing this one up the driveway :-)

[hellosailor]

Gary, good luck with Fedex. A lot of folks still don't realie Fedex, at least in the US, opeartes as two different entities. Some years ago Fedex bought out "RPS" Roadway Package Service, who used to semi-impersonate UPS. Except RPS were simply cheap and inept. Fedex borged them into "Fedex Home Delivery" the cheaper slower service for home delivery, which is still separate from other Fedex operations in most or all of the US. And the regular Fedex guys still have a very low opinion of the "Home" operation, where the main criteria seems to be "cheap". What Fedex does in Canada, damfino, since they operate differently in different areas.

NP, I doubt your post office makes any promise to attempt home delivery on parcels in general. I'd expect that their policy is similar to the USPS" First class gets home delivery attempted. Lower classes? The policy varies, but it is in writing, and when your local carrier violates that written policy, all you have to do is send in one formal complaint to the postal inspectors and his pension is at risk.

Hand deliver parcels? Oh sure, an ANCHOR is something your carrier can easily heft. If you need it that quickly, you should have Fedexed it overnight.<G>

[LakeSuperior]

Back to hockey...several years ago my cousin and I were running late for 7:00 AM Sunday morning ice time in Windsor, Ontario. We were going through the tunnel from Detroit and hit Canadian customs. The customs officer looked at our sticks and bags in the back seat the told us to get going as you guys are late for your ice time.

That incident made us feel like the US and Canada are truely kindred spirits!

[PurolatorHelp]

Originally Posted by Sir Rondo Normal

Get this! I ordered a waaaaaay oversized item from Ontario. Canada Post wouldn't touch it because of its size so it was shipped via Purolator. I get a call from the courier to tell me that my parcel is in and that I can come in and pick it up. I said I expected it delivered to my door (slip). They said, no we can't deliver it to you because you get Canada Post delivery. I said Canada Post won't deliver it because its too large. They said but it's their territory so we can't deliver it. I said you would deliver it to my house if I lived in a city. They said yes. I said Canada Post also delivers to cities. Then they said well we don't deliver outside city limits.
So then I had to drive 40 minutes to pick up a parcel that was supposed to be delivered to my door.

Hello Sir Rondo,
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any inconvenience stemming from this incident. Some areas are not serviced directly by Purolator. We use delivery agents. Sometimes, we use Canada Post. If Canada Post is not able to deliver to your house, then unfortunately, the package will be held for pick up at our terminal.
Should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards,

Vincent Rioux
Social Media Coordinator / Customer Care Team
Coordonateur - Médias Sociaux / Équipe d'Assistance à la Clientèle

[PurolatorHelp]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I hate Purolator. They refuse to deliver to my street address here in Thunder Bay. I'm a bit out of the city, but still within official boundaries. Every other courier company delivers here (Fedex, CanPar, DHL, etc.) but not Purolator. The reason they give: "It's not economical for us to deliver to you." WHAT?!? That's the service shippers buy when using a courier; shipment to the address. Drives me nuts!

I've fought with them for years, but no one cares. Seems to be a purely local decision. Purolator national doesn't give a damn. It's especially annoying b/c UPS has now contracted their local deliver out to Purolator here in Thunder Bay. UPS used to deliver to my address; not anymore. Again, I've complained to UPS, but no one cares.

Hello Mike,

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any inconvenience stemming from this incident. Purolator delivers almost everywhere but to some limits. When we can't deliver directly, we offer a pick up service or we contract delivery agents to complete the delivery.

Should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Vincent Rioux
Social Media Coordinator / Customer Care Team
Coordonateur - Médias Sociaux / Équipe d'Assistance à la Clientèle

Purolator Inc.

[Bash]

It's a shame we never purchased Canada. Spent too much money acquiring Alaska, I suppose.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Bash

It's a shame we never purchased Canada.

Why buy the cow country when the milk's oil's free priced below market?
* * *

Re shipping...

I try hard to buy Canadian. But it's no secret that as a North-American market we're an afterthought, and that as businessfolk, we're more timid than Americans, so there's less competition... and then there's Ebay...

Several years ago, I received a windsurf rig (2-piece mast,boom,sail) from a US windsurf shop that I did some work for, that ended up being shipped as two pieces: boom and sail, and mast.

Missed delivery so I had to pick up at the counter... where they insisted on charging me two full brokerage prices, even though the parcels were marked 1 of 2, 2 of 2, were picked up at the same time, etc etc....

Basically it's the 'brokerage'. Apparently it costs like $20/parcel for someone at UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc to notice that the customs docs say "Made in USA" and then remember that there's no duty due under NAFTA.

So, yeah. USPS for me, or I don't really need it that bad.

[Sir Rondo Normal]

PurolatorHelp.. Shipping charges are based on size, weight and mileage. Why should I pay mileage to my door and then have to pay for my gas to get to your terminal? It's not as if my door is inaccessible.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by PurolatorHelp

Hello Mike,

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any inconvenience stemming from this incident. Purolator delivers almost everywhere but to some limits. When we can't deliver directly, we offer a pick up service or we contract delivery agents to complete the delivery.

Should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Vincent Rioux
Social Media Coordinator / Customer Care Team
Coordonateur - Médias Sociaux / Équipe d'Assistance à la Clientèle

Purolator Inc.
E-mail / Courriel: customer.care@purolator.com ou/or assistance.clients@purolator.com
Purolator - Home


Follow us on Twitter / Suivez-nous sur Twitter:
http://twitter.com/purolatorhelp

Visit us on / Visitez-nous sur:
Purolator - Home

This is the kind of useless corporate-speak you get these days. I don't want an apology, I want the service that is paid for and promised. Clearly you've paid as much attention to my comments here as your company did when I first made the complaint.

Please, just fix the problem. Either that or reimburse me for all the times I've had to drive to your depot here in Thunder Bay and pick up my packages.

[hellosailor]

Vincent, is your client the same corporation that is/was Purolator Courier in the US?

Last time I used them was in the 1980's for an overnight rush delivery in downtown Manhattan. Client said "Where's my package?" and Purolator said there was no such address. Well...the actual courier didn't know "these" elevators went to the even floor numbers, "those" went to the odd floors, which is not uncommon. Courier said the odd numbered floor didn't exist.

And I'm sad to say, this type of idiocy seems to be spreading. UPS tells me they can't deliver to an apartment unless they have an apartment number on the shipping label. Even when there's a directory at the front door to the building, and the recipient has a UPS account so the apartment number is already IN their computer. They let the driver bounce the package--even though their computer has already verified the shipping address, and could easily have verified the need for the apartment number before the package label was even printed.

Corporate idiocy will never impress the customer. Apologies will never impress the customer either, unless they are accompanied with corrections to the problem.

FWIW.