UPS is the worst in Canada. Their “brokerage” fees are ridiculous. I can handle paying GST, and perhaps a small handling fee… but the brokerage… gah!
Well.. here’s some tips for my fellow Canucks…
UPS “brokerage” fees are complete at total BS. They are pretty much random, and are pretty much a money-grab. (I remember getting two packages from MasterReplicas several years ago… identical boxes… a week apart. One had a brokerage fee in the 30 dollar range. The other… nothing.)
“That’s all fine CK, but I want my package” you think.
Here’s how to do it.
Find out where your cities CBSA office is (Canadian Border Services Agency).
When the UPS guy comes to your door, and tells you that you owe ■■■ dollars for “brokerage” fees, tell the driver you refuse the shipment, and that you’ll “self-clear” the package. Go to your CBSA office, with a copy of your purchase invoice (showing how you paid, and for what) and your UPS tracking number. You’ll pay the required GST and duty (if any) and be on your way. Take your paperwork from CBSA to the UPS office, and claim your package. Once you’ve cleared it yourself, they can’t charge you their BS fees.
This made headlines in Calgary a while back, as a guy did just that (paying $1.37 in tax, rather than the 19 dollars UPS wanted), and when he got his package at UPS, they still wanted the fee. He took his package and left, at which time the UPS supervisor called the police and accused the guy of theft. UPS then apologized, and claimed they hadn’t “implemented internal procedures regarding self clearance and hadn’t trained their staff”. They further said they needed six weeks to properly train their people. (This is also total BS, as people have been able to self-clear their packages for quite some time.)
So… to sum up…
- Ask the seller to write "self-clear" on the outside of the box so UPS knows your intent then track the box yourself
If the box comes to your door anyway, reject it and get the tracking number. Or just inform the driver you will self-clear it, if it's not written on the package.
Next go to the CBSA office and give them a copy of the invoice from the seller and the UPS tracking number
CBSA will decide if it needs to inspect your package or release it without inspection and will calculate the tax or duty owed
Take the receipt to your UPS pickup location, and claim your package.
I happen to have an acquaintance who has been a full-time employee of the CBSA for many years. I just corroborated this procedure with her, and she told me they get quite a few people there self-clearing their UPS packages for this very reason. She also told me that the UPS charges are ridiculous.
Next time they try to charge me a stupid amount of money for a package, I’ll be doing this myself.
Thought I’d share. 
