GSP got item stuck in customs.

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

Hello.

On August 19th I filed an "Item not recieved" claim because the Pitney Bowes (GSP) failed to get my package delivered to me in Mexico. The item was held up in customs (in the Mexico City International Airport). DHL has informed me that I must register as a licensed importer and import it myself or hire a third party agent to import the package for me for well over 1000 USD because I, the recipient, am expected to directly pay the Mexican government all import fees. I have already payed Pitney Bowes 473 USD for import fees that are apparently not being considered, so I consider them and the GSP to be at fault.

After opening the claim, I was told that I could escalate it after three business days (which was yesterday), but the status in the resolution center was always "You contacted customer support. Awaiting response." Today, I checked the status of the claim in "my requests" and eBay has more concretely displayed the message "Pending eBay response" which makes me believe that it went to eBay customer service from the very beginning, in which case I should have heard from them within 48 hours. I have not heard from the seller beacause I told him that the situation was not his fault (he delivered it to the GSP center in Kentucky) and that I was going to escalate the case to get Pitney Bowes to either free my package or get a refund. Am I still waiting for eBay to let me escalate the claim, or am I waiting for a definitive response from eBay customer service?

Please advise me on what to do next, as I am afraid that Mexican customs will confiscate the item if I take too long to respond. Many thanks.

[nkmipgolf]

Looks like you did everything right. I suspect eBay might be working with GSP to resolve this, as in getting the item shipped to you. DHL/customs being the problem but you already paid that, so your good. Now comes the waiting game. 

[lacemaker3]

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@pacpac-ke7cb0 wrote:

@lacemaker3 

When I go to customer support I do not get the option to call (maybe because of my location?) I have emailed them, but I do not know what to expect at this point.

It seems as though my case went straight to customer support without me having to elevate it, but in that case an answer is long overdue. If it didn’t, I am still not given an option to elevate it. Should I just tell DHL to send it back to the GSP center and open a claim in PayPal?

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I don't recommend closing the case early, and if you open a claim in PayPal the eBay case will be immediately closed. That may make it difficult to get a refund for the import charges and international shipping, which were a lot of money. Those were sent to PB in a separate transaction from the payment that the seller received.

Find a way to contact eBay and speak to them about it first. There should be Chat available, if you can't get an option for eBay to call you. (They aren't taking calls at the moment because of the pandemic.) Or, you can contact eBay Customer Service on Facebook.com/eBay or Twitter.com/AskeBay.

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@nkmipgolf 

Perhaps. I am just very worried that I might go over the allocated time limit for me to file an item not received claim in PayPal or for something to happen with my eBay claim. I also wouldn’t want it to get stolen in customs (not uncommon in Mexico). 

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@lacemaker3 

Ok. Thank you. I will try to reach them with one of the methods you suggested. Wish me luck. Thank you all for your help. I’ll post any new developments if you’ll still respond.

[otow_18]

The T&C notwithstanding, what does "No additional import charges at delivery" promise?

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@lacemaker3 So I finally got a response through the eBay Chat and was informed that my case is being handled by the special high value claims department. The service rep told me that they had just closed since they work from 09:00 to 17:30 GMT (England time) for some reason. He sent an email for me. I also got a response from the Facebook chat saying the same thing. They also sent an email. Today, two days later, the high value claims department emails me and tells me to not try to contact them any more with multiple requests. They say that they have reviewed my case and discovered that the GSP sent me an email to contact DHL and pasted a portion of that email below their message. That was it. They offered no satisfactory response after over a week of waiting and disregarded the fact I offered a detailed explanation of what happened AFTER I contacted DHL as instructed. I then responded to the email informing them of this fact and I hope I will not have to wait another week.

What worries me the most is if they decide that I have “failed to take action” to get my package. This situation has been a total nightmare. I have made dozens of phone calls and written thousands of words of text in multiple emails to DHL, private Mexican customs agents and eBay over the past few weeks and am losing hope for a positive outcome. @otow_18  The GSP promised no extra import fees and no extra paperwork ( https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/postage-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/international-pur... in the buying section). I think I might have to “take action” and pay the 1000 USD to free my package or risk losing it in customs and getting nothing. I will wait for their response, but I am not very hopeful. I will probably never import again from eBay. I’ll keep you all posted.

[lacemaker3]

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@pacpac-ke7cb0 wrote:

@lacemaker3 

.... DHL says that it is in a "customs clearance process" in Mexico City. The GSP sent me an email a while ago stating that "action was required" on my part, and I contacted DHL as instructed. They informed me that to import the package I would have to be a registered licensed importer, or I could hire a third party agent to do it for me. ...

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@pacpac-ke7cb0; I tried doing some searching relating to import restrictions into Mexico, and I found some evidence that this may be related to the cost of the item (more than a maximum value). I don't know if this is what is causing the issue or not, but this is something that you should investigate.

Apparently, Mexico imposes an additional requirement on imports that are over US$5,000 (personal shpments) or US$1,000 (business/commercial shipments). For lower-value items, the courier can clear the item in their own name, but over that limit, the courier is not allowed to clear the item. The person who is importing the item (you) has to either be a registered importer, or hire a registered importer to represent them.

Here is an example of a webpage explaining this (see below). I found the exact same wording on a number of different webpages, so this requirement is not specific to any particular courier, but would apply any time you import something that is over the maximum value, including through DHL, because it is a Mexican regulation. 

As I read this information, the maximum value should be US$5,000 for personal shpments, and US$1,000 for  business/commercial shipments. I don't know why they would be applying a limit of US$1,000 for you, unless your account is a business account, or unless DHL is assuming that it is a business account if they don't know for sure. 

It might be worthwhile contacting DHL again, and asking if the restriction is because they have assumed that this is a business/commercial shipment, and if so what documentation can you provide that will show that this is a personal shipment, and should not be subject to this restriction.

https://www.verykship.com/ups-import/MX/PorhibitedAndRestrictedItems

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@lacemaker3 Thank you. I will ask DHL again.

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@lacemaker3 

I contacted my DHL customs agent and asked her about this because it actually is stated in the General Rules of External Commerce (Manual de Operación Aduanera de la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público de 2018, Capítulo 1.3.1, Fracción XVII) that a person (persona física) can import 5000 USD worth of freight without having to be a licensed importer as long as he doesn’t do it more than once a month and that that which he is importing is not mentioned elsewhere in chapter 1.3.1 (computers are not mentioned).  Also, multiple shipping companies such as UPS and FedEx mention this on their sites, though I could not find anything Mexico-specific on the DHL site.
She responded and said, “I can confirm that your item is valued at 2335 USD [price+shipping] and thus, you are required to comply,”  a one line response. I dare not prod any further at DHL because you generally don’t want to anger anyone helping you with federal procedures. I will just leave it there. I do not know why they want me to be an importer, but I will just wait for eBay’s response. It is just annoying that I have to wait a week just for them to not properly read my email.

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@lacemaker3 

sorry if this is a duplicate message. The other seems to have disappeared.

According to the General Rules for Exterior Commerce (Reglas  Generales de Comercio Exterior en el Manual de Operacion Aduanera, capítulo 1.3.1, fracción XVII) it is said that I (persona física) can import up to 5000 USD in freight once a month without having to register as an importer if that which I am importing is not mentioned elsewhere in that chapter (computers are not). Other shipping companies such as FedEx and UPS mention this on their websites, but I couldn’t find anything Mexico-specific for DHL.

She answered me with a one liner. “I can inform you that your package is valued at 2335 USD [item+shipping] and thus, you must comply.” I dare not prod any further as it is generally not advisable to anger someone helping you with federal procedures. I guess I will just wait for eBay, though it is upsetting to have to wait a week for an answer just for them not to read you email.

[lacemaker3]

@pacpac-ke7cb0;

That reply would seem to confirm that they are processing this shipment as a business/commercial shipment. What type of eBay or PayPal account do you have? Is either one a business account? Or do you have an existing account with DHL?

On eBay, this is how you find your account type:

I suppose it is also possible that the Mexican government is requiring this. Is it possible that you have had other shipments this month, or other shipments to your shipping address, and this shipment would result in a total of more than US$5,000?

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@lacemaker3 My eBay account is individual and my PayPal is also for personal use. I have no account  with DHL, but I do get nationally shipped packages from them often. Who knows. If this goes on for too long, or customs threatens to confiscate it, I might tell DHL to ship it back and  reach out to the seller to try to get a refund from him as a last resort (since he is an educator and seems like a nice guy). For now I guess I have to wait for eBay to respond to my reply to their email. If eBay does not rule in my favor, I doubt PayPal will either.

[lacemaker3]

You didn't answer whether you have received more than the maximum value of imported items, whichever amount that is. I don't think that they would all have to be handled by the same company (DHL). I think that the Mexican government might be able to keep track of these things, and assess the fees according to their algorithm. That would explain why GSP was not able to predict up-front that this fee would be charged, I guess.

Even if the item is sent back to GSP, there is no guarantee (or much chance) that it will be returned to the seller.

When they decide that an item is not (after all) eligible for GSP shipping, they don't return it to the seller. The seller keeps the payment they received, and GSP sells the item locally (ie on eBay USA) to recoupt the money they lost. The seller is not supposed to be liable for a refund if GSP can't deliver the item, especially if they determine that the buyer did not do what was needed to receive the delivery.

I've never heard of a situation like yours before, and I've been responding to questions about GSP since it was started, and using it as a buyer for almost as long.

I've never heard of an item being sent back to the GSP because the buyer would not accept it through customs, and there is the clause in the terms that says that the buyer is responsible for paying any fees that are assessed after the customs and duty are paid by GSP.  I think that they may say that covers this situation. The item could be considered available for you to pick up now (I think that was the phrase), you just have to meet the requirements that were set by the Mexican government, not by GSP, eBay or DHL.

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

@lacemaker3 

Ok. Thank you for your help.

I will see about finding a cheaper customs agent just in case eBay cannot help me. The thing is, if I use a private customs agent (as I am not an importer) I have to pay everything I payed Pitney Bowes again plus extra for the person I hire. For the record, I haven't imported in ages. I am sure I did not go over the 5000 USD monthly limit.

Let's see what becomes of the whole thing.

[pacpac-ke7cb0]

I have just been informed by DHL that my package will become property of the Mexican Government in one week. I am going to begin arrangements to pay a private customs agent, since I cannot wait any longer for eBay to respond. It has been just over 48 hours since I replied to the email from the High Value Claims Department when they told me that I had been instructed to contact DHL, but I do not expect a response any time soon given last time's wait. I will still have time to cancel these arrangements if eBay comes to the rescue, which I doubt. It is better to loose the import fees than the package itself.

I sincerelly thank @lacemaker3 and the rest of you who helped me. You all provided better support than eBay could ever hope to. If anything else occurs, I will let you know.