I learned something today that I wanted to share.
I have two neices in Spain and for Christmas, instead of the jewelry I usually send, I decided to crochet each a blanket. The blankets nicely fit a twin bed.
I got theirs done in early December and then...
I bagged them in "airbags" which allow you to squeeze the air out the bottom seam and you get a nice compressed package. I bagged the blankets and wrapped them for Christmas. I also included neck warmers for my brother and his wife. The stuff all fit nicely into a smallish box and I went to send them.
I happened to be near the "UPS Store" (which is not far from the US Post Office) so, I decided to check out what UPS would charge to send the box.
The clerk weighed and measured the box and then looked it up. She said I might like to sit down... the UPS charge would be a whopping $300.
Then she said she could check competitors' pricing. She told me that the cost to send it via USPS would be $85. I said that I would take it to the post office. She said no, they could send it for me.
The manager then came out to check the price via DHL... that cost was quoted at $160.
So, I said yes, I'll send them via USPS. With insurance, I was charged $95.03 on 12/12/11.
The package got to Spain in the week before Christmas but my brother didn't get it until today - Spanish customs thought that he had bought something from the UPS "store" and he had to go through all kinds of gyrations explaining that it was gifts. He still had to pay some tax on it and today had to pay a 5 euro postal charge (which he is looking into since it seems like a bogus charge.)
The forms he had to fill out asked about the cost of shipping... I told him about the $95.03.
He called today to say that the girls love the blankets and his wife likes her neck warmer but his seems itchy. He also told me that the US postage on the box was for $48.
So, UPS charged me $47.03 to ship the package via the US Postal service for $48. I am just outraged. The post office is just minutes away from UPS and I feel like I got robbed.
If I can find the paperwork, I am leaning towards filing in small claims court. To me, this is theft by deception. Sure, I realized that they had to make some $$ on it but 47 dollars?!?
Just wanted to enlighten everyone about this scam. What a rip-off.
I also think that, had I sent it from the post office, they would have had their gifts on
Christmas.
p.s. I was unable to add more than one tag...