This is REALLY good news.

Whenever I buy stuff from the States I ALWAYS have it shipped US mail
to avoid these fees. IN fact there are several tiomes when a vendor
has said UPS only and I have gone elsewhere.

Chris

On 10/25/06, Jim Arnott <jr.arnott@gmail.com> wrote:
> Spotted this in this morning's daily dose of 'news.' Link: <http://
> cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2006/10/24/2115440-cp.html>
>
>
> October 24, 2006
> B.C. man sets off suit against UPS
> By TERRI THEODORE
>
> VANCOUVER (CP) - Hidden fees seem to be an everyday irritant for
> consumers, but a B.C. man is so angry about a fee charged by United
> Parcel Service he's willing to become the point man for a class-
> action lawsuit.
>
> It started after Robert Macfarlane purchased an amplified telephone
> device from Arizona over the Internet last year. He knew he would
> have to pay shipping and handling fees and government levies, but he
> was also ordered to pay a $38.40 brokerage fee charged by UPS.
>
> "It's outrageous," said Macfarlane's lawyer Jim Poyner.
>
> "It's a surcharge that nobody agrees to, nobody knows anything about
> it until the delivery person is at the door."
>
> Poyner said Tuesday he expects hundreds of thousands of people have
> been in the same situation across the country, and there are plans to
> file a similar lawsuit in Ontario.
>
> "It's certainly a problem that affects the entire country."
>
> The lawsuit has been filed under the Class Proceedings Act, but the
> B.C. Supreme Court must first determine if the case fits the criteria
> for a class-action lawsuit.
>
> The court action claims the UPS brokerage fee is "so harsh and
> adverse as to constitute an unconscionable practice."
>
> The same Canada Post service for goods shipped from the United States
> to Canada costs $5.00.
>
> A spokesman for UPS was unavailable for an interview.
>
> Poyner said people are usually never told there will be an added fee
> until there's a knock on the door.
>
> "(The delivery person) has your goods in one hand and the other hand
> is out wanting to be paid more money," he said.
>
> The lawsuit accuses UPS of misleading and deceptive practices by
> failing to get the consumer's consent, not telling the consumer about
> the fee and not allowing the consumer to arrange their own customs
> clearance.
>
> Not only does Macfarlane want his own money back, but the lawsuit
> wants everyone who paid the fee reimbursed.
>
> Poyner said the other major goal of such a lawsuit is what the court
> calls "behaviour modification."
>
> In one of 10 remedies requested in Macfarlane's statement of claim,
> it asks for a permanent injunction stopping UPS from continuing to
> charge the fee.
>
> It also asks for punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages.
>