DHL MAFIA !

[rexall]

DHL MAFIA !!!

I should have known better!

Mon 1 Jun 2015, 7:23 pm

I do business online with Swanson Vitamins, a big outfit in the U.S. with a huge selection and reasonable prices. In the past, when I have ordered shipped through the postal service, it has taken awhile to arrive (expected and not a problem), goes directly to Customs who examines the box, assesses duty (usually reasonable), and releases it to the Post Office for delivery. It is a completely seamless, non-issue.

However, recently Swansons has done a deal with DHL for flat $15 fee worldwide, much less than air mail via USPS. I should have known better! I should have known better!! I should have known better!!! I know these couriers (DHL, FedEx, et al) are all MAFIA. But I allowed myself to be seduced by the $15, and now I reckon it is going to cost me much more than that to get my stuff, and worse, force me to jump psychotically through a bunch of totally unnecessary bureaucratic hoops. Here is the sad story if you care to read:

1. Package took about 3 weeks to arrive (at Customs). No problem, I realize this is a special DHL worldwide cheapie program.

2. This is the short version: Call from DHL advises package has arrived at Customs and that I need to sign “some forms” and provide "some documents" to expedite the deliver. Seven (!!!) documents in Thai Language (!) arrive by e-mail, including photocopies of the ID cards to two people I am supposed to sign giving them “power of attorney” to clear customs. I was instructed that one of the forms had to be altered because the name of the recipient was some guy in Chiang Mai. Thankfully, my assistant helped me with the forms, but she could not tell me exactly I was signing. Then, 4 (!!!!) signed copies of my passport.

3. Fon called to make sure everything was in order and was told that I needed to provide my actual physical passport in addition to the copies. We told them, of course, that was out of the question. No problem! For an additional 500 THB that could be worked around!!!

It doesn’t sound so bad putting it to paper, but it has taken four days and a huge hassle collecting documents, making copies, signing copies, communicating with DHL, et al. It looks like I will eventually get my package, but I am cringing at the impending bill which will not only be exorbitant at it’s face, but will also include in addition a string of little inscrutable charges that will amount to several hundred baht more, probably. Then, and this is the BEST part; they will charge me an ADDITIONAL 800-1,200 baht for acting as my “agent” to get everything cleared!!! Clearly they are acting as an agent for the MAFIA or somebody, certainly not on my behalf.

If I had not had completely seamless, problemless experiences via the post office, I might just be included to blame Customs and the "banana republic" bureaucracy and just grin and bear it. But this is clearly not coming from Customs. It is a second-tier of psychotic, income-producing bureaucracy that adds insult-to-injury-to-insult-to-injury that DHL is imposing between me and Customs who get along just fine, thank you very much, without DHL’s “help.”

Living in Thailand a long time, I have learned to lower my expectatoins, and not approach Thai -ups "ethnocentrically." However, DHL (and FedEx, et al) is Western-based company operating internationally, and the DHL Western management philosophy comes from the top down. I do expect more from this company!

Edited June 1, 2015 by petercool
edited large and colour fonts

[HooHaa]

it is common knowledge that couriered good via dhl result in a customs clearance fee and undergo greater scrutiny, especially where medications or supplements are concerned.

your problem is that you opted to use them.

And your use of the term mafia is ridiculous.

[uksomchai]

As above.

It appears you have learned very little in your time in Thailand.

Also Mafia is or must be the most abused word uttered in Thailand

The courier is just following the law of the land not acting like the Mafia you seem to think

[stockinvestor]

There are also stricter regulations regarding supplements now. Other suppliers have cancelled Thailand as receiving destination already. Customs has a remark that supplements and food products are controlled and require

Food and Drug Association or Ministry of Health approval. I actually have reveived a postal shipment with a stamp that food or supplements are not legal to import and might be seized by customs in the future. And these were

just harmless vitamins and amino acid products.

Edited June 1, 2015 by stockinvestor

[Shaunduhpostman]

I would contact DHL back in the US or wherever it is about it. They should at least warn customers in Thailand that it is difficult to receive shipments and perhaps offer support to help people through the hoops. Otherwise they should try and work something out with Thai customs if that is even remotely possible, somehow I doubt it but if they don't fix the situation it seems they may lose a lot of business. I'd try and contact number of people at DHL and see if they are interested to try and solve the problem and I'd mention that I would be using another courier service until I see evidence they have fixed the situation. Essentially the corruption here is going steal their business if they don't deal with it instead of having the customer deal with it, which we are not in a position to do.

Edited June 1, 2015 by Shaunduhpostman

[h90]

1200 Baht to act as clearing agent is cheap. And actually you signed the documents for it, without reading.

So what is your complain?

From the beginning you should have sent them the invoice for it and tell them they should deliver it.

(Just short of saying to send it back if they can not....Just not one word that indicates you agree to send it back).

That's it. Either they clear it or they send it back. If sent back you complain at your shipper that DHL messed it up and they should resend it per usps.

DHL is the most stupid here, but that doesn't mean that the others are much better.

[mesquite]

Sounds like standard DHL procedure, no surprise. This has been covered many times before as has the issue of posting in unusual fonts, sizes, and colors which makes the post irritating to read.

Edited June 1, 2015 by mesquite

[HeijoshinCool]

it is common knowledge that couriered good via dhl result in a customs clearance fee and undergo greater scrutiny, especially where medications or supplements are concerned.

your problem is that you opted to use them.

And your use of the term mafia is ridiculous.

.

And your use of the term mafia is ridiculous.

MAFIA:

an organized international body of criminals, operating originally in Sicily and now esp. in Italy and the US and having a complex and ruthless behavioral code.

• (usu. mafia )any similar group using extortion• (usu. mafia )a closed group of people in a particular field, having a controlling influence: the conservative top tennis mafia.

Sounds appropriate to me.

[HooHaa]

where is the extortion? DHL charged a fee for clearing customs on dietary supplements the OP was importing.

while i congratulate you on your use of google and the cut and paste function, your understanding of common usage is not so good.

[BudRight]

where is the extortion? DHL charged a fee for clearing customs on dietary supplements the OP was importing.

while i congratulate you on your use of google and the cut and paste function, your understanding of common usage is not so good.

I guess you are illiterate, since he states they asked for a bribe to waive a requirement. Also, power of attorney should never be required for something like this. Stop apologizing for organized crime.

[mogandave]

where is the extortion? DHL charged a fee for clearing customs on dietary supplements the OP was importing.

while i congratulate you on your use of google and the cut and paste function, your understanding of common usage is not so good.

I guess you are illiterate, since he states they asked for a bribe to waive a requirement. Also, power of attorney should never be required for something like this. Stop apologizing for organized crime.

It's my understanding that power of attorney is needed.

A THB 500 work around is not necessarily a bribe.

[rexall]

it is common knowledge that couriered good via dhl result in a customs clearance fee and undergo greater scrutiny, especially where medications or supplements are concerned.

your problem is that you opted to use them.

And your use of the term mafia is ridiculous.

I don't think it is "common knowledge" at all. Who said so? I have no problem with "greater scrutiny." Let them scrutinize all they want! The unanswered question is why Customs doesn't need all this red tape when using the post office.

I believe I said three times in my post "I should have know better" Pointing out that my problem is that I opted to use DHL is unhelpful. If I get mugged walking home, is my problem that I didn't take a different route? Geeze!

[rexall]

As above.

It appears you have learned very little in your time in Thailand.

Also Mafia is or must be the most abused word uttered in Thailand

The courier is just following the law of the land not acting like the Mafia you seem to think

Sir, you need to read my post more carefully! Why would something sent by post be different than DHL? Actually, I believe I have learned quite a lot here in Thailand. One of the things I have learned is that it is not necessary to be complacent when confronted by this sort of thing. If you choose to be complacent to indignities and nonsense and having your time wasted, fine. Mai pen rai! Enjoy!

[rexall]

There are also stricter regulations regarding supplements now. Other suppliers have cancelled Thailand as receiving destination already. Customs has a remark that supplements and food products are controlled and require

Food and Drug Association or Ministry of Health approval. I actually have reveived a postal shipment with a stamp that food or supplements are not legal to import and might be seized by customs in the future. And these were

just harmless vitamins and amino acid products.

Thanks. Well, at least that provides some insight. Don't these people have anything better to do with their time? The irony is that everything I ordered is available at Boots or PF, but the prices are over-the-top and some of the brands and formulas are not what I would prefer.

[rexall]

where is the extortion? DHL charged a fee for clearing customs on dietary supplements the OP was importing.

while i congratulate you on your use of google and the cut and paste function, your understanding of common usage is not so good.

You guys are thinking too literally in picking apart the semantics of a post that obviously was a rant and employing colorful language to make a point. Geeze! Of course DHL isn't the "MAFIA." It is common knowledge that the MAFIA doesn't exist!

[mogandave]

There are also stricter regulations regarding supplements now. Other suppliers have cancelled Thailand as receiving destination already. Customs has a remark that supplements and food products are controlled and require

Food and Drug Association or Ministry of Health approval. I actually have reveived a postal shipment with a stamp that food or supplements are not legal to import and might be seized by customs in the future. And these were

just harmless vitamins and amino acid products.

Thanks. Well, at least that provides some insight. Don't these people have anything better to do with their time? The irony is that everything I ordered is available at Boots or PF, but the prices are over-the-top and some of the brands and formulas are not what I would prefer.

The prices are over the top because they import or manufacture them legally and have to pay the import duty or excise tax.

With a handle like "rexall" it seems unlikely these were for personal consumption...

[rexall]

I would contact DHL back in the US or wherever it is about it. They should at least warn customers in Thailand that it is difficult to receive shipments and perhaps offer support to help people through the hoops. Otherwise they should try and work something out with Thai customs if that is even remotely possible, somehow I doubt it but if they don't fix the situation it seems they may lose a lot of business. I'd try and contact number of people at DHL and see if they are interested to try and solve the problem and I'd mention that I would be using another courier service until I see evidence they have fixed the situation. Essentially the corruption here is going steal their business if they don't deal with it instead of having the customer deal with it, which we are not in a position to do.

I have contacted the CEO of Operations for DHL in the U.S., and the Pres. of Swanson. I doubt they will do anything, but at least it is a matter of record now. OP seem to think I objected to paying DHL a fee to act as my agent. Not true! It is a little annoying since I don't have to do that with the Post Office. However, if I am hiring them as my agent, I would strongly prefer that they earn that money and have some feeling that the job involves making things easier for me, not more difficult. DHL is a business, and as such it is not in their ultimate best interest to annoy customers. Even if it is true that greater scrutiny is demanded for vitamins, you would think it is in their best interest to be helpful not alienating. The irony is that they work in an extremely time-sensitive industry, but do not seem to value time at all; not their time or the time of their customers. Sigh!

[rexall]

where is the extortion? DHL charged a fee for clearing customs on dietary supplements the OP was importing.

while i congratulate you on your use of google and the cut and paste function, your understanding of common usage is not so good.

I guess you are illiterate, since he states they asked for a bribe to waive a requirement. Also, power of attorney should never be required for something like this. Stop apologizing for organized crime.

It's my understanding that power of attorney is needed.

A THB 500 work around is not necessarily a bribe.

Typically, one grants power of attorney to a trusted family member or business associate, not two shady-looking characters you have never heard of whose ID cards appear on a blury xerox? And why do they need two shady-looking guys?

And you are missing the point about the 500 THB. I would NEVER turn my passport over to someone. They insist it is "necessary." That is obviously baloney. Why would it be necessary? But if 500 THB makes the problem go away, then the passport wasn't really exactly necessary in the first place, was it?

[rexall]

There are also stricter regulations regarding supplements now. Other suppliers have cancelled Thailand as receiving destination already. Customs has a remark that supplements and food products are controlled and require

Food and Drug Association or Ministry of Health approval. I actually have reveived a postal shipment with a stamp that food or supplements are not legal to import and might be seized by customs in the future. And these were

just harmless vitamins and amino acid products.

Thanks. Well, at least that provides some insight. Don't these people have anything better to do with their time? The irony is that everything I ordered is available at Boots or PF, but the prices are over-the-top and some of the brands and formulas are not what I would prefer.

The prices are over the top because they import or manufacture them legally and have to pay the import duty or excise tax.

With a handle like "rexall" it seems unlikely these were for personal consumption...

The prices are over-the-top because the products are over-priced. Even with duty and tax, when I order from the U.S., the prices are much more reasonable. More important, the selection is much better.

"rexall" is based on my first name, "Rex." It has nothing to do with drugs. I hope you are just being silly because it is a pretty wild leap concluding that the handle "rexall" means I do not buy vitamins for personal consumption.

[rexall]

Sounds like standard DHL procedure, no surprise. This has been covered many times before as has the issue of posting in unusual fonts, sizes, and colors which makes the post irritating to read.

Sorry, I don't quite get your point. Are you saying that I should not have posted because this is no surprise and has been covered before?

Also, sorry, about the unusual font size and color. I didn't know that. I rarely come to TV because it is petty and overly-fussy about stuff like that. If formatted text is a problem, why don't they just disable the rich text editor?

[thierryviteau]

The one who know nothing is you actually !

As above.

It appears you have learned very little in your time in Thailand.

Also Mafia is or must be the most abused word uttered in Thailand

The courier is just following the law of the land not acting like the Mafia you seem to think

[Soutpeel]

it is common knowledge that couriered good via dhl result in a customs clearance fee and undergo greater scrutiny, especially where medications or supplements are concerned.

your problem is that you opted to use them.

And your use of the term mafia is ridiculous.

I don't think it is "common knowledge" at all. Who said so? I have no problem with "greater scrutiny." Let them scrutinize all they want! The unanswered question is why Customs doesn't need all this red tape when using the post office.

I believe I said three times in my post "I should have know better" Pointing out that my problem is that I opted to use DHL is unhelpful. If I get mugged walking home, is my problem that I didn't take a different route? Geeze!

Er it is common knowledge for anyone who has lived in Thailand any length of time and has shipped stuff to Thailand

The fact is you used them and you signed their agreement thereby accepting their T&C s

[mogandave]

There are also stricter regulations regarding supplements now. Other suppliers have cancelled Thailand as receiving destination already. Customs has a remark that supplements and food products are controlled and require

Food and Drug Association or Ministry of Health approval. I actually have reveived a postal shipment with a stamp that food or supplements are not legal to import and might be seized by customs in the future. And these were

just harmless vitamins and amino acid products.

Thanks. Well, at least that provides some insight. Don't these people have anything better to do with their time? The irony is that everything I ordered is available at Boots or PF, but the prices are over-the-top and some of the brands and formulas are not what I would prefer.

The prices are over the top because they import or manufacture them legally and have to pay the import duty or excise tax.

With a handle like "rexall" it seems unlikely these were for personal consumption...

The prices are over-the-top because the products are over-priced. Even with duty and tax, when I order from the U.S., the prices are much more reasonable. More important, the selection is much better.

"rexall" is based on my first name, "Rex." It has nothing to do with drugs. I hope you are just being silly because it is a pretty wild leap concluding that the handle "rexall" means I do not buy vitamins for personal consumption.

Be that as it may, you seem to burn through a lot of vitamins.

[starky]

Nice pick-up Mogandave....coming soon Rexall plans to start a chain of pharmacy's in Thailand.... troll

[rexall]

Nice pick-up Mogandave....coming soon Rexall plans to start a chain of pharmacy's in Thailand.... troll

Update. The sentiment here by many OP is that it is unreasonable of me to object to being bullied by DHL. That's fine, and if OP enjoy blaming themselves when they are victimized, and responding with Mai pen rai to irrational and unreasonable business practices, no skin off my nose!

I did write to the Pres. of Swanson in the U.S. Nothing but an auto-reply to that so far. I also write the the CEO of DHL in the States and got a nice reply withing two hours, a promise to send my complaint on the the appropriate people including the management of DHL Thailand. This morning I got a phone call from someone in DHL who elicited an expanded version of my complaint, much to my appreciation, did not attempt to argue with my logic that if delivery via the post office did not necessitate all this extra expense, delay and red tape, there was no logical reason why DHL should be different. She also did not attempt to (overly) hide being "Oh, we are just following orders!" She promised that my goods would be cleared through Customs today.

Will this make an difference in the long term? Probably not, but one never knows. Was this being dealt with with any real understanding and appreciation of the actual problem, or is everyone simply eager to shut up the difficult falang as quickly as possible? Dunno, but probably the later. Probably does not do much to soften the image of the "Ugly American" either.

Bottom line, while I am pretty placid most of the time, other times, I feel in no way obligated to remain passive, smile and say "Mai pen rai" while someone is giving it to me up the arse! Sometimes things are simply insane and unreasonable, and it has nothing to do with "cultural differences."

[mogandave]

Nice pick-up Mogandave....coming soon Rexall plans to start a chain of pharmacy's in Thailand.... troll

Update. The sentiment here by many OP is that it is unreasonable of me to object to being bullied by DHL. That's fine, and if OP enjoy blaming themselves when they are victimized, and responding with Mai pen rai to irrational and unreasonable business practices, no skin off my nose!

I did write to the Pres. of Swanson in the U.S. Nothing but an auto-reply to that so far. I also write the the CEO of DHL in the States and got a nice reply withing two hours, a promise to send my complaint on the the appropriate people including the management of DHL Thailand. This morning I got a phone call from someone in DHL who elicited an expanded version of my complaint, much to my appreciation, did not attempt to argue with my logic that if delivery via the post office did not necessitate all this extra expense, delay and red tape, there was no logical reason why DHL should be different. She also did not attempt to (overly) hide being "Oh, we are just following orders!" She promised that my goods would be cleared through Customs today.

Will this make an difference in the long term? Probably not, but one never knows. Was this being dealt with with any real understanding and appreciation of the actual problem, or is everyone simply eager to shut up the difficult falang as quickly as possible? Dunno, but probably the later. Probably does not do much to soften the image of the "Ugly American" either.

Bottom line, while I am pretty placid most of the time, other times, I feel in no way obligated to remain passive, smile and say "Mai pen rai" while someone is giving it to me up the arse! Sometimes things are simply insane and unreasonable, and it has nothing to do with "cultural differences."

Hopefully thill will initiate a crackdown on everyone using the USPS to sneak things in under the radar.

[tolsti]

It just goes to show that you can send man to the moon but you still can't fix stupid .

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Another crybaby.

I have ordered stuff from USA to Canada where courier was the only option and I can assure you I paid the same fees you did in Thailand.... probably even more.

The worst part of your rant is that you "knew" about courier companies and their policies, yet you still decided to use them because it was cheaper.

When will people take the responsibility for their actions?

[Soutpeel]

It just goes to show that you can send man to the moon but you still can't fix stupid .

Ah but did they really send a man to the moon ?

[tolsti]

Well, the Merkins reckon they did..... As for them pesky Ruskys.... Who knows?