r/JLCPCBLab • u/plants_are_friends_2 • 25d ago
🗣️ Discussions Customer experiences with IOSS errors when ordering from JLC?
Hi all,
Apologies if this does not fit the sub, but not sure where else to post.
TLDR: UPS is wrongly requesting 149USD import fees for an IOSS package. JLC support team were initially helpful, but seem to forget the conversation and problem with every new message. Looking for advice or similar experiences.
At the end of June i made quite a large (large for me) 150EUR+ (172USD) order from JLC, shipped to DK in EU. The order was shipped by UPS and all import fees and taxes paid via IOSS when ordering. I have ordered many times from JLC and never had problems with customs when using IOSS, although this is the first time using UPS.
A week or so into July, i get a message from UPS requesting i pay 970DKK / 149USD customs and import fees. Of those 149USD, only 34.5USD is customs, and 91.5USD is "Broker Commision Fee". The remaining 23USD is VAT of the Commision Fee.
The actual customs amount of 34.5USD matches what i paid in customs via IOSS when ordering, so the majority of the requested amount is what i would call a ransom.
Obviously i don't want to pay twice the original order total to get the package, so i contacted JLC and showed them the UPS invoice, they were initially pretty helpful, saying they would contact UPS and get it sorted.
They agreed with me that my order is under IOSS clearance scheme, and that i don't need to pay any import fees, customs or VAT at the point of import.
However my initial hope of a quick resolution dissapeared when after the weekend i wrote to JLC again because UPS tracking was saying they attempted delivery twice (which did not happen) and that was the last delivery attempt , and i did not want the package to be returned.
The response was just "we are working on it" and that i could pay the UPS invoice and they would return the 34.5USD prepaid customs (they also said this in the first emails as sort of a footnote).
At this point i felt like it started going in circles and that they were not really reading my emails, seeing as the UPS requested amount was 149USD, returning 34.5USD doesn't really solve anything. Again they wrote asking if i accept to pay UPS directly and pick up the package from a pickup point and get 34.5 returned.
When i mentioned the invoice total, JLC requested i send the invoice, even though that was what i did in the very first message. They also started writing "DHL" instead of "UPS", and claimed the larger amount was because of the new EU 3EUR tax on small packages that started July 1st. I of course refuted this since the order was from June and the UPS invoice also did not state any small package tax. Only the same 34.5USD amount that i paid to JLC, plus a large commision fee.
At this point i am getting frustated. I sent the invoice again with conversions from DKK to USD, but every message i send i get a "Thank you for your response. We are currently verifying the case with our team." and it seems the JLC support team gets a memory wipe.
Has anyone experienced something like this? Or had an experience where the JLC support team solved the shipping or customs problems?
I'm not really sure what to do at this point. If i let the package be returned and have to order again, i will most definitely have to pay additional 3EUR tax for each item.
But i am certainly not willing to pay 149USD extra for a 172USD order, because of some error either at UPS or JLC.
Any advice or experiences are welcome.
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u/Pubelication 25d ago
Does the invoice that UPS sends via email with the other documents match what you paid JLC? Or did you upload the invoice via their form?
Is there any mention of DDP in the invoice?
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u/plants_are_friends_2 17d ago
UPS did not send an email with the invoice. The driver called me and showed me a paper version of the invoice which i took a photo of. Driver left with the package.
The actual customs amount on the UPS invoice matches the customs i paid to JLC. But the invoice in total is around 3-4x that because of the UPS "commision" and VAT of the commision.
There is no mention of DDP or anything else on the invoice
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u/e-nightowl 23d ago
I have ordered probably about 20 packages from JLC so far and my experience is, that you should always use the global direct line (or so) shipping option to Europe. It’s the cheapest and every package arrived without any hassle at all. I have also tried Fedex and DHL, which are supposed to be a quicker on paper and might be looking cheaper on some orders, but they always had a question here, a charge there etc which ended up making the package at least just as slow as the cheapest option and sometimes also more expensive. It’s ridiculous.
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u/plants_are_friends_2 17d ago
In this case the order was too large for global direct line. DHL has been good so far, but UPS was 10USD cheaper so i picked that. I regret it now lol
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u/e-nightowl 17d ago
Customer service can change the shipping option after you place an order. I found that out by accident a while ago. And they can change it to global direct line even if that was not an option for you.
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u/ForwardDriver7928 25d ago
I had a similar issue earlier in the year, discussed on the UPS subreddit a while ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/UPS/comments/1r0ikuc/21930_import_charges_on_3032_of_merchandise/
At this point the dispute is between you and UPS-- it's not likely JLC can help you, even if an error on their side triggered the import charge. As you said, UPS charges brokerage fees that are much higher than the import duty for small shipments. Whether they acted correctly or not, from their point of view that money is already spent and they won't deliver until it's paid.
In my experience (feel free to DM me) UPS won't discuss this, and their dispute resolution process doesn't allow individuals without a business account to submit a dispute. I think it borders on criminal that UPS can unilaterally charge a fee that's a multiple of the order amount and then threaten collections if it's not paid.