2 weeks Ago
Mark Schacter is entitled to a refund for the duties he paid on his telescope. Multiple staff at the Canada Border Services Agency have told him as much, he says. But actually getting that refund hasn’t been so simple.
Mr. Schacter’s story starts with him purchasing a US$1,500 telescope on eBay in June. When he received the item, which was shipped from the United States , he was charged US$75 in duties, despite telescopes being exempt from duty charges.
His sales tax was also calculated for the sum of the telescope, its shipping cost and the duties, when it should have only been charged on the telescope. Between the duties and taxes, he reckons he was overcharged by roughly US$110, or around $150. Over the next three months, Mr.
Schacter attempted to submit a duty adjustment claim and tried to source the correct paperwork from the CBSA and eBay. Only after hours on the phone with eBay, DHL – the company that shipped his order to Canada – and directly speaking with multiple higher-up government officials did he manage to find the information needed to file an official claim. And he still doesn’t know if that claim will be successful.
Mr. Schacter’s experience shows that for the typical consumer, fighting an incorrect duty charge can be overly complicated and the time involved might not necessarily be worth the money. “For the average Canadian who‘s buying something online, you have no power in this situation, so you’re just stuck,” he said.
First, Mr. Schacter went to eBay to dispute the charge. He said he was transferred multiple times to different agents, many of whom didn’t know what a duty is.
Eventually, he said, an eBay representative told him to contact the CBSA, explaining that only they can refund duties that were already paid. So he submitted a claim, only to be told months later that he needed to provide a B3 form that outlines the duty charges, which he’d have to get from the site where he purchased the item. He then spoke to multiple rounds of eBay representatives, all of whom had no idea what a B3 form is, he said.
Eventually, Mr. Schacter said, a more senior eBay employee promised to provide the form in a couple of days. When he called back, another representative said there was nothing they could do to help.
The agent suggested a website where he could get more information, but this only led Mr. Schacter back to the CBSA. Finally, he said, another eBay agent told him he may have to get the form from the shippers – in this case, UPS and DHL.
He reached DHL, which shipped the package internationally, but found their customer-service agents to be unhelpful. Eventually, he consulted CBSA’s publicly available staff directory to find senior employees to make a complaint. He reached the director of the CBSA branch that handles refund requests, who had the direct number to the DHL department that could issue a B3 form – which they promptly did once he got in touch.
The Globe and Mail reached out to the CBSA. While it says that shippers are required to provide a B3 form upon request, as of October the form is known as a Commercial Accounting Declaration. Customers making a refund request must look for the Commercial Accounting Declaration number on their paperwork, rather than a B3 number.
The CBSA did not respond to a question about how often customers face incorrect duty charges. DHL and eBay did not respond to requests for comment. Mr.
Schacter started his refund process out of principle – he didn‘t necessarily need the money. But after three months of going in circles, he’s concluded that getting a refund on incorrect duty charges is no easy task for Canadians. Are you a young Canadian with money on your mind? To set yourself up for success and steer clear of costly mistakes, listen to our award-winning Stress Test podcast .
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