I loathe UPS. I will use any opportunity I have to slime them. My stories are many and are too long and involved to go on about, but I assure you I had terrible experiences. I'll bore you with 2 recent stories from within the past 3 weeks.
1. Received a Xmas gift from a friend in Texas. A week later UPS sent me a bill for $2.27. I called, explained, refused to pay, got the run around, was told I still need to pay, said I hope they would be happy to get my payment a nickel at a time, was then told they would do me a favour and waive the charge this time, I said you should be ashamed of yourself for working for such a shifty company.
2. Received a package 2 days after the guaranteed delivery time (I have only once received a UPS package on time). Called UPS for an explanation. Operator was glib and useless. I demanded to be refunded the $50 shipping fee, she said no, I got mad, it went on and on for 15 minutes until she finally divulged that there is a guanteed service refund available when packages don't arrive on their guaranteed date. The process is as follows: You contact the company you bought the items from. That company then calls UPS and asks for the guaranteed service refund which they then must pass on to you. Sometimes the company needs to apply in writing and the address: 1 Factory Lane Unit 200, Moncton NB, E1C 9M3. I had success with this and did get my refund. It would seem, though, that UPS doesn't really want people to know about this because it certainly wasn't offered to me until I became angry.
I ordered from Disney Shopping and was not charged brokerage because it was sent air mail, but of course customs and duty. I did have to pay more up front in shipping, but at least no surprises at the door. UPS now has a detailed list of brokerage fees on their website, perhaps as a response to the class action suit.
