International parts purchase problems

Hey guys, I wanted to mention some problems Paddo and I had with an international VW parts order (I wont mention any names at this stage). I'll give a basic rundown of what happened and could you guys let me know if you think it's fair or unusual? Also, can other people who have ordered shit from O/S please let me know of any similar experiences or if it was hassle free?

Basically, my mate Paddo placed an order consisting of 2 sets of wheels, some rust repair panels and some body rubbers. The order was confirmed, process and the total amount of $1500 approx was debited from Pat's Visa card account.

About a week or so lapsed and Pat received an email stating that an extra $230 or so was payable before the order was shipped. Pat and I took issue with this, especially considering that the order was initially added up, shipping via DHL was calcualted based on the weight etc of the item.

The total amount was then processed and an invoice stating the total amount of the order and that the order would be shipped immediately was issued.

In my opinion an invoice along with the debiting of the account constitutes a contractual arrangement and the deal should have been honoured with no additional fees payable (save for GST, customs and duties etc)

However a week after the order was placed (and about 4-5 days after the money was taken) we get the email asking for $200 odd US extra, or the package would be shipped via sea freight instead.

The reasons they gave for the additional costs were due to the size of the order the shipping would be extra, however the initial shipping charges took into account our order from the beginning.

Sorry for the length of this thread but it gets better.

Pat and I agreed to cancel the order, and after a few days the money was refunded. I decided to order about half the amount of stuff and went through the exact same process again, with the order being confirmed, charged to my account and then I received an email asking for additional payment before the package woudl be shipped. I decided that all this stuffing around was getting me no-where, so I decided to cop the extra $100 US charge just to get the parts. I did mention that I'd air my grievances for others to comment, however I have decided to withhold the company name in the meantime.

What do you guys think? Have we been stooged, or is this normal, ethical business practice these days?

Keen to get some opinions,

Steve

[Edited on 11/3/2005 by stephenianjames]

Sounds like a method of extorting extra cash from the 80% that won't argue.

Brendan

ohhh thats so bad...

My partner and i have come into that sort of thing (not vw's computers)

The problem is, u can argue as much as u want, but in the end unless u have another supplier, ur shitfaced...

If u have another supplier, go there...and give the old group a call and let them know why ur heading there.

a friend of mine had a ratehr unique approach, which apparently is very legal...

if u state merely fact, not opinions or summations, and u have proof of what happened, apparently u can add ur comments as part of ur signiture, including company name, and they can't touch u, cause alls ur doing is stating facts...not defamation...was a big thing for friend who's container was lost....he lost big biccies, and so the business he dealt with copped a major blow by what he did...

imagine...everyone u know sees what happened and stears clear.

but i was never game enough to do that myself....

oh, and yes, he had sought a solicitors opinion first

For this very reason I get my stuff from Roy at ClassicVW(pacific) he goes through all the bulls#$t for me and all I do is order the parts and wait till they get delivered to my front door.
That way you know what you are paying, NO suprises.
Some say it is cheaper to buy direct from overseas but what happens if you get caught at customs, then it is up to you to pay the extra.
It is great for someone to say it will be a certain price and then say it will be an extra 20 or 30%, but does that price include shipping and tax and duty and GST?????.
Also what if the partd are wrong for the model as the US, has differant model years etc.

I say go to where you know what you are paying.

Cheers
Dave

Bought something from US costing about $420 and it was freighted FedEx. They (Fedex) rang when it arrived and said it was being held by customs until proof of value of contents was disclosed. I sent a copy of the invoice and they said they wanted it sent direct from the company who originally sent the package.

They (Fedex) then billed $16 for import duties, $43 for GST and $50 customs charge to hold it???????????. Had to cough up $109 before they would release it!

Terrible service, what they say first up is all you should pay!

wouldnt mind know who that was. U2U me please. I will be avoiding them.

Thanks.

Please U2U Me the company tpp please...

I havebought VW bits from 2 US companies but the goods were sent to a US address and then Posted to Australia....
by another person... I didn't want to pay the HUGE Air freight costs... both parcels were under $300US....

CIP1 is great if You live in the US or Canada....
and their products are excellent.... IMHO...

I tried to buy the odd small items from different Companies in the USA but they wouldn't take Mastercard or PAYpal unless the address was in the US- same as on the card-
I tried, begged etc to no avail.....
These smaller companies say its too risky to use a Mastercard from Australia [overseas] yet CIP1 accept it and CB Performance also accept Aussie Mastercards....

Some people seem to have many problems with freight & import duties etc while others seem to lead a charmed life...
I'm sticking to buying US parts when Relatives visit the US!!🙂🙂 and then post the parts to Me... very slow - but very cheap....

Lee

http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug

I have bought books from Amazon plus other companies in the USA and paid with Mastercard with no problems...

but books are easy to ship etc....

Lee

i just think it's bad form...

price is a price...especially once it's on an invoice, not a quote...

If you buy stuff from overseas aiming to save a few dollars, it could go perfectly well or you could end up with a huge bill, therefore costing you more than if you popped along to your nearest supplier
Nobody knows what the final figure will be when importing, there are so many anomolies.
One of my containers was detained at customs, had to be fumigated, cleaned on the outside and Customs quarantine checked, because it is my business I had to put up with the extra charges, they were not passsed on.
It also happened with one of my airfreighted boxes and the cost doubled.
The customs are very powerful, if they think that something should not enter Australia, there is no way that you can convince them otherwise and for good reasons.
You are lucky that you received your full amount back(did you) as some US companies may charge a cancellation fee.
Quality is also an issue, one of my valued customers bought a few parts from the US, apparently nowhere near as good quality as what we supply. Nothing you can do once they are sent.
We operate a policy of full refund if not totally satisfied (I am sure Vintage Vee Dub, Classic Vee Dub and others also may do the same)

and thats why we love u guys...

u cope the bad stuff, we get the good stuff..

my partner buys computer bit overseas...i buy vw bits here...

and we love you too !!!!:kiss

i think classic pacific is the go for parts , the price is there no suprises and all the parts come from places you would have heard about like creative and schofields, with other companies in the us that can supply many parts for good prices you wont find out about how good the thing is untill you see it in the flesh, i found this out myself.
but i must admitt 4 days after i paid for my parts they were sitting on the front door step and thats from the us, so its ok in that respect , and the bits i got will do the job very well for sure but the bits i got from classic will be a much longer lasting product and the quality is far better

Hmmmmm........ I am deciding whether to post all the correspondence of the whole ordeal. Hmmmmm

Go on, you know you want to.

Cheers
Dave

yeah go on do it !!!

If the mods OK me mentioning the name I will do so, however I thought I read a couple of months ago that naming names is a no no, and could get the forum into deep shit (although I'd only be stating facts)

You are probably right, its the way things are going that you will get your ass sued for stating facts.

Depends how you look at it. Since it's a statement of fact and is of public interest, it wouldn't necessarily be considered defamation. And you could argue that you're acting in public interest by revealing a company with shady business practices. This alone may not stop the company from suing you but it would probably give you a sufficiently good defence.

I'd play it safe and keep quiet, at least in public.

If anyone wants to know, just u2u them.
keeps it nice and safe.

Cheers
Dave

Tell Dave and he will tell everyone else hahaha!!!

Im not scared, I have an in house barrister.

Cheers
Dave