UPS Empowerment Authorisation Letter

[finyuk2005]

Has anyone ever received a letter from UPS after buying stuff from China?

Basically asking you to confirm them as your "representative for the completion of import customs entries"
Its probably genuine enough, but words such as "Power of Attorney" doesnt please me too much

In the included FAQ sheet it does say
"what happens if i decide not to sign this document"
"if you do not sign this document please be aware that UPS may be unable to provide any customs clearance services"

Anyone know what all this actually means?

I would rather not give them any details or authority if i can help it!!

cheers

 

[Scalarocco]

I've had this carp in the past but only when dealing with shipments for the USA and only when I've been exporting. The first obvious question is are you exporting to, or importing from, China? If this has come out of the blue then I would suspect a scam. Otherwise, ask the UPS UK people to clarify what they need. Don't use any phone number they have provided, do a Google search for the help number.

 

[Ruffian]

Had one from fedex a while back.

Bought in a 3d scanner,
Came through and got delivered
Fedex automatically authorised_paid customs etc.
Then invoiced me 8weeks after the item got delivered.

 

[finyuk2005]

I've had this carp in the past but only when dealing with shipments for the USA and only when I've been exporting. The first obvious question is are you exporting to, or importing from, China? If this has come out of the blue then I would suspect a scam. Otherwise, ask the UPS UK people to clarify what they need. Don't use any phone number they have provided, do a Google search for the help number.

Well i did just get a few shipments of battery chargers and BMS's from aliexpress so it doesnt seem totally out of the blue,
but does buying the odd thing from Aliexpress make me an importer?
It seems a lot like they are trying to tie you into their services,
Im thinking i will likely ignore it!

 

[Scalarocco]

Well i did just get a few shipments of battery chargers and BMS's from aliexpress so it doesnt seem totally out of the blue,
but does buying the odd thing from Aliexpress make me an importer?
It seems a lot like they are trying to tie you into their services,
Im thinking i will likely ignore it!

If it is a plausible reason to contact you then I would suggest contacting UPS UK to confirm it is legit.

 

[finyuk2005]

I might do that, but i would of thought they will still try and sell me whatever services they are pushing anyway,
The letter does include my UPS account number which i apparently have...

 

[8ob]

Any correspondence will quote the tracking number as a reference, its not hard to check with the sender and obtain the tracking number for cross reference purposes.

Bob

 

[Scalarocco]

Who delivered the items you bought from Aliexpress? Was it UPS?

 

[finyuk2005]

Who delivered the items you bought from Aliexpress? Was it UPS?

It was, and we paid the import duty last week

 

[Scalarocco]

It was, and we paid the import duty last week

If you have documentation to show the duties are paid then I can't see why they would contact you.

 

[finyuk2005]

If you have documentation to show the duties are paid then I can't see why they would contact you.

Im sure its just trying to sell me services by the sounds of it,
Had other stuff from china that came by a different carrier and got no letter!

 

[mtt.tr]

Have you called ups on a known number?

 

[finyuk2005]

not yet no

 

[Robotstar5]

Maybe @fizzy can shed some light on it?

 

[fizzy]

Maybe @fizzy can shed some light on it?

It is a customs requirement and we have to do that sort of stuff all the time. Obviously what you need to be very careful of is that it is genuinely from UPS and not a scammer.
We often get US citizens very upset when they are asked to provide their tax id nnumber. Basically their version of our NI number.
Poor people in Northern Ireland even have this kind of stuff to deal with for stuff coming from the rest of the UK.

 

[8ob]

I suppose there is a difference paperwork wise if you are importing from China to this country as to them exporting. If they just send it all the paperwork,costs and bun fight will start when it lands here.

Bob

 

[Farside]

It's just UPS's way of making sure that they'll get their money if they act as clearance agents.
Fed-Ex found the hard way that I wouldn't pay them, when I bought an item from the US that was supposed to come USPS. Instead, it came Fed-Ex, delivered as normal.
Except, a fortnight later I got a demand for money from them, to cover import duties and their ridiculous fees.
I asked them to point exactly where I'd signed any contract or given them authorisation to act on my behalf.
They shut up.
I've since bought several items from Japan, shipped Fed-Ex, and the charges have been up-front and perfectly reasonable. No problem, as I know that in advance and deal with it.

 

[finyuk2005]

It's just UPS's way of making sure that they'll get their money if they act as clearance agents.
Fed-Ex found the hard way that I wouldn't pay them, when I bought an item from the US that was supposed to come USPS. Instead, it came Fed-Ex, delivered as normal.
Except, a fortnight later I got a demand for money from them, to cover import duties and their ridiculous fees.
I asked them to point exactly where I'd signed any contract or given them authorisation to act on my behalf.
They shut up.
I've since bought several items from Japan, shipped Fed-Ex, and the charges have been up-front and perfectly reasonable. No problem, as I know that in advance and deal with it.

thats what i thought it sounds like, i have ignored it!
cheers

 

[m_c]

It all depends on how quickly you want to receive whatever it is you're importing.

I've not had anything come UPS for a while, but the latest DHL shipment I had the customs bill before it even left the local collection depot in South Korea, and they won't deliver until it's paid.

The latest Fedex one has been a bit of a f*** up.
For some reason the invoice didn't get matched to my account, so I then received the invoice in the post after the delivery. To pay it, I need to go online, but their online system can't find the invoice, and as it's their busy period, I've so far failed to get a response from them. Last thing I want is to have future deliveries delayed because I've not paid the fee :/

 

[Robbie260]

Yeah they charged me £50 for the privilege of dealing with HMRC for me when I didn’t ask them too was quite happy to do it myself. Paid reluctantly on the day of delivery then got a cheeky letter a week later from them a demanding payment and threatening to take me to court when the local courier had in fact payed them and they had lost the payment. There aren’t any words un kind enough in the English language to express my feelings for them adequately.