Carlos Serodio
Parcel stuck with UPS almost for a month

Regarding tracking number 1ZV4647R0492849326:

A parcel containing aircraft parts was sent to me from the USA at the end of November. The recipient of the parcel is me, CARLOS SERODIO, with the email address and phone number as stated in the invoice and the airway bill. The delivery address for the parcel is a workshop at Kruger Mpumalanga Airport (Mbombela).

The parcel arrived at UPS (Kempton Park) in the first days of December. I was never contacted about it. Instead, UPS ignored my contact details as the recipient and a few days later sought the contacts of the workshop mentioned as the physical delivery address and notified them instead. The workshop, having nothing to do with the parcel, did not react. Days later, it eventually contacted me about the notification, and I reached out to UPS.

There was a customs bill to be paid, which had been pending for many days. I paid it and sent UPS the proof of payment. I emphasized to UPS that, as stated in the documentation, I WAS THE RECIPIENT of the parcel and the one they should liaise with. UPS confirmed receipt of the payment, but nothing happened thereafter.

Days later, I was contacted by the sender in the USA, who said UPS had informed them they could not contact the recipient of the parcel, and there was a customs bill to be paid. They threatened to return the parcel if the bill was not immediately settled. The sender paid the bill and later informed me of this. Even with the bill paid twice, nothing happened.

Eventually, I complained to UPS, stating that all of this was mishandled by them, that such inefficiency was unacceptable, and it was causing severe damage and loss. I asked UPS to let me know how I could file a complaint about this. Still, nothing happened. I then received an email saying that customs wanted to know the "size of the tires" inside the parcel. That was a very strange question since the invoice mentions that, other than some other parts of a small airplane tail wheel, the parcel has only one tire, and a used one at that. This shipping from the USA was very expensive, over one thousand dollars, and this entire episode is intolerable and unacceptable.

At the same time that this parcel was sent via UPS, another one, also with aircraft parts, new, with similar weight and size and similar shipping cost, was also sent to me via FedEx with exactly the same contact details and delivery address. Two days after it arrived in South Africa, I was notified of a payment due to customs (VAT only since aircraft parts don't pay duties), and two more days later, it was delivered to me at the Kruger Airport workshop.

I want to clearly complain about this mis-service of UPS and I want to be compensated for the damage and loss it has caused and is causing to me. There is no possible justification for such high shipping costs to be imposed on a shipment of this kind that is taking more than a month now, especially if we consider that a similar shipment was done in one month. An aircraft must not remain stuck like this one is because some incompetent persons decide to ignore information and procedures and force this to happen.

I would also like to know why the customs bills for the two parcels mentioned above treat their contents differently, since both contain aircraft parts which are exempted from them. Apart from this compensation claim of mine from UPS, please do not forget that the customs bill has also been paid twice, once by me after begging UPS to be correct and quick, and another payment by the sender under UPS's pressure and threat to return the package to him.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and expect a just attitude regarding this issue.

Regards,

Company: Carlos Serodio
Country: South Africa
Region: Mbombela
City: Mbombela
Postal Code: 1210
Address: Hangar G9T, Nelspruit Airfield, Mbombela
Phone: 258847062320

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