DH Hell

[stopthegop]

Just wanted to give everyone a "heads up" regarding shipping to Amiga Center in France.  I sent some boards there using DHL.  I prepaid almost $70 for the shipping, but when it arrived in France DHL demanded (from Amiga Center) an additional 87 EUROS in "fees" before they would hand over the package!!!  Total and complete rip off if you ask me.  Even worse, it took them five delivery attempts to even find the address.  Almost two weeks in transit for what was "guaranteed" 2-3 business days.  

In stark contrast to the underhanded business practices of DHL is the most outstanding service from Amiga Center!  Seriously, Amiga Center just rules.  Price is more than fair and he brought back my CyberstormPPC from the dead in record time.  I can't praise Amiga Center enough.  By all means, send them your goods.  Just don't use DH Hell.    

[stopthegop]

I'm not really sure what it was.  Supposedly it was because I had a declared value on it of $500.  But that still doesn't make any sense.  I've shipped hundreds of parcels and I always declare a value on it.  Otherwise how do collect on insurance if the package is damaged?  Besides, it was prepaid.  I've NEVER heard of charging a recipient just to get his mail.  

[stopthegop]

Thats probably indeed what it was.  However, I'm not letting DHL off the hook.  I repeat, this was PREPAID.  DHL prepared the paperwork and they quoted me a "total price" to ship the box.   This was after asking me if I wanted insurance.  Of course I said "yes" on the insurance to which she replied "Ok, for how much?"  In other words, whats the 'value'?  The minor detail of the recipient getting stuck with a cash surcharge of 25% of whatever amount I insured the box for...  that detail was never mentioned.   At best, this was bait and switch.  The bait is the $70 "all inclusive" rate they charged me, the switch was the $100 added on when it got there.  It wasn't my obligation to know the laws of France.  Thats why I hired DHL.  They should have know this and it should have been included in the rate they charged me from the begining.  Yes, now I "know better".  Apparently I know more now than DHL does: the international shipping "experts".

[stopthegop]

Get this:   I call DHL to {bleep}.  This woman is telling me that the price I was originally quoted (and paid) was the price to get the box ONLY TO FRANCE, not to the address within France!  She says "everyone" knows this.  Maybe I'm just being obtuse here, but who sends stuff to a country instead of an address?  Besides the US government; they deliver "Food to Ethopia", "Bombs to Iraq", etc...  But everyone else on planet earth ships to a specific person or address!  So I guess when I asked for the "TOTAL" price to deliver a box to a PERSON (not just to the country he lives in), I was the first and only DHL customer in history not realize "total price" meant something other than "total price"?