so following up on my $66.37 customs bill for the shipment of finale... makemusic has credited me for the $16 brokerage fee, and the broker has reimbursed me for the highly questionable $25 fee "code 396: tariff data base update" (on a T-shirt valued at $5!!!!!!): it seems i convincingly argued that there is no way the individual client should be charged for such tasks.
the solution to avoiding brokerage fees (it is true that DHL applies none on makemusic shipments) is to always have the order addressed as follows:
YOUR NAME
c/o YOUR INSTITUTION
even though i specifically stated that the package must be addressed to me, c/o institution, the first line in makemusic's database-generated waybill is the institution, which, being in the first position on the waybill, is therefore considered to be the client. in such cases, DHL automatically hands over the paperwork to the institution's broker (eg. PBB global logistics), who then applies their own brokerage fee to the shipment.
from finale sales:
The reason you were charged the brokerage fee was because the package was addressed to the Banff Center for the Arts, which designates it's own broker and forfeits the free brokerage offered by DHL. You are correct in that if the package was addressed to you c/o the Banff Center then the package would have been delivered with brokerage fees paid. This situation occasionally happens with colleges and universities in Canada, who typically designate their own broker. This is not a DHL service issue; they have no choice but to relinquish the package to the designated broker.
jef
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