WonderGel
Complaint 130070 Details

I ordered a seat pad from WonderGel for $52. They charged $32 for shipping via UPS. In the Comment box on the order form I wrote:"UPS is unreliable to our location and frequently charges duty and handling that is unnecessary. If there is an option to ship by USPS please let me know as I would prefer it." WonderGel ignored this comment and shipped via UPS anyway. 10 days later I received a call from UPS demanding $40 COD for taxes and brokerage. There was no duty payable on this item, yet they charged $33 for brokerage services which were undisclosed at the time of my order. A UPS representative said that retailers can obtain duty and brokerage fee information for shipments and are supposed to disclose them to the buyer. We attempted to cancel the shipment, but WonderGel refused to give a complete refund, instead saying that they would not refund the shipping fee. Faced with the choice of paying $32 to receive nothing, or paying $40 to receive our item, we chose the latter. The total cost was $125. I have sent many e-mails to WonderGel attempting to get them to fix the situation, but they refuse. They state:"Brokerage fees may not be assessed on your order but Duties and Taxes may still be due, whether you checkout from WonderGel.com or International Checkout." In fact no duty was payable but we were still assessed an undisclosed brokerage fee amounting to 60% of the purchase price. I acknowledge that my instructions to WonderGel were not explicit in refusing shipment by UPS, but I did not expect them to be entirely ignored. WonderGel also appears to consider this situation acceptable to all other customers, as they have not indicated any willingness to change their disclosure or shipment policies. They did not answer their phone when I tried to call them.