[Nexus 4 General] mich083:
Beware Canadian Google Shoppers

Purchased a Nexus 10 from the Google PlayStore which had a Canadian URL address. My purchase was in Canadian dollars and the receipt stated everything was transacted with Google Canada at 10 Dundas Street East, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario Canada.

Electronic receipt was emailed same day detailing same information. Cost of item $509 Cdn with shipping, handling and taxes approximately $592 Canadian.

So far all well and good. Next day receiving tracking information and see that it is UPS and that the Nexus 10 is coming from Kentucky and not the Canadian Google warehouse in Brampton, Ontario. As there is such demand I figure they didn't have stock in Canada and were shipping it up from the U.S. at no additional cost to me. BOY WAS I WRONG!

Received call from CBSA stating there was duty and brokerage charges of $200 Cdn on the item.

Called UPS and got the fine print....

“Thank you for your email regarding your international shipment.

The shipper will prepay the cost of shipping Standard Service. The fee the shipper pays does not include any brokerage, duties or taxes owing as the shipment enters Canada. The consignee is responsible for these charges. It is always a good idea, when ordering items from outside of Canada, to ask the vendor if their price includes import charges (Brokerage fees, duties and taxes).

A Brokerage fee is charged to process your shipment and present your paperwork to customs on your behalf. All courier shipments with a value exceeding $20 CAD require customs clearance by a broker. The customs clearance procedure requires the broker to perform, on behalf of the importer, a number of tasks. Tasks include, but are not limited to, auditing import documentation, classification of the commodity being imported, and preparation and transmission of accounting information to Canada Customs. The UPS Customs Brokerage published rate schedule is competitive with industry standards.

You may find our rates for customs clearance into Canada at the following link:

http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html.

When accessing the link for Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada, please review the complete fee schedule provided. Please note: Entry Preparation Charges, Disbursement Fees and Additional Services may apply to your shipment.

U.S. shippers are advised that brokerage charges, duties and taxes will be billed to the importer unless otherwise indicated by the shipper.”

Called Google Play Store twice and was told it was Google's mistake and that the item should have shipped from Canada as I have a Canadian address.

But the item arrived and the UPS driver wanted his pound of flesh. Hand over $200 Cdn otherwise the item would be held at their depot for five days and then sent back to Kentucky.

If you read the fine print on the Google Play Store Terms of Sale, it states any returned items will be refunded, BUT NOT shipping, handling or any other "costs" that might have incurred in the shipment of the item.

NO where on the Google Play Store is there any warning of duty and brokerage fees. You buy from a Canadian site, the receipt states you are dealing with a Canadian merchant, do you really expect to be paying additional customs and brokerage fees????? That would be like ordering your new car and at pickup being handed a bill for transportation charges, customs and brokerage fees because the car was not built in Canada.

The fact that Google uses a fictious address on their receipts is a form of fraud. Google Canada's office is on Richmond Street in Toronto, NOT Dundas Street as the receipt states.

So putting this out there for those of you who are thinking of purchasing a device on Google Play Store Canada.