help me out istoryans.
i recently won a smartwatch from a contest on the internet
on
april 1, the company that held the contest emailed me stating that they already sent the watch thru UPS (United Parcel Service)
on
april 4 (thursday),
the smartwatch arrived, but since UPS doesnt have an office here in davao, it was their agent (2GO express) who delivered the watch
i received the smartwatch and affixed my full name and signature on the courier's form to indicate that i received said item/package.
so naa na sa akoa ang relo, the watch is already in my possession.
karon ang problem is:
on
april 8 (monday),
four (4) days after i received the smartwatch, the 2go courier who delivered the watch came back to our house. he said there are custom duties to be paid for the said smartwatch amounting to 3,600+, it was written using a ballpen on the form where i affixed my full name and signature on april 4 (
when i first signed the form on april 4, no such amount was shown in the form).
i was confused, the watch is already in my possession and after 4 days naningil sila ug 3k+ kay para daw sa customs duties.
the courier even showed me a bureau of customs (boc) form indicating a summary of customs duties,
but the boc form only shows an amount of 2,300+. so right there, nagduda na ko sa courier.
i told the courier that i have been receiving jumbo size balikbayan boxes from the US for years from "LBC" and "manila forwarders" which probably weighs 100 kilos or more and never have i paid even a single centavo ever. and now here is a single smartwatch which i won from a contest that came from singapore and maningil mo ug 3k/2k+ ?
the courier told me nga "mao gyud na among patakaran sir"
i asked the courier, "kung dili nako ni mabayaran karon ang amount unsa man ang mahitabo?"
the courier answered
"kuhaon nako balik ang item sir" (which is the smartwatch).
duda na gyud ko kay the courier even told me
"kanang sony smartwatch sir tag P1,500 mana sa lazada"
how convenient for the courier to know the value of the smartwatch, which is also untrue because upon checking the internet the smartwatch has a price of $99 or 4k+ in philippine peso.
sa istorya pa, gi low ball niya ang value sa smartwatch, thinking siguro nga i would just give him the watch back.
but i didnt give him the watch, kay kibalo ko,
napirmahan na nako ang form indicating i already received the watch from them, karon kung ihatag nako ang relo, who knows?
i just asked him "asa man ang inyong office? kay adtoon nalang nako ugma para maistorya inyong supervisor"
he told me the address and the name of their supervisor and he left.
karon, my father knows a few people working in bureau of customs so i asked him to accompany me to boc so i can clarify things with them directly.
on april 10, we went to boc, and showed them the boc form that the courier showed me (amounting to 2,300 to be paid)
here is what the boc officials said (there were 5 of them
)
1.
since the smartwatch was already in my hands, it means customs duties were already paid, kay kung naa pa daw bayranan sa customs, its impossible that the smartwatch would end up in my hands
2. the boc said that the boc form the courier gave me was full of inconsistencies, kay naa lang pirma sa "supposedly" boc official, but there was no full name and official designation of the one who signed the form. so in other words, nagduda ang mga taga boc sa nagpirma sa form. (the form itself is legit, its just that info were lacking on who signed it, unya ang signature kay murag gi kuris lang pa gyud)
3. the boc also checked the package, kay the package should be stamped
"DDU" or
"delivery duties unpaid" kung wala pa gyud nabayran.
no such "ddu" stamp or indication exists on the package.
4. the boc suspected a scam and even offered me if im willing to do "entrapment" operation,
i declined since dako nang hago for such an item (its not worth the time and effort for a measly smartwatch)
5. but in the end,
the boc advised me to call up UPS manila, and asked for clarifications since it was only their agent (2go express) who delivered the item and asked for payment 4 days later. but
boc definitely assured me that customs duties were already 100% paid kay matod pa nila:
"kung wala pa na nabayran ang duties, its impossible for the item to leave the boc and end up in my hands"
so i emailed UPS customer service, telling them about the situation, i even stated that duda ko sa katong 2go courier.
ups replied and kinda surprised me
ups said that
wala daw sila mahimo sa 2,300+ kay patakaran daw na sa gobyerno, "its not within their control" daw
so what UPS is trying to tell me thru email is that,
ang gobyerno ang naningil sa 2,300+ and not them.
wala sila nalipong? gikan na gani ko sa BOC, lima ka boc officials ang niatubang sa akoa, and all of them told me
"kung naa na sa akong kamot ang item, it means custom duties were already paid." "wala nay lugi ang gobyerno" matod pa nila.
here are other factors to consider:
1. akong amigo, naay electronics business, nag source siya ug mga electronics sa hongkong, gipadala sa supplier thru courier, its size is probably the same sa kanang karton sa sigarilyo kadako. when the package arrived, it was held by customs kay naay bayranan nga duties.
the courier called my friend and informed him that his shipment was withheld by boc and my friend has to go to BOC personally and pay custom duties before his shipment will be released.
in my situation,
never did i receive a phone call from ups or 2go telling me that there were customs duties to be paid. what happened to me is that
they delivered me my package, and after 4 days they came back saying that i owe the philippine government 2k/3k which they (the courier) would collect
2. i have been receiving jumbo balikbayan boxes for years, never have i paid maski piso when said balikbayan boxes were delivered, unya karon gamay kaayo nga item, pabayron ko ug 2k/3k?
so mao ni mga istoryans, unsa may tan-aw ninyo? ilad or dili?
UPS ilad or dili? (United Parcel Service)
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