Unexpected Fees, Poor Communication, and a Resolution That Came From the Sender Instead

I am posting this review so that other South African consumers understand what they may be getting into when UPS becomes involved in an international shipment.

I recently ordered a dbrand Galaxy S25 Ultra Tank Case and Prism 2.0 screen protector. My expectation was that the shipment would proceed through the normal courier and customs process. Instead, UPS became involved in the shipment and I was presented with a range of additional charges, including brokerage, disbur*****t, and administration fees.

To be clear, my dispute was never with legitimate SARS duties or VAT. I fully understand that imported goods may attract taxes and customs charges. My concern was with the additional UPS-imposed fees and, more importantly, the lack of meaningful assistance when I attempted to understand and resolve the situation.

From the moment these charges appeared, I made every reasonable effort to engage constructively. I asked questions, requested clarification, sought escalation where appropriate, and tried to understand why UPS was involved in the shipment in the first place. I also wanted to know whether any alternatives existed.

Unfortunately, the responses I received were generally brief and focused on payment rather than resolution. The more I asked, the less it seemed anyone was able or willing to explain the process, address the underlying concerns, or help me find a workable path forward.

At this point, UPS advised me that the shipment could only be returned if the sender authorised the return.

Following those instructions, I contacted dbrand and explained the situation. To their credit, dbrand became actively involved, communicated directly with the carrier, and formally requested that the shipment be cancelled and returned.

At this stage I had already spent days attempting to obtain clarity. I had engaged with UPS, engaged with Aramex, opened escalation requests, repeatedly sought information, and ultimately involved the sender after UPS advised that only the sender could authorise the return of the shipment.

Despite all of these efforts, no practical solution was ever presented to me beyond paying the charges.

I therefore formally refused the shipment and requested that it be returned to the sender, following the process that UPS themselves had outlined.

At that stage, I believed the matter was moving toward a resolution. The sender had become involved, the return had been requested, and the process UPS themselves had outlined was being followed.

Ironically, the eventual resolution did not come from UPS. It came from the sender.

Once dbrand became directly involved, the situation moved faster in a matter of hours than it had in days of communication with the shipping companies. The carrier was contacted, cancellation of the shipment was confirmed, and a replacement order was arranged via a different shipping method.

Despite this, despite my efforts, despite Aramex's involvement, and despite the sender stepping in and requesting return of the shipment, the matter appeared to continue down the same path.

The situation escalated further when I received communications referencing State Warehouse surrender, possible customs penalties, storage fees, and retrieval fees if the shipment was not cleared. As a consumer, receiving emails of this nature is understandably concerning.

After conducting my own research, I discovered that while State Warehouse procedures, storage charges, and certain customs penalties are real concepts, the way these were communicated felt highly coercive. The wording appeared to bundle multiple separate legal and administrative concepts into a single warning that gave the impression that severe consequences would automatically follow if payment was not made.

To this day, I still do not have a clear understanding of why UPS became involved in what I understood to be an Aramex shipment, or why a second shipment was able to proceed through the customs process without the same level of complication.

What frustrates me most about this experience is not the existence of customs procedures, duties, or even courier fees. What frustrates me is that as a customer I was left trying to piece together the situation myself while receiving very little meaningful guidance from the parties responsible for moving the shipment.

Good customer service is not simply sending an invoice and requesting payment. Good customer service is helping customers understand what is happening, what options they have, and how a problem can be resolved.

In my experience, that did not happen here.

I hope UPS South Africa takes this feedback seriously. Better communication, clearer explanations, and a genuine effort to assist customers would have prevented this situation from becoming the unnecessarily frustrating experience that it became.