I ordered 1 bottle of FP & LC on June 11,2005. The whole experience has been a disaster. It was supposed to be by FED EX GROUND. Around June 19 I called Lube Control to inquire the whereabouts of my shipment only to be told that they had neglected to ship it yet - they said they are using a new software program and it (my order) had slipped through the cracks. They said they would re-ship it the next day. On June 30, I called FED EX to see what was taking so long and they told me that the shipment was damaged and would have to return it to LUBE CONTROL in the usa! I do realize that any company can make a mistake. What annoys me is the lack of communication from lube control. FED EX just sent me a canadian customs bill for $25.00 that I am trying to explain that I did not receive. I,ve ordered from AUTO RX many times and these guys are very reliable with Canadian shipping.
LC & FP shipping problems to Canada.
- Thread starter airbus
- Start date
- Status
Airbus,
We are sorry for the shipping issues. We had been shipping to Canada via Global Express and when our software switch took place it switched back to FedEx ground and we did not realize it was going to do that so yes your order was overlooked. (which we will soon be changing back to Global Express).
We resent you 2 free quarts as an apology...did you ever get those?
Do not pay the fedex bill. It will come back to us and we will deal with them.
We are sorry for the shipping issues. We had been shipping to Canada via Global Express and when our software switch took place it switched back to FedEx ground and we did not realize it was going to do that so yes your order was overlooked. (which we will soon be changing back to Global Express).
We resent you 2 free quarts as an apology...did you ever get those?
Do not pay the fedex bill. It will come back to us and we will deal with them.
No,I haven't received anything yet.
Airbus
Don't worry, the lube control guys will take care of you.
My first order of LC20 and FP60 last year got lost for weeks by the courier company retained in Canada to make final deliver in behalf of USPS and arrived partially munched. LCD sent me a replacement right away.
I recently ordered 2 more gallons of FP60, and whatever new shipping arrangements were - WOW- it worked out well for me. Took less than a week including the whole holiday weekend.
Its true that shipping to Canada can be fraught with problems, but I have found it is rarely the shipper's fault. The issues are usually caused by in reverse order of precedence:
Couriers subcontracted within Canada
Canada Customs
UPS
Its reasonable to give feedback on shipping that can help US vendors serve the Canadian market - lord knows Canadian vendors will not - but hey work with them. For example I am sure that UPS is perfectly okay for domestic shipments but as soon as the border gets involved - man they suck. Vendors used to shipping within the US may not have this experience.
(well not really off topic but it does descend into a bit of a screed)
I get something shipped from the US about once a week. Not for any commercial enterprise, just because I can get choice and selection and knowledge and service that I cannot find locally. So I have fair amount of experience with cross border courier service.
I just got a shipment from a non BITOG sponsor via UPS that the brokerage charges imposed (on top of tax and duties) was 75% of the original cost of the shipment. (over $30 on a $42 purchase) Again the vendor has no knowledge of this nless we tell them constructively "Hey- just put it in the mail." By contrast I have often been charged a flat fee of less than $10 by Fedex.
FedEx unfortunately is a mixed bag. Their Air service is unmatched. I consistently find them more reliable faster and cheaper than any alternative. Too bad that FedEx ground is a totally different animal. Still not integrated in the same systems as FedEx.
None of these things can compare to the worst courier on the face of the earth: Purolator. No not the oil filter manufacturer, but a lame canadian courier that has survived charging more than fedex for unbelievably lame service only because they have secured a bunch of government and public sector contracts due to being Canadian owned. My average experience with using their overnight service was 6 days, and they charged about 20% more than Fedex did for overnight. Truly unbelievable. They make one attempt to deliver in which case they often don't even ring the bell if they see its a residence, and then tell you to drive 15 miles out to the burbs before 5:00 to pick up your package. Hey if I wanted to pick it up I would have... Oh whatever. Best of all they return to sender after 5 days.
In general I would rate the Service I have received in order as:
1. FedEx Air. The undisputed champeeeeen.
2. US Postal Service super duper fancy service.
3. US Postal Service regular normal parcel mail
4. FedEx Ground
5. Loomis, DHL etc
6. UPS.
7. A crack addict on a roadtrip with a meth head volunteering to drop off your package on the way.
93. Purolator
Don't worry, the lube control guys will take care of you.
My first order of LC20 and FP60 last year got lost for weeks by the courier company retained in Canada to make final deliver in behalf of USPS and arrived partially munched. LCD sent me a replacement right away.
I recently ordered 2 more gallons of FP60, and whatever new shipping arrangements were - WOW- it worked out well for me. Took less than a week including the whole holiday weekend.
Its true that shipping to Canada can be fraught with problems, but I have found it is rarely the shipper's fault. The issues are usually caused by in reverse order of precedence:
Couriers subcontracted within Canada
Canada Customs
UPS
Its reasonable to give feedback on shipping that can help US vendors serve the Canadian market - lord knows Canadian vendors will not - but hey work with them. For example I am sure that UPS is perfectly okay for domestic shipments but as soon as the border gets involved - man they suck. Vendors used to shipping within the US may not have this experience.
I get something shipped from the US about once a week. Not for any commercial enterprise, just because I can get choice and selection and knowledge and service that I cannot find locally. So I have fair amount of experience with cross border courier service.
I just got a shipment from a non BITOG sponsor via UPS that the brokerage charges imposed (on top of tax and duties) was 75% of the original cost of the shipment. (over $30 on a $42 purchase) Again the vendor has no knowledge of this nless we tell them constructively "Hey- just put it in the mail." By contrast I have often been charged a flat fee of less than $10 by Fedex.
FedEx unfortunately is a mixed bag. Their Air service is unmatched. I consistently find them more reliable faster and cheaper than any alternative. Too bad that FedEx ground is a totally different animal. Still not integrated in the same systems as FedEx.
None of these things can compare to the worst courier on the face of the earth: Purolator. No not the oil filter manufacturer, but a lame canadian courier that has survived charging more than fedex for unbelievably lame service only because they have secured a bunch of government and public sector contracts due to being Canadian owned. My average experience with using their overnight service was 6 days, and they charged about 20% more than Fedex did for overnight. Truly unbelievable. They make one attempt to deliver in which case they often don't even ring the bell if they see its a residence, and then tell you to drive 15 miles out to the burbs before 5:00 to pick up your package. Hey if I wanted to pick it up I would have... Oh whatever. Best of all they return to sender after 5 days.
In general I would rate the Service I have received in order as:
1. FedEx Air. The undisputed champeeeeen.
2. US Postal Service super duper fancy service.
3. US Postal Service regular normal parcel mail
4. FedEx Ground
5. Loomis, DHL etc
6. UPS.
7. A crack addict on a roadtrip with a meth head volunteering to drop off your package on the way.
93. Purolator
peterr...we probably shipped Global Express as that is the best way, but with the new software we did not realize Canadian orders were now being processed as FedEX ground. We are trying to get it fixed to go back with Global EXpress.
Help us get a distributor in Canada and we are set!
Help us get a distributor in Canada and we are set!
Hey my father was an engineer for a petrochemical firm for 35 years maybe I can find someone here!
Honestly though I find that buying stuff from US vendors is fine. Shipping is always going to be an issue for any residential delivery, but there is a differnce in how couriers treat service and brokerage fees.
To be clear about this I have been really happy with the Service from LCD in my purchase of LC20 and FP60. The first shipment experienced problems through no fault of the vendor, and LCD quickly replaced the damaged piece. They corresponded with me on multiple occasions to resolve and monitor the situation. My second order two weeks ago was trouble free and amazingly prompt.
Everybody who reads this forum knows the esteem in which the LC20 and FP60 products are held. LCD as a company matches that. Muy advice to airbus is that he feel comfortable knowing this will be resolved.
I just looked at my recent waybill and it was Fedex Ground. It took only 4 business days to get from Texas to Toronto and that was over the July 4th timeframe so not all of those business days were necessarily what one would expect to be the most productive. I mean, is everybody really working at 100% on July 5?
Fedex Ground is usally quite good for me on service. It looks like they just billed me for CDN taxes on this (15%) plus a $5 flat fee for customs brokerage. Global EMS has also been good. My recent AutoRX order went through that system quickly and cheaply.
My most recent UPS shipment (also from a company in Texas - a perfectly reliable vendor but not a BITOG sponsor) shipped via UPS and while the value was half that of my LCD or AutoRX Order, the total charges were more than charges on both of those shipments combined.
The taxes charged are generally the same per CDN tax grab law. The difference is brokerage and handling fees , which if I recall correctly were:
$5 on a shipment of $55 by Fedex Ground
$8 on a shipment of $72 by Global EMS
$31.14 on a shipment of $42 by UPS
Yikes I just lloked at a bill for another shipment from California I received via UPS in early July. $96 of merchandise. $38.40 in brokerage charges. Taxes on top of that.
Just as an FYI to American vendors selling to Canada, UPS ends up costing more than any other option.
This probably does not apply to items as heavy as a gallon of FP60, but I have also been surprised at how often the Fedex Air option is quite affordable and worth investigating. In many cases I would take the option topay twice as much for shipping via Fedex air as it will be cheaper in the long run.
It simply amazes me that in this modern age there are still MAJOR transborder shipping problems. Peterr,your having much better luck than I am. I haven't even received the second lube control shipment (free). The second shipment was placed 12 days ago. This is one major problem for us Canadians up here.
Peterr,it's illegal to ship certain products by air (FP60) due to safety reasons. They are considered unfit for air travel due to their extreme volatility.
I stand corrected.
Agreed but honestly most of the blame for this lies with Canada customs decision to impose taxes on every courier or parcel shipment (June 1999ish?). While i can understand that they thought they were missing revenue, it did several really bad things that are much worse than paying an extra 15% for taxes:
1. Introduced massive delays. I routinely get shipments that took 2days to get clear across the USA. Took 1 day to get to me once in Canada, but spent 5 days waiting to clear customs.
2. Introduced an element that was not part of existing courier business. If you are trying to be the best courier you can be, you are concentrating on thngs like efficient hub distribution, package tracking etc. Not customs. So they were thrown for a loop and reacted differnetly. Some outsourced the brokerage, with some nasty results. I inadvertantly have accounts with two customs brokerage firms simply because my courier shipments got outsourced to them. I am sure they are good at what they do, which is primarily working with big shipments of high value, but since their core business is not $20 parcel mail packages, things get weird. Like $30 brokerage fees on a $20 shipment.
Again I think its really good for us to inform US vendors of the specific implications of CDN shipments and the relative merits of various couriers. Many vendors have accounts with more than one shipper and just being given the opportunity to choose can be helpful. But fundamentally, most of the problems with shipping are caused by courier's attempts to comply with customs demands. (coming in to canada its taxes and going back to the US its security).
We can help vendors deal with our specific geography issues but the real problems are problems caused by other forces which negatively affect both Vendor and Buyer.
At least with a reputable firm like LCD you can be confident they will take care of you.
Patman
Staff member
I've always recieved my Fuel Power promptly and without any problems whatsoever.
- Status
