At the end of September this year, UPS brought in a “shipping charge correction audit fee”. We know, it’s really catchy.
So – what does it actually mean, and how can you avoid being charged? In this blog, we’re going to describe what the fees are, the conditions from UPS, and how you can keep your shipment from facing a penalty charge.
Tell us about the fee
UPS has apparently introduced the fee to “continuously invest in enhancing service levels”. Their words, not ours. Basically, if you make an error, you pay the fee.
The fee will be charged in one of two ways. Either it’s charged at 1,65 USD per shipment (or local currency equivalent) or it’s calculated as 8% of the total amount of shipping charge corrections, whichever is greater. Nice!
This fee will only apply if the shipping charge correction is greater than 25% of the original net revenue. This is based on freight transportation revenue only, excluding all accessorials (which include fuel, as an example).
The fees are applied to domestic, export and import shipments that have discrepancies in billed weight. It’s calculated per account number, and will be billed directly to the shipper. The subsequent penalty charges will then appear in the following invoice.
Never has it ever been more important to get your figures right the first time (or work with a logistics partner who has this down to a fine art).
How can you avoid a shipping charge correction?
Now this is the part that you’ve all been waiting for! Of course, the most straightforward response would be “make sure you check your figures before sending the shipment”, but we’re Smart Directions, not “obvious instructions”. So we’re going to paraphrase UPS’ own guidance to lend you a hand (or encourage you to pick up the phone!)
- Enter the accurate shipment details when you create the shipment. We do this on behalf of our clients, removing the stress from making a mistake
- Remember, the correction is evaluated on the billable weight only. The actual weight is the package weight rounded up to the next half kilogram. (not sure how this impacts your entry? Give us a call and we’ll explain)
- Use any standard scale, and round up any fractions of a weight to the next half kilogram (for Express Services) or the next kilogram (for UPS Standard and Expedited services) when entering the parcel weight into your shipping system. THEN, compare this figure to the dimensional weight. Again, we can help you to calculate this if you need a hand
- Always refer to the shipment size and weight page on the UPS website to make sure you have all the information you need to get it right first time
Who you gonna call?
Charges like this are an absolute headache, and the less you have to manage, the better. While our team is on hand to provide support and guidance on following the rules and reducing the possibility of being charged, it might be time to consider a third party logistics partner to take the stress and hassle out of doing this yourself. Want to know more? Call us on 01442 507240 or contact us here.