2006-02-06|Canada Post's Purolator International

To whom it may concern

First of all, please understand that I would like to continue using Canada Post as my primary delivery service provider. Since late 2005, I have used the Electronic Shipping Tools (web version) on the On-line Business Centre (OBC) website of Canada Post. It had been working OK, but I identified a few problems, so I forwarded my comments for improvement to Canada Post [Case tracking number: 3400591]. Although some problems have already been resolved, the major issue of including the state abbreviation to the list of states has not been done.

Once I log in to the On-line Business Centre (OBC), I click on Electronic Shipping Tools to print a mailing label to the U.S.A. There is a pop-up menu listing all the states in the U.S.A. The states are listed by names only. However, I am given only the 2-letter abbreviation code in most cases. I am pretty good at American geography, but I made a big mistake yesterday selecting "Montana" for "MO". It turned out, after I printed out the expensive label, that "MO" stands for "Missouri". So, please consider adding the 2-letter abbreviation code to the list of states, e.g., "Montana (MT)", "Missouri (MO)", etc.

I had an absolutely horrific and extremely unpleasant experience with Canada Post lately [Case tracking number: 3507772].
On 2006-01-17, I had an urgent shipment to send to the U.S.A. So, I picked "Purolator International" on the Electronic Shipping Tools, selected "FL" as the destination, and paid the fee of $54.28 CAD. The first problem was that the PDF file contained 4 pages, and I did not know which one to affix to the package, unlike a "Small Packet" which prints out only 1 page. I taped the first page to the package, and I hand-delivered the package to a Canada Post outlet in Gatineau, QC, Canada. The package was accepted as is by the staff.
I wanted to trace the package myself on the Canada Post website. Unlike the FedEx and U.P.S. websites, the package did not show up for a long time. Also, I did not know which tracking number to enter because there are so many numbers on the printed label (NC241212552CA, 7241212554, 0007081232, etc.). Later, I was told that it may take up to 48 hours for the package to show up on the tracking system, and that there is one tracking number for Canada Post, and another for Purolator, for the same package.
On 2006-01-19, I telephoned Canada Post to inquire about the status because the package had still not shown up on the Canada Post website. I was told that I was using the wrong tracking number. So, I went to the Purolator website, and found my package on their tracking system. Although the expected delivery time was 1 day from Ottawa, ON, to Florida, it was still shown to be at the Customs in Canada.
At this point, I panicked and called up the Purolator Customer Support. They have a "Comment" field which they can see, but not me. I was told that the Commercial Invoice was missing. I followed their instruction to download a Commercial Invoice form at the Purolator website and FAX it to <fax:+1-613-521-0151>, which I immediately did. The Canada Post website did not tell me to include a Commercial Invoice.
I was also told that I should have included all 4 pages of the printed labels. The Canada Post website did not tell me to include all 4 pages of the printed labels. I was instructed to go to the Canada Post outlet to receive a FREE transparent envelope to include the 4 labels. When I went to one Canada Post franchise, the staff said that there is no such thing. So, I went to another Canada Post franchise, and I was told yet again that there is no such thing.
On 2006-01-20, I called up the Purolator Customer Support to confirm that they had received my FAX. They told me that I used the wrong FAX number, which the Purolator Customer Support themselves had given me the previous day. So, I immediately sent the missing Commercial Invoice to the correct FAX number <fax:+1-613-738-2850> for the Ottawa Depot on Hawthorne Avenue in Ottawa, ON, Canada. I wanted a confirmation, but Purolator Customer Service told me that there is no way for me to telephone the Ottawa Depot. I sent them another FAX again to request a confirmation of receipt of the FAX. I never received any confirmation from them.
On 2006-01-21, somebody from Peacebridge Brokers called me up to tell me that they received my FAX, but that they are not the ones to take care of the package with a missing Commercial Invoice. They said that they would forward my FAX to the proper authority. I do not know if it was done or not.
After the weekend on 2006-01-23, to my surprise, I found my package in the Super-Mailbox! This was 6 days after I hand-delivered the package to the Canada Post outlet. I immediately printed out the Commercial Invoice, and rushed to the same Canada Post outlet. They gave me the transparent envelope to enclose the 4 printed labels plus the Commercial Invoice. They accepted the package OK.
The next day on 2006-01-24, I was shocked to death to find my package yet again in the Super-Mailbox! I immediately telephoned the Purolator Customer Support. They told me that I should get a refund from Canada Post, and ship the package directly with Purolator which would dispatch a truck to pick it up. So, I telephoned Canada Post <tel:+1-866-511-0546> to cancel the shipment and to request a refund of $54.28 CAD. They told me that it would take 4 to 6 weeks for the cheque to arrive. The Canada Post staff with whom I talked on the telephone was aware of many problems with packages that go through Canada Post to Purolator
So, after 1 week, the urgent package was still in my hand, even though the expected delivery time for Purolator International to the U.S.A. is advertised to be 1 day. Please note that I am likely to continue using Canada Post for letters and small packets, but I will never use Purolator through Canada Post again. Instead, I will go directly a courier company.
On 2006-02-21, I finally received a refund cheque for $52.28 CAD from Canada Post, more than 1 month since the incident (2006-01-17). At least, the amount was correct.
Thank you very much for your attention.

Go to home page/Aller à la page d'accueil

Go to Weblog/Aller au Weblog

English / Français

Comments/Commentaire

"Sunatori, Go Simon" <GS.Sunatori@HyperInfo.CA>

[Donation/Don, SVP]

Produced in Canada./Produit au Canada.

ISBN 978-0-929105-04-8

2025-10-15T16:50:06.000Z