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Handymail Rip Off


Mainecoons

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I just went to Sol y Luna and should you mention that there is a check included that they needed a copy of it.  So I guess if you say nothing, no problem. I needed to send a check up North at the first of the month, but darn I can't find my check book. No problem I will be there by the end of the year and the person expecting the $1,650 dollar check said no problem if he doesn't get it as soon as originally expected

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4 hours ago, Mainecoons said:

The "someone" sprung it on their members with no notice whatsoever.  It has nothing to do with the $10K limit as there are no laws other than that and no taxes/government fees involved in handling less than that amount.  Handymail isn't DHL or FedEx by a long shot.  They just take your mail to a U.S. Post Office and they sure aren't speedy about it.  Don't confuse Handymail with door to door courier services.

Disclosing in advance a major policy change like this as they have with everything else would make it not a ripoff IMO.  "Everyone else" may be checking the size of the amount but they aren't trying to get hundreds of pesos out of you without prior notice simply for mailing a bank deposit of funds that never actually left the U.S. to begin with.

I might add that HandyMail advertised the handling of northbound mail at a set cost as one of the services we pay them for in our annual fee, which runs more than $20 U.S. per month.  Without notice they basically have changed a service we have already paid them for in advance and tried to get nearly $50 U.S. from us simply for returning to the U.S. a bank deposit of a U.S. check that was never cashed in Mexico to begin with. 

Call it what you like.  That's my label for it and I'm sticking to it.   BTW I sent them an email about this and they offered no response or explanation for this change or how they handled it.

 

Really don't mean to be argumentative.     Yes Handymail does get your letter to a U.S. Post Office.. But how?? They send your letter with other letters using FedEx to get those letters to a from here to a U.S. Post office. Therefore the FedEx rules do apply.

 

Handymail has sent me more than one email regarding sending monetary instruments to the USA in the past few years. Perhaps you did not receive those emails.

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I too had received information via email about the above. I would be shocked though if I were told I had to pay such a large additional  amount of $733 pesos  to send my check which was quite large but less than $10,000.

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1 hour ago, johanson said:

I just went to Sol y Luna and should you mention that there is a check included that they needed a copy of it.  So I guess if you say nothing, no problem. I needed to send a check up North at the first of the month, but darn I can't find my check book. No problem I will be there by the end of the year and the person expecting the $1,650 dollar check said no problem if he doesn't get it as soon as originally expected

If you are sending money to another person, just use your bank's bill pay (it can be a person, doesn't have to be a business).  MC and I are talking about depositing paper checks we received from others to our US accts.  

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23 minutes ago, ibarra said:

Perhaps discussing a grievance with the owner would have been more beneficial than airing the problem on this board. As it now stands, there has possibly been defamation to a business without them having the benefit of justifying their actions.

That's... how do I put this politely... ridiculous.

And if a business is charging two or three times or more than other businesses providing the same service, it is a ripoff, and I for one am glad to be forewarned by MC. And now the rest of us won't get ripped off.

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Quote

Definition of defamation

law
: the act of communicating false statements about a person that injure the reputation of that person : the act of defaming another.
 
Merriam Webster on line dictionary.

Note the bolded and underlined word above.  You don't defame anyone by reporting factual information, Ibarra.

Owner was sent an email and did not respond.  They have had ample opportunity to do so.

They can charge whatever they want but when they take my money for a year's mail service that includes carrying first class mail back to the U.S. I expect them to honor the terms of service I bought from them for that year.  And for a substantive change like this, I expect to get an email.  They sent us an email when they increased the cost of that service to 20 pesos and they sent us an email to remind us only one family per mail box.

Any other questions?

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My understanding is that cash, (checks?) over $10,000 USD must be declared when crossing any border in North America and Europe (probably other borders worldwide?).  It's a money laundering thing.  Years ago, I once had to hand carry an amount just over this threshold into the U.S. when my father died in England.  I declared it at customs and they had me fill out a simple form and sign it.  No problems.  No cost. They didn't even want see the cash I had.

Seems to me like Handy Mail could be looking for a fee for having to fill out this simple US Customs form!

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I don't have a dog in this hunt, but I think that Pete has said (twice) that Handy Mail has in past years told him about this requirement. Maybe if one has never tried to send said checks it might not have come up before. But how does something that has been a policy for years suddenly become a ripoff?  Am I missing something?

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I also sense that there's missing information here and a misunderstanding. Personally, if I have important ANYTHING to send, I want to be able to track it and see that it arrived at its destination. That costs money. If the cheque amount, in question, is limited to a maximum of $10,000.00 PER FEDEX PACKAGE, then perhaps it required its very own package. What about insurance? Does FedEx now require insurance on said cheque to cover their butts? These are questions that have popped into my head and I do know that a lot of changes took place to FedEx in 2016. The mystery continues.

 

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When any of these services - or any individual - takes money or a "negotiable instrument" (a check, for example) across the U.S./Mexico border in either direction they must declare if they are transporting over $10,000 USD or equivalent. Look at the customs forms you complete going in either direction. The person or business transporting those funds much declare the amount if it is over $10,000 USD. You can transport more but you absolutely must declare it. If not the funds are subject to confiscation and the person or business is subject to a fine. 

I personally wouldn't carry anything for anyone across the border in either direction without knowing what it is. People and business do so all the time and almost always get away with it. But they do face some serious consequences if something goes wrong. If "getting away with it" works for you then go for it.

For a while HandyMail had a policy that they would not accept mail containing a check of any size. That was after the problem they had that was mentioned above. Certainly sounds like a reasonable response and absolutely no doubt that they have every right to set any policy the want and to charge whatever they want for any service they provide. And they can change their terms, services and prices any time they want to. Just like any other business. When HandyMail or anyone else takes things to the border and "imports" it into the U.S. so they can take it to a Post Office on the U.S. side they  REALLY are importing it. Pretty black and white.

If you took some mail NOB for someone and there was a big check that got confiscated then would you reimburse the person who asked you to carry the check - and also pay the fine? Even if you didn't know you were carrying it?

I'm not sure what anyone that is up in arms about this expects. No "advanced warning"? Blindsided? So HandyMail should send out a notification to everyone that might ever use any of their services just in case I might want to use them someday and wouldn't want to be "blindsided". Wow!!! Just plain silly. How on earth were you so irreparably damaged and personally offended by being quoted a price you didn't like?

When you go into any business and ask them to do something or to sell you something they tell you how much it will cost. At that point - and only at that point - you have the option of saying "okay" or saying "no thank you". Seems REALLY easy and straightforward. They can't rip you off whether you say okay or no thanks. Just walk away if the deal doesn't work for you. If you say yes they didn't rip you off - you had a choice.  If you went in and said you wanted them to do something for you and you would pay them $10 pesos and they said "no thanks" would you be ripping them off?

Let me throw out another scenario. HandyMail charges you a fee - one that you like better or even the "exorbitant" amount they quoted you. They ignore the possibility that the funds can be at risk and just throw tour check in a bag along with other mail that happens to contain checks and get that bag to the border - in an hour, a day, a week or a month. At the border the bag is opened, the funds are discovered, they are confiscated and HandyMail gets a big fine. Would you expect HandyMail to cover your lost money? Would it be reasonable to expect them to just eat the fine?

Much ado about nothing! If you don't like the price then make other arrangements. Using terms like RIPOFF is really inappropriate and offensive. I personally think HandyMail deserves praise for protecting us from ourselves. I personally wouldn't use anyone that didn't take this seriously - and they get to charge what they want for providing this service. And I get to say okay or no thanks.

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2 hours ago, REC said:

When any of these services - or any individual - takes money or a "negotiable instrument" (a check, for example) across the U.S./Mexico border in either direction they must declare if they are transporting over $10,000 USD or equivalent. Look at the customs forms you complete going in either direction. The person or business transporting those funds much declare the amount if it is over $10,000 USD. You can transport more but you absolutely must declare it. If not the funds are subject to confiscation and the person or business is subject to a fine. 

IRRELEVANT, ALREADY STATED CHECK WAS UNDER $10k

I personally wouldn't carry anything for anyone across the border in either direction without knowing what it is. People in business do so all the time and almost always get away with it. But they do face some serious consequences if something goes wrong. If "getting away with it" works for you then go for it.

ALSO IRRELEVANT FOR REASON STATED ABOVE.

For a while HandyMail had a policIy that they would not accept mail containing a check of any size. That was after the problem they had that was mentioned above. Certainly sounds like a reasonable response and absolutely no doubt that they have every right to set any policy the want and to charge whatever they want for any service they provide. And they can change their terms, services and prices any time they want to. Just like any other business. When HandyMail or anyone else takes things to the border and "imports" it into the U.S. so they can take it to a Post Office on the U.S. side they  REALLY are importing it. Pretty black and white.

YES THEY CAN AND WHEN THEY DO THEY NOTIFY THEIR CUSTOMERS BY EMAIL.  WHY NOT THIS TIME?  MAYBE BECAUSE THERE IS NO LEGAL REASON FOR CHARGING A FAT FEE FOR CARRYING A LEGAL CHECK.

If you took some mail NOB for someone and there was a big check that got confiscated then would you reimburse the person who asked you to carry the check - and also pay the fine? Even if you didn't know you were carrying it?

CHECKS CAN BE VOIDED AND REPLACED.  HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.  HANDYMAIL ISN'T DELIVERING THE CHECK.  THEY ARE SIMPLY TAKING IT TO THE POST OFFICE.  WHAT HAPPENS IF THE POST OFFICE LOSES IT?  SEE FIRST SENTENCE.  HANDYMAIL IS NOT A DOOR TO DOOR COURIER SERVICE BUT THEY THINK THEY CAN CHARGE LIKE THEY ARE ONE. 

AND YOU CONTINUE TO REPEAT YOUR RED HERRING SINCE THIS DISCUSSION IS NOT ABOUT CHECKS OVER THE LEGAL $10K LIMIT.  THERE IS NO REASON TO EXPECT A LEGAL CHECK TO GET CONFISCATED.  IRRELEVANT ARGUMENT.

BTW, PEOPLE CARRY MAIL OUT FOR OTHERS ALL THE TIME, BOTH LCS AND AMERICAN LEGION HAVE VOLUNTEER SERVICES THAT DO THIS.

I'm not sure what anyone that is up in arms about this expects. No "advanced warning"? Blindsided? So HandyMail should send out a notification to everyone that might ever use any of their services just in case I might want to use them someday and wouldn't want to be "blindsided". Wow!!! Just plain silly. How on earth were you so irreparably damaged and personally offended by being quoted a price you didn't like?

YES, IN THE PAST WHEN HANDYMAIL HAS CHANGED POLICIES THEY SEND OUT AN EMAIL  THEY HAVE EVERYONE'S EMAIL ADDRESS AS THAT IS HOW THEY NOTIFY CUSTOMERS THERE IS MAIL.  IT DOESNT APPEAR YOU ARE A HANDYMAIL CUSTOMER SINCE YOU DON'T SEEM TO KNOW HOW THEY HAVE OPERATED IN THE PAST.  RESPECTFULLY IF YOU ARE NOT THEN YOU SHOULD PROBABLY AVOID DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AND PONTIFICATING ON SAME.  IF YOU ARE THEN PERHAPS YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT THEY HAVE OPERATED THIS WAY CONSISTENTLY IN THE PAST.

When you go into any business and ask them to do something or to sell you something they tell you how much it will cost. At that point - and only at that point - you have the option of saying "okay" or saying "no thank you". Seems REALLY easy and straightforward. They can't rip you off whether you say okay or no thanks. Just walk away if the deal doesn't work for you. If you say yes they didn't rip you off - you had a choice.  If you went in and said you wanted them to do something for you and you would pay them $10 pesos and they said "no thanks" would you be ripping them off?

IF YOU DON'T KNOW THERE IS ALL THE SUDDEN SUCH A CHARGE WHEN YOU WALK IN THE DOOR ONE DAY AND YOU HAVE A REASONABLE EXPECTATION THEY WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE YOU PAID THEM IN ADVANCE FOR THEN YOU ARE LIKELY TO HAVE PREPARED THE MAILING AND ASSUMED IT WOULD GO THROUGH.  YOUR EXAMPLE IS NONSENSE.

Let me throw out another scenario. HandyMail charges you a fee - one that you like better or even the "exorbitant" amount they quoted you. They ignore the possibility that the funds can be at risk and just throw tour check in a bag along with other mail that happens to contain checks and get that bag to the border - in an hour, a day, a week or a month. At the border the bag is opened, the funds are discovered, they are confiscated and HandyMail gets a big fine. Would you expect HandyMail to cover your lost money? Would it be reasonable to expect them to just eat the fine?

THE CHECK WOULDN'T BE CONFISCATED SINCE IT WAS LEGAL.  WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO THROW OUT THAT RED HERRING?  MAYBE BECAUSE YOUR ARGUMENTS ARE NOT BASED ON THE ACTUAL SITUATION BECAUSE IF THEY WERE THEY WOULD BE OBVIOUSLY INCORRECT.

Much ado about nothing! If you don't like the price then make other arrangements. Using terms like RIPOFF is really inappropriate and offensive. I personally think HandyMail deserves praise for protecting us from ourselves. I personally wouldn't use anyone that didn't take this seriously - and they get to charge what they want for providing this service. And I get to say okay or no thanks.

YOU OPINION.  MY OPINION IS THAT SPRINGING SOMETHING LIKE THIS ON YOUR CUSTOMERS WITHOUT NOTICE BY EMAIL AS IS HANDYMAIL'S CONSISTENTLY FOLLOWED PROCESS AND THEN TRYING TO CHARGE A FAT FEE THAT IS NOT REQUIRED BY ANY GOVERNMENT ENTITITY WHEN MAIL CONTAINING LEGAL CHECKS IS SENT IS A RIPOFF.   

YOU ARE ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION AND I AM ENTITLED TO MINE.  YOUR ARGUMENT DOESN'T WASH BECAUSE (1)IT IS BASED ON A PRETEXT OF LEGAL CONCERN THAT ISN'T THE CASE HERE; (2), YOU DON'T APPEAR TO KNOW THIS BUSINESS NOT ONLY USES EMAIL TO ADVISE THAT MAIL HAS ARRIVED BUT ALSO TO NOTIFY CUSTOMERS OF EVEN MINOR POLICY OR CHARGE CHANGES; (3), IF THERE WAS IN FACT ANY LEGAL  BASIS FOR THIS THEIR COMPETITION WOULD BE DOING LIKEWISE.  IN FACT AS NOTED IN THIS THREAD THEIR COMPETITION DOES NOT.

I FIND IT INAPPROPRIATE AND OFFENSIVE TO POSE FALSE AND MISLEADING ARGUMENTS AS YOU HAVE DONE HERE.  THE FACTS ARE (1), THERE IS NO LEGAL BASIS FOR CONCERN IF CHECKS ARE UNDER $10K;, (2) THERE IS NO GOVERNMENT FEE OR TAX ASSOCIATED WITH SENDING SAID LEGAL CHECKS; AND (3) THIS BUSINESS TOUTS AND CONTINUES TO TOUT AND CLAIM (IN A RECENT EMAIL JUSTIFYING THEIR ONE ADDRESS PER BOX POLICY) THEIR CARRYING OF STAMPED LEGAL MAIL TO THE U.S. POST OFFICE IN LAREDO FOR THE CHARGE OF 20 PESOS.  IN THAT EMAIL AND SUBSEQUENT THERE HAS BEEN NO MENTION OF THIS NEW POLICY AND ITS CHARGES.

I POSTED THIS THREAD SO THAT OTHER HANDYMAIL CUSTOMERS WOULD NOT BE BLINDSIDED BY THIS UNANNOUNCED POLICY CHANGE.  IF YOU ARE NOT A HANDYMAIL CUSTOMER THIS THREAD IS OBVIOUSLY NOT APPLICABLE TO YOU.

 

 

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Handymail received a very large fine for sending too much $$ over the border not too long ago. There are new regulations which have to do with money laundering, I do not know the exact details. Hopefully Gudrun Jones or her partner at Handymail will clarify this here in the near future. I believe she is in the states currently, perhaps when she returns. 

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I am sure that I will regret replying to this topic but here goes.  HandyMail has told us repeated;y that they use FedEx to send our mail across the border (not a local driver). The amount of YOUR check doesn't matter--it is the total of "money" by the over reaching US government that determines what happens if the total exceeds the $10,000 amount. For them HM to have not told you the charges upfront is unforgivable but since they incurred such a large fine previously I can imagine why they are now protective.  Many of us can share other outrageous stories of the other mail services charging us outrageous "customs" or handling charges. I think it is time to give it all a rest and move on. Change companies and I hope you are happier with your choice.

Folks that very  kindly carry our mail into the US from LCS or the Legion are putting themselves in potential jeopardy.  Have you ever read the statements we so quickly answer on our US customs forms?  As a 38 year international  flight attendant coming through US customs 3-6 times a month I will NEVER take an envelope across the border from someone I don't know.

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The OP must be right. BOLD and ALL CAPS prove it! And he even knows whether I am a HandyMail customer or not. Or if I have ever sent a check to the U.S. from here or not. Or if I know whether HandyMail sends out notices by email. Or if the reason the HandyMail has made  changes is based on a legal requirement or a business decision - or both. Or if any other option/company charges more than $20 pesos or not.

I'm with you mexilady. I'm done.

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Sorry REC but apparently just simply stating the facts of the case wasn't sufficient to avoid speculation based on irrelevancies and outright erroneous statements and endless conjecture on the part of you and several others.  It appeared necessary to make it "loud" enough for the message to be gotten.  As for you being a Handymail customer, based on your apparent ignorance of their past and consistent notification practices and that little dance around that question in your last post, I rather doubt it.  :)

Mexilady,  much of your post is concerning an  irrelevancy as the issue here is not and has not been checks over the $10K amount.  Nor is the topic here about volunteers who carry mail back.  Your point is well taken, there is a potential liability for those volunteers but in any case this topic had nothing to do with volunteer mail carriers.  That's a different topic, perhaps a new thread should be started to discuss it. 

For certain, one should make sure they know what is in an envelope before volunteering to carry it out.

Handymail are not amateur volunteers, they are a mail service business that charges a fee for this service and now apparently without prior notice they have decided to charge a very fat fee indeed.  If in fact they ran afoul of some legal requirement and had to pay a fine I can understand and support the need for full disclosure up front.

However, since there are no government fees or paperwork requirements for checks UNDER the legal limit so, no, I don't understand the demand of over 740 Pesos once the check is confirmed as under the limit.  I believe they owe their customers an explanation for these charges and an apology for their failure to disclose this policy in writing and up front as they have with other policy changes very consistently in the past.

The purpose of this thread was to warn other Handymail customers of a new, previously unannounced policy of Handymail (apparently alone among mail service providers here at this time) that they are going to do the following, with no prior notice.

1.  When using their "20 Peso" return mail to a U.S. Post Office service, you are required to disclose if there is a check in the envelope.

2.  If you reply in the affirmative, regardless of whether the check is under the legal limit of $10,000, they will demand you open your sealed mail and show them the check.

3.  They will then demand to make a copy of the check "for our records."

4.  They then will demand what in our case was a rather substantial fee, over 740 Pesos to forward our mail to the Post Office although their only previously announced policy for return mail is the 20 Peso charge.  Note that there is no legal requirement for disclosure or fees attached by either the U.S. or Mexican government for checks under the amount of $10,000.

Obviously, Handymail customers should be aware of this unannounced practice and avoid sending checks of any amount through this "service."  If one is forewarned one has the opportunity to find alternate means.  If in fact all of this is caused by new (since using FedEx is not new for Handymail) FedEx requirements, Handymail should have just stated so up front.

If they feel the need to institute a "no checks in return mail" policy because of problems and/or fines they have encountered at the border I don't have a problem with that at all.  What I have a problem with is being surprised when walking in the door there of a major and potentially costly policy change like the one we encountered.

As regarding those alternate means, be aware that at least in our case we could not use the electronic deposit because our banks will not accept same over $5000.  Normally we are able to use the electronic option but in this case we could not.  There seems to be a growing problem with U.S. banks regarding many cross border financial transactions.

As the thread starter I am exercising the right we all have here to have threads we start closed when they go seriously astray as this one did.  

 

 

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