Recently the Post Office decided to implement a R24 customs clearance fee ( or handling fee some might call it ) on all small packets coming from overseas like China with CN22 numbers on them – regardless of the contents or the value.  Even thought this is apparently an old rule which was not properly implemented, it is something shockingly new to those members of the public regularly ordering small items online from China.

To make a long story short.

As a solution to this problem I suggest that the Post Office do the following:

Do not charge this fee for small packets ordered before the date the Post Ofice decided to enforce this rule. That the tellers at the Post Office ask the customer to provide proof of purchase to check the date. If the date is before the date this rule became newly enforced they do not charge the R24 fee. This way customers will be informed when next time they buy and know the price.

Now to elaborate as to why this would be fair:

I suggest the Post Office upper management, and whoever else is responsible for these decisions, put themselves in the shoes of the customers and have a bit of empathy.

Imagine you bought 40 small items for R20 each before this rule became newly enforced.  So you expect to pay R800 as usual, unaware of any extra fees because you never paid them and never even suspected they existed. Having not budgeted for this suddenly you have to pay 40 * R24 = R960 rand extra. So in total you pay more than double what the items are worth. Nothing of this being your fault, yet you have to pay R960 extra ? How would you feel ? It is simply unfair.

Fair would be to inform customers first about this fee they never paid, and then if they order things after that, let them pay.

If the suggested solution in the beginning of this article can not work, why not ? Where would the understanding and empathy and care towards one another be ? Lets work together to make South-Africa a better place. Do a little extra to create an atmosphere of peace, care and understanding towards one another.

Everyone is welcome to make comments here.