DHL Express Fuel Surcharge Rip Off of Millions of Customers Plantation Florida

I just had to respond when I saw the laughable comment about DHL showing their true costs to move a package. None of the consumer companies you deal with show you what they pay for a service or for a product. So why would DHL? That is rediculous to even make such a comment. Every single transportation company charges fuel. Truckers, Airlines, Steamshiplines. ALL OF THEM! So would you like DHL to move your packages at cost? For Free? Every company out there has a goal, and that is to make money...So if DHL is losing so much money, then how do you figure they are overcharging?

DHL E may be losing lots of $$$ here in the US for the time being, which is largely due to the Airborne aquisition. Inflated Profit reports before sale has taken its toll, but just as an FYI DHL Express is the #1 largest Small Package courier in the World, Over UPS and FED EX.

On another note DHL does operate their own equipment, yes they have contracted drivers, but DHL Express and DHL Aviation are two different entities. So the Foreign Airline rules apply to DHL Aviation. The big Yellow and Red planes are not owned by ABX.

Anyone who has ever shipped anything on a regular basis has had some issue or another, no matter who the carrier is......You can search on this site for the others and you will see the same types of complaints.

I just had to respond when I saw the laughable comment about DHL showing their true costs to move a package. None of the consumer companies you deal with show you what they pay for a service or for a product. So why would DHL? That is rediculous to even make such a comment. Every single transportation company charges fuel. Truckers, Airlines, Steamshiplines. ALL OF THEM! So would you like DHL to move your packages at cost? For Free? Every company out there has a goal, and that is to make money...So if DHL is losing so much money, then how do you figure they are overcharging?

DHL E may be losing lots of $$$ here in the US for the time being, which is largely due to the Airborne aquisition. Inflated Profit reports before sale has taken its toll, but just as an FYI DHL Express is the #1 largest Small Package courier in the World, Over UPS and FED EX.

On another note DHL does operate their own equipment, yes they have contracted drivers, but DHL Express and DHL Aviation are two different entities. So the Foreign Airline rules apply to DHL Aviation. The big Yellow and Red planes are not owned by ABX.

Anyone who has ever shipped anything on a regular basis has had some issue or another, no matter who the carrier is......You can search on this site for the others and you will see the same types of complaints.

I just had to respond when I saw the laughable comment about DHL showing their true costs to move a package. None of the consumer companies you deal with show you what they pay for a service or for a product. So why would DHL? That is rediculous to even make such a comment. Every single transportation company charges fuel. Truckers, Airlines, Steamshiplines. ALL OF THEM! So would you like DHL to move your packages at cost? For Free? Every company out there has a goal, and that is to make money...So if DHL is losing so much money, then how do you figure they are overcharging?

DHL E may be losing lots of $$$ here in the US for the time being, which is largely due to the Airborne aquisition. Inflated Profit reports before sale has taken its toll, but just as an FYI DHL Express is the #1 largest Small Package courier in the World, Over UPS and FED EX.

On another note DHL does operate their own equipment, yes they have contracted drivers, but DHL Express and DHL Aviation are two different entities. So the Foreign Airline rules apply to DHL Aviation. The big Yellow and Red planes are not owned by ABX.

Anyone who has ever shipped anything on a regular basis has had some issue or another, no matter who the carrier is......You can search on this site for the others and you will see the same types of complaints.

I just had to respond when I saw the laughable comment about DHL showing their true costs to move a package. None of the consumer companies you deal with show you what they pay for a service or for a product. So why would DHL? That is rediculous to even make such a comment. Every single transportation company charges fuel. Truckers, Airlines, Steamshiplines. ALL OF THEM! So would you like DHL to move your packages at cost? For Free? Every company out there has a goal, and that is to make money...So if DHL is losing so much money, then how do you figure they are overcharging?

DHL E may be losing lots of $$$ here in the US for the time being, which is largely due to the Airborne aquisition. Inflated Profit reports before sale has taken its toll, but just as an FYI DHL Express is the #1 largest Small Package courier in the World, Over UPS and FED EX.

On another note DHL does operate their own equipment, yes they have contracted drivers, but DHL Express and DHL Aviation are two different entities. So the Foreign Airline rules apply to DHL Aviation. The big Yellow and Red planes are not owned by ABX.

Anyone who has ever shipped anything on a regular basis has had some issue or another, no matter who the carrier is......You can search on this site for the others and you will see the same types of complaints.

To correct some false and misleading statements by Taier, a DHL company representative from East Syracuse, New York, the complaint from Scott concerning DHLs use of surcharges is essentially true.

DHL Express USA loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and they aren't expected to "break even" until 2009. In lockstep with its competitors, it has since stopped reporting the total losses per year for its US unit, although you can see their losses since the merger with Airborne Express on the DP website prior to 2006. Moreover, a careful examination of company information (more specifically, an international investors meeting with DP top management) produces a figure of "hundreds of millions" (their words, not mine) in dollars in losses per year. DHL USA is desperately attempting to save money by passing on the costs of delivering the packages to its IC (independent contractor) counterparts, who transit the packages to the last mile. Since the last mile is the most expensive segment of transiting the package (reflected in the fact that bulk is cheaper, that is concentrating the shipments in larger units as opposed to individual units), the fuel surcharges do take this into account, as the fees themselves are not a perfect indicator of how much it actually costs to ship a package, and the fee goes into general funds. What this means is that the fee, generally speaking, is broadly spread across the network as a whole. When the price of fuel goes up, the surcharge doesn't mean that the price of shipping that package has gone up by the same amount. It means that the overall costs from shipper to recipient have gone up, excluding other fixed costs like labor. UPS and FedEx, unlike their counterpart, DHL, actually own their own network; DHL relies on contractors at almost every step of the process, from the air transportation (Astar and ABX, which are nominally independent airlines due to US laws concerning foreign ownership of domestic airlines) to the line-hauls (many of which are independently owned and operated) to the actual delivery of packages (ICs--Independent Contractors--comprise more than 60% of the courier workforce and more than 2/3rds of the 300+ stations in the US). Since the ICs are at the bottom in terms of compensation (and service quality), they are the last to see any compensation from these fuel surcharges, and more often than not, these ICs go bankrupt, as the actual cost of staying in business grossly exceeds the revenues they receive from DHL for shipping DHLs package.

What the DHL representative is trying to insinuate is that its competitors engage in some form of hocus-pocus regarding their fuel surcharges, although they don't anymore than DHL does. They clearly advertise their fuel surcharges as being fuel surcharges (see their websites for more information). The system, with the inclusion of fuel surcharges, has been set up to accommodate rapidly fluctuating and increasing fuel costs, although the exact breakdown of costs remains a closely guarded secret. Like airlines, the shipping companies charge differently for every customer, depending on the destination, the weight, the size, who is shipping (corporations receive massive discounts), etc. In a sense, the price you pay at the counter may be subsidizing the cost of another shipper, as the overall costs of shipping are absorbed by the network as a whole, rather than by its individual constituent units. DHL, unlike its competitors, has found a way to charge more for its surcharges (check and compare its listed rates with its competitors) while spreading the compensation from these fees to a smaller pool. To say that DHL isn't benefitting from this arrangement is false and misleading, although the poor quality service speaks volumes about the end result.

Fuel is not "grossly" expensive. Like the cost of shipping a package, it takes into account many factors, such as available refining capacity, the costs of shipping it from the Middle East or Africa, total demand for the end product, and a reasonable profit, to name a few. Instead of shifting any well-justified blame from DHL and other shipping companies to the nebulous and easily scapegoated oil industry, one should make a fair and truthful assessment of the actual costs involved, and explain it a reasonable and business-like tone.

Since the DHL representative is so well-informed, perhaps he would care to release company information that would give a break-down of how much it costs per pound per mile, or how much each penny in fuel cost increases adds to the total cost of shipping? Since, as alleged, many packages that are considered "air" or overnight are shipped via ground, but are charged as air (i.e. they are actually line-hauled from one state to the next), how does this factor into the overall charge? Perhaps the DHL representative would also like to discuss how, exactly, they buy their fuel, or what practices their ICs use in purchasing fuel, namely do they buy their fuel using long-term contracts, or do they simply pull up their Boeing 737 to the gas station and say "Fill 'er up!"?

If federal civil courts are any indication of criminal wrong-doing, DHL has been the subject of many successful lawsuits brought by bankrupt ICs, who have alleged, and proven that Airborne Express, and its successor, DHL, have engaged in widespread bid fraud through deceptive contracting processes. DHL has since rewritten its IC contracts to shift contract disputes away from litigation to more easily influenced arbitration, and the tremendous costs associated with bringing a lawsuit against DHL, as well as the lack of pay-off, have discouraged many potential litigants from seeking justice.

Fuel Surcharges are currently in effect and in place by UPS, Federal Express, DHL, and a host of other shipping companies. Some, like DHL, are up front and forward about the existence of said surcharge, and others hide the fee with elusive names like "Transportation Systems Surcharge". Because of the ever-fluctuating price of fuel, both vehicular and airline, the addition of a percentage surcharge is easier to adjust to meet the market rather than to constantly fluctuate shipping fees.

Regardless of how your shipment travels, on an aircraft, in a trailer haul, or on train-- every type of fuel is grossly expensive. The price structures for basic shipping rates can not be setup to accommodate the ever-changing prices of fuel, and it is the fairest way to ensure you, as a consumer, are getting the best prices.

The statement regarding DHL not reimbursing Independent Contractors is false and misleading. As with all shipping companies, independent contractors are contracted to do work under certain terms and conditions. Some contracts include the payment of a fuel offset to the contractor, and other contracts negotiate a price per parcel or per pound which the contractor has agreed to as financially viable for them. Regardless of the contract, the independent contractors are responsible only for transportation of shipments locally, between the airport facility, and the shipper's/consignee's door. The actual 'true transit' of the shipment, from origin city to destination city is done by the actual carrier, (UPS/FedEx/DHL,) and that is why, in many cases, the independent contractor contracts do not include a fuel offset payment.

Finally, neither DHL Express, nor it's parent company DeutchePost are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. To report such falsehoods is irresponsible and unreasonable.

Fuel Surcharges are currently in effect and in place by UPS, Federal Express, DHL, and a host of other shipping companies. Some, like DHL, are up front and forward about the existence of said surcharge, and others hide the fee with elusive names like "Transportation Systems Surcharge". Because of the ever-fluctuating price of fuel, both vehicular and airline, the addition of a percentage surcharge is easier to adjust to meet the market rather than to constantly fluctuate shipping fees.

Regardless of how your shipment travels, on an aircraft, in a trailer haul, or on train-- every type of fuel is grossly expensive. The price structures for basic shipping rates can not be setup to accommodate the ever-changing prices of fuel, and it is the fairest way to ensure you, as a consumer, are getting the best prices.

The statement regarding DHL not reimbursing Independent Contractors is false and misleading. As with all shipping companies, independent contractors are contracted to do work under certain terms and conditions. Some contracts include the payment of a fuel offset to the contractor, and other contracts negotiate a price per parcel or per pound which the contractor has agreed to as financially viable for them. Regardless of the contract, the independent contractors are responsible only for transportation of shipments locally, between the airport facility, and the shipper's/consignee's door. The actual 'true transit' of the shipment, from origin city to destination city is done by the actual carrier, (UPS/FedEx/DHL,) and that is why, in many cases, the independent contractor contracts do not include a fuel offset payment.

Finally, neither DHL Express, nor it's parent company DeutchePost are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. To report such falsehoods is irresponsible and unreasonable.

Fuel Surcharges are currently in effect and in place by UPS, Federal Express, DHL, and a host of other shipping companies. Some, like DHL, are up front and forward about the existence of said surcharge, and others hide the fee with elusive names like "Transportation Systems Surcharge". Because of the ever-fluctuating price of fuel, both vehicular and airline, the addition of a percentage surcharge is easier to adjust to meet the market rather than to constantly fluctuate shipping fees.

Regardless of how your shipment travels, on an aircraft, in a trailer haul, or on train-- every type of fuel is grossly expensive. The price structures for basic shipping rates can not be setup to accommodate the ever-changing prices of fuel, and it is the fairest way to ensure you, as a consumer, are getting the best prices.

The statement regarding DHL not reimbursing Independent Contractors is false and misleading. As with all shipping companies, independent contractors are contracted to do work under certain terms and conditions. Some contracts include the payment of a fuel offset to the contractor, and other contracts negotiate a price per parcel or per pound which the contractor has agreed to as financially viable for them. Regardless of the contract, the independent contractors are responsible only for transportation of shipments locally, between the airport facility, and the shipper's/consignee's door. The actual 'true transit' of the shipment, from origin city to destination city is done by the actual carrier, (UPS/FedEx/DHL,) and that is why, in many cases, the independent contractor contracts do not include a fuel offset payment.

Finally, neither DHL Express, nor it's parent company DeutchePost are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. To report such falsehoods is irresponsible and unreasonable.