The story you’re about to read is beyond belief, and I’m sharing it as a warning for everyone who is planning to import any metal computer parts, including Amiga enclosures, into the US today.
I had been looking for some time to get a Checkmate case. I found one from another Amigan in Canada and decided to pull the trigger and import it to the US, where I live. I paid $465 for the case and was awaiting delivery. The shipper used UPS for the service—nothing unusual.
While tracking the package a few days after dispatch, I received a message from a UPS customs brokerage agent saying I owed $932 in customs fees. I needed to pay this to receive the package. I was totally shocked and sure this was some kind of mistake. They were telling me to pay in customs fees twice as much as I paid for the case.
I tried to call UPS, but the wait time was 1 hour, so I decided to send them an email asking for clarification and an invoice listing what the fees were for. I got a reply two days later, which was just a copy of an email the UPS agent sent to brokerage requesting they “assist” me. That was almost a month ago, and I haven't heard from them since.
Since my window to receive the package was only a few days after the UPS notification, I didn’t have much time to either pay the fee and get the package or refuse delivery. Since UPS was not responding, I decided to go with the second option and informed the shipper about this customs mishap. Upon agreement, the package was on the way back to the shipper.
It was delivered back to origin in a week, and I thought the case was closed. A couple of weeks later, however, I received a letter from UPS with an invoice requesting payment of $938. The invoice also listed the tariff codes applied, and that’s when I thought I discovered the root cause of the problem. UPS customs brokerage classified this product as 100% aluminum of unknown origin, which results in a 200% tariff rate under the new US administration regulations.
I hoped this invoice was produced before I refused the package and would naturally cancel itself once they saw the package was returned to the center. But I wasn’t sure, so I called UPS again. After an hour and 20 minutes on hold, I finally got connected with an agent. I explained the situation and asked them to void the invoice. The UPS agent acknowledged this and began looking into my records, asking me to wait a few minutes. To my surprise, the call dropped during that wait. I was so upset—but still hoped the agent might have actually fixed the issue.
I was wrong.
Two weeks later, I received another invoice from UPS, this time with a 10% penalty charge added to the $938, along with information saying I would be charged another 10% every month of delayed payment. At this point, I was already set back by almost $1,100—and still had no product in hand. A product I never received.
A quick Google search revealed the terrible truth: US customs law works like a latch. If the product enters US soil and goes through customs for release, then any applied customs fees remain due even if the product is refused and returned to the sender. This was shocking.
Another Google search revealed a Reddit post describing a similar case where someone was charged by UPS multiple times over many months, eventually leading to collections. I was frozen.
A $400 second-hand Checkmate case had turned into a nightmare and a money pit.
I made another phone call to UPS. After waiting 30 minutes, I finally connected with an agent and had a longer conversation—this time without disconnection. The agent provided me with an email address where I should file a request to drop the charge due to the circumstances.
I followed the instructions and sent an email. I received a reply after 3 days confirming the situation, including a snippet of the tariff table showing the applicable 200% rate. The interesting part was that even though the product’s country of origin was the UK, there was declaration of the origin of the metal parts, which US customs marked as Unknown. Under the tariff rules, any unknown origin—or Russian origin—results in a 200% tariff.
Below is snippet I received from UPS confirming the tariff rate.
In the midst of this terrible nonsense, one thing I could not understand was where this “aluminum” classification came from. After all, Checkmate case metal parts are made from steel, not aluminum. So I wrote another email pointing this out and again asked them to drop the charge. They replied saying my request was forwarded to UPS brokerage.
My last hope was to get a declaration from the case manufacturer about the origin of the metal used for production. Hoping the metal wasn’t sourced from Russia, I tried to contact Stephen from IMICA Ltd. asking for this information. So far, he has not replied. Perhaps after reading this terrible story, he will.
Today is the 4th day with no communication from UPS, and I’m losing my mind over this ridiculous, clumsy process and the absurd laws that penalize individuals like me who simply became victims of bureaucracy that has gone beyond belief.
I also have to blame UPS brokerage because this is not my first customs “rodeo” with them. Just a few months ago, in May this year, I imported an Apollo IceDrake accelerator for my Amiga 1200 from Germany. Again it was shipped by UPS, and again UPS brokerage classified this product as pure aluminum and applied a 50% tariff rate (before the increase to 200%) on a printed circuit board that is not made from aluminum. Can you believe this?
That time, I decided to pay the customs fees and then try to get a refund, which eventually happened after 3 months of communication with UPS. But there were no penalty fees imposed on me. This time it’s different.
I found a law office collecting evidence from customers like me about UPS’s customs practices to file the Class-A action lawsuit against the company if they gather enough cases and evidence of products misclassification. Of course, I contacted them and sent all the information and evidence I had, but it may take years before anything is filed—if at all.
So, a big warning to everyone who wants to import any metal case into the US today:
Don’t do it.
I had been looking for some time to get a Checkmate case. I found one from another Amigan in Canada and decided to pull the trigger and import it to the US, where I live. I paid $465 for the case and was awaiting delivery. The shipper used UPS for the service—nothing unusual.
While tracking the package a few days after dispatch, I received a message from a UPS customs brokerage agent saying I owed $932 in customs fees. I needed to pay this to receive the package. I was totally shocked and sure this was some kind of mistake. They were telling me to pay in customs fees twice as much as I paid for the case.
I tried to call UPS, but the wait time was 1 hour, so I decided to send them an email asking for clarification and an invoice listing what the fees were for. I got a reply two days later, which was just a copy of an email the UPS agent sent to brokerage requesting they “assist” me. That was almost a month ago, and I haven't heard from them since.
Since my window to receive the package was only a few days after the UPS notification, I didn’t have much time to either pay the fee and get the package or refuse delivery. Since UPS was not responding, I decided to go with the second option and informed the shipper about this customs mishap. Upon agreement, the package was on the way back to the shipper.
It was delivered back to origin in a week, and I thought the case was closed. A couple of weeks later, however, I received a letter from UPS with an invoice requesting payment of $938. The invoice also listed the tariff codes applied, and that’s when I thought I discovered the root cause of the problem. UPS customs brokerage classified this product as 100% aluminum of unknown origin, which results in a 200% tariff rate under the new US administration regulations.
I hoped this invoice was produced before I refused the package and would naturally cancel itself once they saw the package was returned to the center. But I wasn’t sure, so I called UPS again. After an hour and 20 minutes on hold, I finally got connected with an agent. I explained the situation and asked them to void the invoice. The UPS agent acknowledged this and began looking into my records, asking me to wait a few minutes. To my surprise, the call dropped during that wait. I was so upset—but still hoped the agent might have actually fixed the issue.
I was wrong.
Two weeks later, I received another invoice from UPS, this time with a 10% penalty charge added to the $938, along with information saying I would be charged another 10% every month of delayed payment. At this point, I was already set back by almost $1,100—and still had no product in hand. A product I never received.
A quick Google search revealed the terrible truth: US customs law works like a latch. If the product enters US soil and goes through customs for release, then any applied customs fees remain due even if the product is refused and returned to the sender. This was shocking.
Another Google search revealed a Reddit post describing a similar case where someone was charged by UPS multiple times over many months, eventually leading to collections. I was frozen.
A $400 second-hand Checkmate case had turned into a nightmare and a money pit.
I made another phone call to UPS. After waiting 30 minutes, I finally connected with an agent and had a longer conversation—this time without disconnection. The agent provided me with an email address where I should file a request to drop the charge due to the circumstances.
I followed the instructions and sent an email. I received a reply after 3 days confirming the situation, including a snippet of the tariff table showing the applicable 200% rate. The interesting part was that even though the product’s country of origin was the UK, there was declaration of the origin of the metal parts, which US customs marked as Unknown. Under the tariff rules, any unknown origin—or Russian origin—results in a 200% tariff.
Below is snippet I received from UPS confirming the tariff rate.
In the midst of this terrible nonsense, one thing I could not understand was where this “aluminum” classification came from. After all, Checkmate case metal parts are made from steel, not aluminum. So I wrote another email pointing this out and again asked them to drop the charge. They replied saying my request was forwarded to UPS brokerage.
My last hope was to get a declaration from the case manufacturer about the origin of the metal used for production. Hoping the metal wasn’t sourced from Russia, I tried to contact Stephen from IMICA Ltd. asking for this information. So far, he has not replied. Perhaps after reading this terrible story, he will.
Today is the 4th day with no communication from UPS, and I’m losing my mind over this ridiculous, clumsy process and the absurd laws that penalize individuals like me who simply became victims of bureaucracy that has gone beyond belief.
I also have to blame UPS brokerage because this is not my first customs “rodeo” with them. Just a few months ago, in May this year, I imported an Apollo IceDrake accelerator for my Amiga 1200 from Germany. Again it was shipped by UPS, and again UPS brokerage classified this product as pure aluminum and applied a 50% tariff rate (before the increase to 200%) on a printed circuit board that is not made from aluminum. Can you believe this?
That time, I decided to pay the customs fees and then try to get a refund, which eventually happened after 3 months of communication with UPS. But there were no penalty fees imposed on me. This time it’s different.
I found a law office collecting evidence from customers like me about UPS’s customs practices to file the Class-A action lawsuit against the company if they gather enough cases and evidence of products misclassification. Of course, I contacted them and sent all the information and evidence I had, but it may take years before anything is filed—if at all.
So, a big warning to everyone who wants to import any metal case into the US today:
Don’t do it.
