A Christmas mugging by Easy Shop

So you're thinking of using the DHL EasyShop/Borderlinx service to buy stuff online? You might want to read this first and save yourself some time, money and grief. The service is a great idea, but there are some issues with execution that can get you pretty steamed up.

Last November, I decided to go crazy with my new credit card on Amazon.com. I got a new laptop ($2,149) and an external hard drive ($268) and had them shipped to the Ohio address provided by Borderlinx ($25). When the laptop arrived, Borderlinx shot me an email claiming that there was no commercial invoice attached (this was untrue) and they were, therefore, estimating the value of the laptop at $3,000. I suspect this had something to do with the fact that I had opted for insurance of items over $2,000 when making my application.

Trying to get this problem fixed proved to be an exercise in frustration.

First, the email address provided on the Borderlinx site (for DHL in Kenya) did not work. I made a request for the one-hour call back and several hours later no call had come. So I called DHL in Nairobi. I was connected to sales staff who told me they had no clue how to fix the problem. I emailed them copies of the allegedly missing invoice. They sent me emails saying they could do nothing. So why are they the contact provided on the bloody website, I wondered?

I went back to the Borderlinx site to try and opt out of the insurance. (Since there are no import taxes on computers and computer equipment to Kenya, the insurance cost was the only thing to worry about.) The site would not let me change that. I wrote DHL again and received a reply saying I could go ahead and confirm shipment the items with the incorrect figures: The billing would be sorted when the goods got here. So click, click. The deed was done.

At 1am the next day, I got my callback. Some guy in India wanted to know what he could do for me. I explain the discrepancy and he says: "The item has been shipped. Can't do anything about it now." Is there some reason why his number was a big secret, I wondered? Shouldn't it have been him I was calling, not the clueless guys in Nairobi? And what's the point of advertising a one-hour callback service if you call back the following day? I got the answer to the last question when the Express service I had paid for turned out to be slower-than-Standard-speed. DHL wants to appear fast and efficient so they can charge you an arm and a leg for crap service.

I went to pick up my items armed with the written assurances of the customer service people I had spoken to before approving the shipment. No problem, sir, the DHL fellows said, we agree you sent the correct invoice and we told you to ship anyway. We agree you wanted to opt out of the insurance and we said you could do it after-the-fact. One moment, please.

Out came the weighing scales and calculators. Although Borderlinx/DHL USA had already weighed the items, calculated the volumetric weight and offered an estimate in Kshs for what I would pay, the process had to be done again. Perhaps the laptop had had a huge meal on the flights from the US to Germany, then to Britain and finally to Nairobi. Yes, it had!

DHL kept arriving at different figures every time they calculated how much I should pay. The first estimate was about Sh17,000 ($220). The next was Sh19,000. There was no reference to an insurance charge. More lies, more lies, more lies. They even brought in some big boss -- Bob Odhiambo -- to help with the lies. I paid.

According to Borderlinx, I paid $135.90 (Sh10,405.34) for shipping and $49.02 (Sh3,753.27) to insure the items. According to DHL Nairobi, I paid about Sh13,000 for shipping and, as promised, nothing for insurance. Problem solved.