Bought a Mayones Duvell... DHL Delivered a Nightmare

[FourT6and2]

tl;dr
DHL blows


I bought a Mayones Duvell BL-6 (Black Limba) from Peach Guitars in the U.K. I tried finding one in the U.S. but there aren't any. As far as I could tell, Peach had the only one for sale in the world. I bought an acoustic from them years ago and didn't have any issues, so I bit the bullet again.

And yes, I knew tariffs would be a thing, but before I bought the guitar I used DHL's landing cost calculator to know exactly what the cost would be before going in: $382.

10/27: Shipped from Ipswich, UK
10/28: Landed at LAX
10/29: DHL placed shipment on hold at LAX
10/30: On hold
10/31: On hold
11/1: On hold
11/2: On hold
11/3: On hold
11/4: On hold
11/5: On hold
11/6: On hold
11/7: On hold
11/8: On hold
11/9: On hold
11/10: On hold
11/11: On hold
11/12: On hold
11/13: On hold
11/13: Clearance process complete, but still on hold at LAX

Also, obligatory photos:

 

[FourT6and2]

10/30
I call DHL to ask about the hold. They say they have all the necessary paperwork (invoice, Lacey Act form, etc.), nothing else is needed from me, and that their broker team is processing guitar for a formal entry with US Customs.

10/31
DHL sends me an email confirming no additional documentation is needed (this means they have my email address).

11/3
After no progress, I call again to ask if they need anything more from me. Again, no... everything is good. The guitar is with US Customs and will take 3-5 days to clear.

11/8
Still no progress. I call again. Their story has changed. They claim they've been waiting for my social security number for duties and tariffs since 10/29 BEFORE submitting to US Customs. But wait, I say... DHL said they had everything already? And that it had already gone to Customs? They say no, that's not the case. They tell me not to worry, they already had my social security number on a saved profile from a previous shipment years ago. Odd, but ok. They tell me the guitar is now with US Customs. 3-5 days to clear. Again.

11/10
I call back and they tell me that while they have my social, they need an actual photo of my social security card to process the shipment and submit to customs. WTF... this entire time I've been asking if they had everything and if they need anything more from me and they've said all is good. And I bring up the whole social security number thing from before and why didn't they ask for my card at that time? Imports Department lackey on the phone has no answer. I provide my social and we move on.

11/11
I call DHL again, because at this point I can't trust what they say.
Supervisor tells me the reason nobody contacted me about the social security number is because they have THE WRONG EMAIL ADDRESS ON FILE. It's someone else's contact info. But don't worry, they say, the guitar is now with US Customs! Uh huh... I don't think so. Also, if they have the wrong email address, how did they send me an email on 10/31?

I call customs office at LAX that deals with these kinds of shipments and they have no record of DHL submitting anything for clearance. DHL is lying.

11/12
Call DHL and ask to be transferred to US Imports office. Indian guy on the phone tells me DHL does not operate within the United States and hangs up on me. I'm pissed.

11/12
Call DHL again. Get someone else who transfers me to Imports Department. I demand to escalate to supervisor. It's 3:45pm. They tell me a supervisor will call me back in 90 minutes and hangs up. Then I realize their office closes at 5:00pm and nobody would call me back.

11/12
I call again and get a nice lady on the phone from Imports Department. She does some digging and sees that the DHL broker handling my shipment entered the wrong delivery/home address and wrong email address and that there is also, "something else wrong with the documentation" but won't tell me what. She assures me it will be fine and the guitar is now with US Customs and will clear in 3-5 days.

I contact Peach Guitars. They tell me there's nothing they can do and that their DHL rep in the UK says it's Trump's fault. Uh huh... right. DHL hasn't even submitted to customs yet. Can't be government shutdown or tariff problem.

 

[FourT6and2]

11/13
I get a call from Imports Department Supervisor. He apologizes for everything and tells me they have spoken to broker who made mistakes and will be re-training them. He says the guitar has now cleared customs.

He tells me I will need to pay $869. I say that sounds very high considering I know exactly what the tariffs are: $382. He says I can dispute the invoice. I ask to see the invoice. He sounds puzzled... "You should already have received it". They still have the wrong email address on file.

He says the only way to change the email address is to call the Billing department. WTF... why do I have to do their job for them!

Billing department says tracking number is not valid and tells me there's nothing they can do. The tracking number just doesn't work in their system. WTF. I'm looking at tracking right there on my screen but DHL claims tracking number not valid...

I drive to local DHL hub. After explaining everything, they're able to change my email address in the system. I call DHL Duties and Taxes department and finally get through to someone who can verify tracking number. They email me the Entry Summary with a list of fees, taxes, tariffs.

THEY SUBMITTED DUPLICATE GUITARS TO US CUSTOMS. TWO GUITARS. NOT ONE. TWO.

They're charging me tariffs for two guitars as well as STORAGE FEES FOR EVERY DAY THE GUITAR SAT AT LAX SINCE OCTOBER 29. I tell them they're crazy. I now have an open dispute with their Duties and Taxes department. In the meantime, the guitar is being held hostage at LAX, racking up additional storage fees every day it sits while this dispute is in progress.

None of this has anything to do with the government shutdown or tariffs. The guitar cleared US Customs in one day (11/12 and 11/13). DHL just got everything wrong from the start. And still no guitar.

 

[thegame]

11/13
I get a call from Imports Department Supervisor. He apologizes for everything and tells me they have spoken to broker who made mistakes and will be re-training them. He says the guitar has now cleared customs.

He tells me I will need to pay $869. I say that sounds very high considering I know exactly what the tariffs are: $382. He says I can dispute the invoice. I ask to see the invoice. He sounds puzzled... "You should already have received it". They still have the wrong email address on file.

He says the only way to change the email address is to call the Billing department. WTF... why do I have to do their job for them!

Billing department says tracking number is not valid and tells me there's nothing they can do. The tracking number just doesn't work in their system. WTF. I'm looking at tracking right there on my screen but DHL claims tracking number not valid...

I drive to local DHL hub. After explaining everything, they're able to change my email address in the system. I call DHL Duties and Taxes department and finally get through to someone who can verify tracking number. They email me the Entry Summary with a list of fees, taxes, tariffs.

THEY SUBMITTED DUPLICATE GUITARS TO US CUSTOMS. TWO GUITARS. NOT ONE. TWO.

They're charging me tariffs for two guitars as well as STORAGE FEES FOR EVERY DAY THE GUITAR SAT AT LAX SINCE OCTOBER 29. I tell them they're crazy. I now have an open dispute with their Duties and Taxes department. In the meantime, the guitar is being held hostage at LAX, racking up additional storage fees every day it sits while this dispute is in progress.

None of this has anything to do with the government shutdown or tariffs. The guitar cleared US Customs in one day (11/12 and 11/13). DHL just got everything wrong from the start. And still no guitar.

Divine Intaxhaven is what’s needed

 

[FourT6and2]

Divine Intaxhaven is what’s needed

The Duties and Tax lady was like... "Yeah this doesn't look right at all..." No shit haha. She seemed equally as dumbfounded that they duplicated the shipment contents and doubled the customs value + added $500 in storage fees because of their own fuckups.

 

[peterc52]

sucks about the tariffs. Already used to it in denmark for so m any years.

Had 2 black limba duvells in the past. Great guitars. Especially one - it was the one. Dont know why i sold it

 

[Racerxrated]

Jesus what a shitshow.

I've bought around 4K worth of stuff out of England over this past year. So far, around 500$ in Trump Taxes(Tariffs). Hopefully the Supreme Court tells him to reverse them..I'll get a nice 500$ bonus sometime next yr. I won't hold my breath however.

I've dealt with UPS and USPS....both sent email bills to pay the tariffs and everything went smoothly.
Hopefully you get this sorted with the DHL morons soon...ugh

 

[FourT6and2]

sucks about the tariffs. Already used to it in denmark for so m any years.

Had 2 black limba duvells in the past. Great guitars. Especially one - it was the one. Dont know why i sold it

Sounds crushing! What pickups were in that one?

The tariffs aren't the issue. I know how much they are. The issue is DHL dropping the ball every step of the way, getting my address wrong, my social wrong, my email wrong, the shipment details wrong, trying to bill me tariffs on TWO guitars instead of one, charging me storage fees for the delays they caused, lying to me, etc.

They have 5 departments: customer service, imports, broker, billing, and duties and taxes. And none of them communicate with each other. And when there's a problem, they make YOU call around to each department to sort it out. They make you do their job for them. Then they bill you for it.

 

[peterc52]

Sounds crushing! What pickups were in that one?

The tariffs aren't the issue. I know how much they are. The issue is DHL dropping the ball every step of the way, getting my address wrong, my social wrong, my email wrong, the shipment details wrong, trying to bill me tariffs on TWO guitars instead of one, charging me storage fees for the delays they caused, lying to me, etc.

They have 5 departments: customer service, imports, broker, billing, and duties and taxes. And none of them communicate with each other. And when there's a problem, they make YOU call around to each department to sort it out. They make you do their job for them. Then they bill you for it.

Ragnaroks!

 

[FourT6and2]

Ragnaroks!

I was looking at those for this guitar. But I've got a few others to try out first. Lundgren M6, Black Heaven, and BKP Juggernaut and ceramic Nailbomb.

 

[godgrinder]

DHL likes to purposely slow things down so they can charge you storage fee,

 

[FourT6and2]

DHL likes to purposely slow things down so they can charge you storage fee,

That's the feeling I got.

 

[peterc52]

I was looking at those for this guitar. But I've got a few others to try out first. Lundgren M6, Black Heaven, and BKP Juggernaut and ceramic Nailbomb.

They fit the guitar well. It dont have a lot of bottom end in it self but the ragnaroks has.