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FedEx Shipping from US to Canada


splinter79

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Perhaps someone else has ran into the problem I am having...

 

When shipping from the US to Canada, the FedEx module is not pulling the additional shipping fees from the FedEx site. According to FedEx support, the "total customs value of international shipments to canada" is not being submitted in order to calculate the fees. Anyone know of a fix for this?

 

Currently running v5.2.12

 

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The customer I am working with said they weren't necessarily customs fees but additional handling fees. I'm looking into this more at the moment. One thing I noticed is the Rate Service WSDL file (from FedEx) used with this module may be out of date. Even in the latest release of CC it is RateService_v13.wsdl but there is now a RateService_v14.wsdl

 

Not sure if this is part of the problem or not. Customer is also not getting accurate shipping fee calculations and currently has to add a $4 handling cost to offset the charges.

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Do you have a Developer's account at the Fedex Developers Center? Fedex won't allow access to the documentation of their API unless you have a developer's account. (I suppose I could get one, myself.)

 

I submitted a bug report (but Devellion rarely replies with what got changed) of something that looked strange in shipping.class.php, lines 156-157. Two different values are being assigned to the same variable.

 

If I am to make a wild guess, perhaps the variable is supposed to be:

  • $request['RequestedShipment']['RateRequestType'] instead of $request['RequestedShipment']['RateRequestTypes'], or
  • $request['RequestedShipment']['RateRequestTypes']['RateRequestType']

with only the one appropriate value be used:

  • ACCOUNT: rates appropriate for those with a Fedex Shipper's Account, or
  • LIST: rates that Joe Smith would pay at the Fedex Drop-off Counter.

That may explain the cost difference, but not these 'extra fees' - which, I would think Fedex would include in the "bottom-line" rate quote.

 

The Rate Service Version should not influence what the actual rate is that is being quoted.

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Well, I downloaded the FedEx API documentation. According that document, I will suggest this for lines 156-157:

Was:
        $request['RequestedShipment']['RateRequestTypes'] = 'ACCOUNT';
        $request['RequestedShipment']['RateRequestTypes'] = 'LIST';
 
Now:
        $request['RequestedShipment']['RateRequestType'] = 'ACCOUNT'; // Rate Service WSDL v16 uses 'NONE' for this value.
//      $request['RequestedShipment']['RateRequestType'] = 'LIST';

By asking for LIST, the return will include both the "Published rates" as well as the "Discount rates" (according to your account).
 
CubeCart might show both rates for each service type -- the code does not filter for the desired rates -- which may confuse the customer.
 
The documentation also mentions "Clearance Entry Fee Surcharge (Discount) for international shipping" for FedEx Express International as a separate item in the rate quote, but no mention if the surcharges are being included in the final quoted rate for each service type. There is also a Residential surcharge and a Fuel surcharge, if applicable.

 

However, an examination of a sample return shows that CubeCart is using the amount of the 'TotalNetCharge' which is the correct, bottom-line amount.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I got real busy for awhile there and have finally gotten back to troubleshooting this....

 

Making that change to the shipping.class.php file killed the FedEx module. I am thinking the CC team probably needs to update the FedEx Module so it calculates properly.

 

For the clearance entry fee (the issue with shipping to Canada), I did some digging and found users of Zen Cart's FedEx module were having the same problem. Then someone mentioned this on one of their forums:

 

"Fedex does not add the customs clearance fees because according to approved tariff structure for ground shipments, the receiver can choose to clear the package themselves through customs instead of allowing Fedex (or UPS). Until the time of delivery, Fedex/UPS has no idea whether the receiver will choose to clear the package themselves. Most consumers do not know this or how to do this... SO, Fedex or UPS ends up performing the clearance and then billing your account.

According to Fedex, there is no work around, except to NOT offer Fedex ground to Canada. All Fedex, other than ground, includes the Customs Clearing fees. Our solution is to not offer the Fedex Ground service to Canada. Canadian customers must either choose USPS or Fedex International Priority or International Economy. Actually, there is another solution... the customer must be billed for the Customs Clearance after the fact. Most, if not all, customers will tell you to 'pound sand' when you send the bill for additional charges."

 

I believe this may be accurate and would explain why the fee is not calculated. Needless to say, FedEx is now deactivated for Canada and I am going to try using USPS instead for shipping across the border. I have heard this is cheaper for Canadians ordering products from the US anyways, so hopefully I can get it to work.

 

Thanks for looking into this by the way!

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