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Nightmarish experience with this mail-forwarding company shipito.com. I just feel the duty to spare others from the same fate. I wouldn't trust this company again with my package nor with any personal information.
They set arbitrary monthly spending limits as an excuse to hold your package. In order to get YOUR package mailed out to you, they force you to upload your IDs, utility bills, and to post them a notarized and signed 1583 USPS form (regardless whether or not you use USPS). You do have the option of wiring them cash, but then you lose the consumer protection that comes with paypal and credit card. Think twice before you give them any personal details, beware of identity theft, as other mail forwarding companies don't ask for IDs from you.
There are lots of hidden fees. For example, there is a "bank charge" of 4.3% that I wasn't aware of before I signed up. There is also an insurance fee on top of shipping--I always thought if I use DHL, for example, shipping includes insurance. There are daily storage fees when they're the one refusing to mail out your package, even after they have charged your credit card for shipping and fees.
There is a $5 refund processing fee. If you signed up and paid $8.50, you will get $3.50 back if you want a refund. If you get the form notarized, there is a fee for that, usually at least $20 (though I would advise against sending them this). Oh, but they do "trash your package for free."
Don't trust them with your package. If you can afford to forget about it and "trash it for free, " then go ahead. Just be aware of the possibility that once your package arrives at their warehouse, you will not see it again unless you do all of the following (which they call "completely verifying your account"):
1. 2 forms of IDs, recommended driver's license and passport (30%)
2. utility bills (30%)
3. form 1583 (notarized by public notary, needs to be sent by postal service, 40%)
4. form 1583 (signed by you, 10%)
If I knew all of this from the beginning, I would never have signed up. They say they're protecting themselves against credit card fraud, but I don't see why bigger companies such as Amazon and Paypal never ask for IDs. And they don't say how they are protecting their customers' sensitive information.
I had to "trash for free" my second package worth $30, wasn't worth giving them the notarized form 1583 by post that they requested. But as I had already given them my IDs and utility bills and signed form 1583 for my first package (before I was aware of possible identity theft and before I did research), I asked them to remove my personal information and close my account. They replied saying my account has been permanently closed and all my information removed from their system. However, I tried logging in again, and I found my account was just deactivated.
I requested again through the BBB that my personal information be removed. They replied that my information must be kept on file for their records according to USPS policy, as they were authorized to be my USPS mailing agent. What kind of reply is that? I didn't mail them the original notarized 1583 form, precisely because I didn't want them to be my agent! So who the heck gave them the authority to be my agent.
Save yourself the headache and try a more trustworthy mail forwarding company. One good measure of a good reputation that can't be manipulated, check www.compete.com and see how popular the company is. People talk.
The company should really have you verify your account BEFORE they charge your credit card. Then I'll see if I really want to do business with them after all. Really, they should put all their unusual requirements clear up on the signup page. After my package was already at their warehouse, THEN they tell me I have to give them IDs, utility bills, and post them a notarized 1583 form. First of all, the 1583 form is a requirement only for USPS. I wasn't using USPS service at all. So I would love to know why this form was a requirement for me. But they can't answer.
Also, if you wire them cash, they don't need your IDs or the original 1583 form. So what the heck happened to USPS requirement? Do they mean to tell me that USPS only requires the 1583 form if payment is by credit card? Because this is what the company is doing.
Furthermore, now that I'm no longer using their services, they still refuse to remove all my personal information from their system. They reasoned that they are authorized to be my mailing agent, and USPS policy requires that they thus keep my information on file for their records. Hello? I've already told them to close my account (which they only deactivated), because I don't want to use their services anymore. I did NOT give them authorization to be my agent, as I did not mail them the original 1583 form. I do NOT want them to be my agent. So now, either they're making stuff up, or they have forged my signature on the form they gave to USPS. I mean, who exactly gave them authorization to be my agent? It wasn't me.
This company seems to think that if you're outside the US, you can't do much, so they think they can get away with misuse of your personal data. STAY AWAY!
I just found that shipito.com is breaking California law:
"Two California laws limit the collection of personal information by merchants when you pay by credit card or check. These laws were enacted to prevent fraud and limit the amount of personal information which can be collected by merchants.
When a consumer pays with a credit card, the merchant cannot record any personal information other than what is on the front of the credit card. (California Civil Code § 1747.08).
When a consumer pays with a check, the merchant cannot record the credit card number. (California Civil Code § 1725).
...
California law does not prohibit a merchant from requiring a consumer who pays for goods or services by credit card to show identification such as a California driver’s license or California ID. If these are not available, another form of photo identification can be required to be shown. But merchants cannot write or record any information from these documents." (https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs15-mt.htm)
I paid by credit card, and they have copies of my passport and driver's license and utility bills. And they refuse to remove my personal information from their database, after repeated requests. Hmm. I'll be filing a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General. I would suggest others in my situation do the same.
Form 1583 is required "only if you want to receive mail delivered by the USPS. Not required if you only plan to receive express packages by DHL, FedEx and UPS." (http://www.usabox.com/requirements.asp)
There was a post here advising me to contact the IC3, where did that post go?
Sorry, but these are the rules of commercial mail forwarders in the U.S.A. 1583 form and two copies of ID are required for post office. The shipito website and registration has notice that all accounts need to be verified.
hi everyone, please don't use this company anymore, in addition to their bad/poor service, your sensitive information will be at high risk because they are suffering from many outage these time with their server, many time it's down and not responding and they don't write anything about this on their forums, their CEO has opened a thread in the forum but with no good information at all, he just say hmm yeah we have a problem and we are working on it !
nature of problem : no info
problem in detail : no info
was there sensitive info leak : no info
I see that scam-killer is writing a lot of complains about our company, but why does he insist on using Shipito? I think if scam-killer is so dissatisfied that the easiest think is to use any other company which does package forwarding.
@eastbiz : it's only 1 complaint ! what are you talking about ?
Shipito or Eastbiz Corporation as they also call themselves are a scam company as a I sadly found out today. After signing up for the account and paying the deposit, they contacted me saying they have to manually verify my account for which I need to upload 2 forms of ID, proof of address and other forms or choose to pay in future by wire transfer. When I asked what the discrepancy was, they didn't respond. Later I asked if I could pay by wire as they'd originally said, they ignored that too not commenting on it instead pasting terms and conditions where it says if there's a discrepancy, the customer must provide them with the personal documents They refused to answer whether they can close my account and refuse the package due to arrive. These are identity thieves and scammers. My package is lost now as I won't be uploading my passport and other sensitive information for obvious security reasons. Stay well away from Shipito. If I had read the reviews online, I'd never have joined them in the first place.
Unfortunately, i only realise about all these complaints after i received some really rude replies from their customer service. I have enquired them about their rates and services; only to be told off by them. And that is when i decided to dig further and realised all these negative feedback about them...i'm not sure what to do, i have given them copies of my passport, driver's license and utility bill..and have goods sitting in their warehouse waiting to be shipped...
I have been given cargo services by viabox its the most reliable company among all with lowest rates and fastest services.