Advice needed - DHL Package Suck in Mexico Customs
 

Hi all,

We're on our way south & have stopped in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico for a week before crossing to Belize. A friend shipped a parcel via DHL from England with, among other things, a rebuild kit for our camping stove, a rebuild kit for a rear brake cylinder, and some clothes & other goodies. It is currently being held at customs, and we are told we need to be residents of Mexico & complete SAT forms to get it released. This isn't an option for us, so wondering if anyone here has had a similar problem & found a solution?

Cheers
A

I dont have personal experience in mexico. But probably this is helpful:

I did sent local friends once in lima (peru), to get my package at the customs.

Another time I did checkit in a 5 star hotel in La Paz and did use this adress, those guys was very helpful to get the packages to the hotel. I did even leave for travelling for a week - the 5 star service is - often very good. It is helpful to give small amounts of tip often, to get full attention.

And another time I did use the local toyota mechanic as adress & custom / tax supporter.

Local friends are often busy in their live (like you at home), and it is hard to find someone who give really full attention to you needs. So people who can handle that during their job hours (Frontdesk in a hotel, backoffice of mechanic) will be able to help better.

At campsites/hostels they are helpful, but those have to be "reminded" often - in my personal experience. Private people do a lot, but you had to trigger (and stress them) more often. I hate to stress people, where I`m not really able to give something back.

Surfy

Thanks Surfy!

Update for anyone else who has this problem in Mexico:

We found a Mexican resident who was willing to help us - she went to the DHL offices but was told she wouldn't be able to deal with it for us - since the package was in our name it would have to be us or a registered customs agent.

We looked into registering as residents but it's a long & expensive process, not a good option for someone passing through.

We reached out to a few customs agents - it is possible but super expensive. We were quoted 2000MX for the initial consultation to determine how much the actual work would cost!

So if you really need the package, or the contents are very valuable it might be worth it. We just had the package sent back.

Probably best to have the parcel sent back, as you have. Next time, possibly reach out on the Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Over...les/?ref=share or the HU FB group.

Your problem might have been with that well known clown outfit DHL. Had experience with them a couple of decades ago in Peru. The chapter titled "DH Hell" in my turn of the millennium trip report gives an insight (see website in sig below).

For future readers, especially in Mexico, but useful elsewhere too:
Contact one of the HU Communities where you are, and ship to someone in one of them, then it's addressed to them, and should be no issue. And you can make a friend, and repay them with a dinner out! :clap: