A US-based fitness equipment maker was forced to pay $250,000 after being overcharged in a shipping snafu tied to President Trump’s shifting tariff policies – and it likely isn’t the only company that has received an inflated bill, The Post has learned.
Echelon, an eight-year-old company in Chattanooga, Tenn, was hit with the eye-popping tab by shipping giant DHL for a June delivery of 1,000 treadmills, stationary bikes and other items it manufactures in China.
The overcharge was the result of a tariff increase on imported steel and aluminum in June – when the rates increased to 50% from 25% and spiked the cost of shipping household appliances for the first time.
DHL was supposed to charge Echelon only for the amount of aluminum in its equipment but instead calculated the fee as if the entire delivery was made from the lightweight metal, according to the company’s fuming boss Lou Lentine.
“It’s very difficult for brokers to keep up with the ever changing rules, but a small mistake misclassifying [items] could put a company out of business,” Lentine told The Post.
“I don’t think I’m the only one that this happened to.”
He’s probably right, said New York City-based customs broker Bobby Shoule of JW Hampton Jr. & Co.
Mistakes are “more common than people will admit,” Shoule told The Post.
“The problem is that the rules were written fast. Figuring out the new directives [from the government] is triple the amount of work we have to do.”
DHL admitted its gaffe but refused to refund the $250,000, telling Lentine to take it up with Uncle Sam, according to an email it sent to Echelon that was shared with The Post.
“We acknowledge that the incorrect processing of entries has led to significant delays in processing your refund, and I fully understand the frustration this has caused,” a custom operations manager wrote to the company on June 16.
Lentine initially resisted paying the overcharge fee but forked over the money last week after US Customs sanctioned Echelon and held up its future shipments.
“I have to pay that amount and wait weeks if not months to get that money back from the government,” Lentine said. “This will impact our cash flow.”
A DHL spokesperson blamed the “complexities of international tariffs” for the mistake.
“This situation arose from an incorrect tariff code being applied, resulting from inaccurate information provided in the initial declaration of goods,” the rep told The Post on Friday.
“We understand that navigating the complexities of international tariffs can be challenging, especially with constantly changing regulations.”
On a reddit board for customs brokers, one user lamented, “How do you explain China tariffs to new customers, (they) think I’m ripping them off.”
The title of another Reddit user’s recent post was, “”Duty assessed by mistake and DHL is a nightmare! What to do?”
Others are also stumped.
“Furniture With Iron Bases — how to calculate tariff? Glass Tops and Tables and Chairs with Iron pedestals/legs,” wrote one confused reddit user in June.
