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Extra shipping costs
to isles often justified

Question: I am amazed that some companies on the mainland still add on extra charges for "shipping" products to Hawaii. Intuit is an excellent example. Intuit forces Hawaii and Alaska customers to use the Priority Shipping and Handling Rate, which is double the standard rate, plus an additional $7.50 shipping charge. Thus, an order valued at between $50 and $100 ends up costing over $25 for the shipping instead of the standard rate, which is about one-third that much. Intuit is the company that supplies checks and other materials for Quicken financial software. It is particularly annoying to note that the check printing companies that supply the checks to Hawaii consumers for regular bank accounts do so quickly and safely via the U.S. Postal Service at no extra charge. Can something can be done about this situation?

Answer: "There are instances in which merchants located on the mainland have to charge consumers in Hawaii more because the shipping actually does cost more," said Stephen Levins, executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection.

A company such as Intuit may prefer not to deal with the U.S. Postal Service for product or other reasons.

"In a situation like that, it would be difficult to insist that the company use the postal service, even if it could be cheaper," Levins said.

In Intuit's case, its vendor for financial supplies, including checks, deposit slips and envelopes, contracts with FedEx and DHL for shipping, said spokeswoman Allison Green.

Priority is the only type of shipping to Hawaii provided by the two carriers, she said.

Each carrier then adds a $7.50 fee to cover the cost of shipping "the extra distance necessary to reach locations outside the contiguous United States," she said.

Green said Intuit understands that the cost of shipping is an important consideration for customers.

"Through our own due diligence, we have found that overall these two carriers (FedEx and DHL) provide the exceptional customer service, including important security features, that best meets our customers' needs," she said.

But as a result of your complaint, "we are looking into the feasibility of contracting with the USPS to offer standard service to Hawaii for our non-check products," Green said.

Meanwhile, when complaints like yours come in, "every now and then," the Office of Consumer Protection does ask the merchant to justify the extra charges, Levins said. "If in fact the merchant has to do something different to ship to Hawaii than normally they do, charging higher amounts can be justified."

An "easy case" would be, for example, if a company shipped the same product from New York to Hawaii and to California, with no difference but the ZIP code, he said. Ostensibly, packing the parcels for shipping would involve the same amount of work.

"In that context, it would be hard to justify charging more to ship to people in Hawaii," Levins said.

If no justification can be shown, it would be "extremely problematic to just charge people more" in Hawaii, he said.

Q: Regarding the Jan. 19 Kokua Line about it being illegal to put nontransparent stickers on specific places on car windows: What about those cars driving around with "IN MEMORY OF______" on the rear windows? Is that permissible? They may have lost a beloved one, but it does take other drivers' attention away from traffic.

A: "IN MEMORY OF ____" decals or writing that are NOT transparent are illegal, said Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the city Division of Motor Vehicle & Licensing.

The key words are "not transparent," he said, emphasizing the answer he gave in the Jan. 19 column, with the clarification that "transparent decals that do not exceed the tinting statute and therefore do not obstruct the driver's view are NOT illegal."

He noted that the vehicle tinting laws for rear windows and rear side windows are not applicable to pickup trucks or multi-purpose or sports utility vehicles with side mirrors on both sides of the vehicle. Since that's the case, technically a decal on the rear window would be legal no matter how dark it was, as long as it were transparent, he said.

"The key point is whether the decal is, or is not, transparent," Kamimura said.

If it is transparent, then the question is whether the decal meets the legal requirements of the tinting law for that type of vehicle.

Mahalo

To the Rehabilitation Center of the Pacific. Five days after major surgery (and wonderful care at Castle Medical Center), I was sent to "Rehab" for follow-up therapy. The basic care, concern, love and dedication toward my improvement was incredible and professional. My initial hesitation and reluctance to go there ended with nothing but feelings of positiveness and success on my part. So with aloha I thank the hospital and its staff, for I am forever grateful. -- Anna Gladys Trask

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