Non Hazmat items being slapped with Hazmat shipping fee (just FYI)

So, ever try to order a seat belt for your ol 1st gen and see they slap a $60+ Hazmat fee on it? Yea....that's BS. As the older Tacos did NOT have pyrotechnic substances or hazardous materials of other classes in them. A bit to read but I figured I share that Fedex is a sack of sh*t.

Spoke to a seat belt repair company (https://www.safetyrestore.com/georgia/dallas-seat-belt-repair) who asks you to mail them the seat belts:

"Russianman92 14:23
According to 49 CFR § 173.166 ANY seatbelt is considered Hazmat?. Even the dealer wont ship them to me without a $60-$80 Hazmat fee

David 14:24
If you read that statue carefully, it mentions seat belts with pyrotechnic substances.
Anything that would essentially "inflate"
Like an airbag, or seat belt pre-tensioner, or buckle pre-tensioner.

Russianman92 14:26
I know my seat belts don't have an igniter in them but if you go here and try to check out they slap you with a huge fee
https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~belt~assy~front~seat~outer~lh~73220-04041-b0.html

David 14:26
We've never had any issues with this. "

I then spoke to Toyotapartsdeal.com:

name: Russianman92
Why is Toyota Part No.: 73220-04041-B0 BELT ASSY, FRONT SEAT OUTER, LH considered HazMat when the seatbelt assembly does NOT contain an igniter?

I just spoke with a seat belt repair company who I asked about the same thing:

"Didn't want to paste same convo from beginning of thread"

According to the chat above there should not be a HazMat fee on the seat belts that old. And this is a company that specializes in seat belt repair with a 24 hour turnaround time. Is the fee an error in the system?

14:37
Hello Russianman92, My name is Deana and I will be assisting you with this.

14:38 Russianman92
Hello

14:39 Russianman92
Please read above. I know it is a lot but it is easier to understand the context of the question

14:40 Deana
All seatbealts will have an hazmat fee

14:40 Russianman92
That makes no sense as the statute should only apply to those which contain an igniter or explosive.

14:41 Deana
73220-04041-B0 part is discontinued we no longer carry the item

14:42 Deana
Our website is just a general catalog of the parts we offer, it does not reflect live inventory. It gets updated once a month. This part will be flagged for removal of the part from the website.

14:42 Russianman92
Ok

14:43 Russianman92
Was it superseded?

14:44 Deana
Replaced By 73220-04040-B0

14:45 Russianman92
Thank you, yet I do not understand how it warrants a HazMat fee
According to this company: https://www.safetyrestore.com/about-us

14:46 Deana
All seatbelts will have an hazmat fee, shipping carrier will not ship if it does not have that fee
Does not matter what year it is

14:47 Russianman92
who is the shipping carrier?

14:47 Deana
FedEx is the shipping carrier for hazard items

14:49 Russianman92
I would question this as they are simply collecting fees on items that may not warrant them.
according to 49 CFR § 173.166 - Safety devices
For the purpose of this section, safety devices are articles which contain pyrotechnic substances or hazardous materials of other classes
These seat belts do NOT contain any of those

14:50 Russianman92
I am not asking anything but to let you know that you could send that message along

14:51 Russianman92
that's all. I know you won't waive the fee as the policy is now. but perhaps just for future

14:51 Deana
I have already spoken with upper management we can not avoid or wave the hazard fee, to avoid the fee we recommend purchasing the part locally.

14:54 Russianman92
I understand. Just please pass the message along to them regarding the statute so that they were aware. If this is Fedex policy then they are attempting to use a loophole to charge extra fees. Just FYI.
Thank you for your time

14:55 Russianman92
You're welcome, and Thank you for contacting us! Have a wonderful day!
closed the chat

This tells me Fedex is either dirty or dumb and can't read the statute. Thoughts?

 

It means they don`t care !

If a company ships Fed-Ex ground we try not to order from them.

They will no longer deliver to me because of getting stuck in my driveway .

Vendor ships to me Fed-Ex it gets sent back unknown address . Why my UPS driver Gets A $100.00 at Christmas

 

Love it. I usually give mine a drink or some lunch every now and then. Dont see them at Christmas much Haha. I like the $100 idea though! Taking care of your drivers usually means they will take care of your stuff. Instead of putting things in the rain they will find a dry spot or safe place etc...

 

I believe it is illegal to incorrectly placard or label anything related to Hazmat. I think CFR 49 covers that.

 

Unfortunately according to the statute I only see penalties for not labeling or mislabeling Hazmat items and nothing for items which should not be considered Hazmat.

 

Yea I think that’s what I meant. Mis-labeling. But, I also thought that applied to falsely labeling something as Hazardous when it isn’t. Oh well...good info anyway. There is no way I would deal with someone that ridiculous! And as for FEDEX? Well, like USPS, is there anything hazardous, ect.... disclaimer when offering it up for shipment? The answer should have been NO!

 

It is a violation to "miscommunicate" what they are carrying on the truck, whether it's labeled incorrectly or they placard when not necessary.

 

just replaced my drivers side seat belt with new one, and didn't understand why I was charged a hazmat fee. but I needed it, since my old one was frayed really bad. I called everywhere, and was told that everyone charges a hazmat fee on seat belts. Sounds like a scam to me, if there is no explosive device.

 

I ordered from Camelback Toyota and wasn't hit by a Hazmat fee.

 

They don't have an online catalog do they?

 

Never mind found it. That is odd. They use FedEx as well

 

@Russianman92 , you can always hit gunny1005 up for questions on parts and numbers. He's the parts manager at Camelback Toyota. He'll send you replies with part numbers, prices and a quote #. He might take a day or two for a reply, but he's solid, and a good guy to do business with. I don't remember where I ordered my seatbelt from, but I should have gone with camelback. Lesson Learned.

 

Another thing is Camelback could also be eating the Hazmat cost. They put the PayPal fee on the invoice, but it gets charged to them and they don't pass it to us.

 

That's probably because Gunny gives Tacomaworld members a deal by eating the fees. That's awesome of him.