Help with FedEx Bill

Rob998

Over Christmas I recieved a gift from the USA. It was totally unexpected and I had no way of knowing it was going to arrive.

They eventually get it to me and I was happy, it was a nice surprise. 5 days later I get an invoice for £45!

How can FedEx charge me without warning for a service I didnt want. Even if it is a customs/duty fee. Surely I should have been asked if I wanted to pay it before being given the package.

How is this fair and how can they get away with this? I still havent paid it because I cant but I just got a 1st notice of missed payment.

Some details on the package, was marked as a gift and its value was listed at $175 around £112

Any advice or can someone clear it up for me HOW they can just lumber me with this bill?

agrinnall

I doubt if you have any choice now other than to pay it while it's still £45 or wait for them to take you to court, where the court will find against you, and the cost may increase. Blame the person who used FedEx to sent it to you if you want to apportion blame.

Rob998

I will have to pay, im in no doubt about that, but I just find

a) the amount to be crazy
I worked out that I have to pay duty (never more then) 2.5% and VAT 20%
So max is £3 + £23 VAT. So their fee is close to £20 for the "credit" of 5 days.

b) how they can do it without asking. Surely thats open to massive abuse!
Example, if I lived in America. Picked a random address in the UK. Post a small box of packing peanuts, light so not many fees. Put a value of £500 on it, the reciepiant would accept it when it arrives, who wouldnt. But then get clobbered for a massive fee 5 days later. How can they get away with this legally?

Its mostly angry curiosity at this point, I know I will have to deal with the cost as best I can. Im not going to go after the sender who did it to cheer me up.

bris

They do it to save you the hassle of clearing customs yourself which is a bit of hassle to say the least. Your anger should not be directed at FedEx but the sender who has landed you with this bill, they could have prepaid customs charges for you. FedEx pay the customs and charge a small handling fee, nothing wrong with this, the tax man is the one who imposes this not FedEx.

Fire_Fox

1. Ask for a breakdown of the charges, there are multiple types of duty/ import tax you may have been stung for several. IIRC tax is due on the total cost including shipping, not just the value of the goods.

2. It's HMRC's fault Fed Ex pay on your behalf.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.htm
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&propertyType=document&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014
http://www.fedex.com/gb/rates/ratesinfo.html

visidigi

Rob998 wrote: »

I will have to pay, im in no doubt about that, but I just find

a) the amount to be crazy
I worked out that I have to pay duty (never more then) 2.5% and VAT 20%
So max is £3 + £23 VAT. So their fee is close to £20 for the "credit" of 5 days.

b) how they can do it without asking. Surely thats open to massive abuse!
Example, if I lived in America. Picked a random address in the UK. Post a small box of packing peanuts, light so not many fees. Put a value of £500 on it, the reciepiant would accept it when it arrives, who wouldnt. But then get clobbered for a massive fee 5 days later. How can they get away with this legally?

Its mostly angry curiosity at this point, I know I will have to deal with the cost as best I can. Im not going to go after the sender who did it to cheer me up.

The sender is ultimately responsible for the costs, so whether they did it to cheer you up, they are still responsible.

The Gift allowance is £36 - you are liable fro VAT and duties on the whole amount as you are over the threshold.

http://www.fedex.com/ancillary/go/service/?pt=cl&lc=en_US&wcc=gb&dc=gb

The advancement fee is 2.5% or a minimum of £10.50 - the rest of your cost is Tax and duties, so your maths are out...

I'd love to know why you think duties is never more than 2.5%....as...it's not.

custardy

Rob998 wrote: »

Over Christmas I recieved a gift from the USA. It was totally unexpected and I had no way of knowing it was going to arrive.

They eventually get it to me and I was happy, it was a nice surprise. 5 days later I get an invoice for £45!

How can FedEx charge me without warning for a service I didnt want. Even if it is a customs/duty fee. Surely I should have been asked if I wanted to pay it before being given the package.

How is this fair and how can they get away with this? I still havent paid it because I cant but I just got a 1st notice of missed payment.

Some details on the package, was marked as a gift and its value was listed at $175 around £112

Any advice or can someone clear it up for me HOW they can just lumber me with this bill?

how can they advise you before the know its due?
its chicken & egg really

mattyprice4004

It's a customs charge - if you don't like it, move to a country that doesn't have customs charges.

Customs charges are a fact of life.

pmduk

Rob998 wrote: »

So their fee is close to £20 for the "credit" of 5 days.

They will have paid the bill already, so you've have many more than 5 days credit.

Forris

Rob998 wrote: »

I will have to pay, im in no doubt about that, but I just find

a) the amount to be crazy
I worked out that I have to pay duty (never more then) 2.5% and VAT 20%
So max is £3 + £23 VAT. So their fee is close to £20 for the "credit" of 5 days.

The charges are worked out on the value of the item + postage charges.

patman99

I remember a thread about a woman who contacted HMRC to find-out the actual import tax payable on an item that Royal Mail were billing her £50 for.
Turned-out that the actual fee was £25, so she went to the depot to collect the parcel, paid the £25, then threatened to call the Police if they refused to hand-over the parcel.

You could try this for a start. Most items have a fixed import tax duty regardless of value, so go to HMRC's website & search for the list of rates. Once you have this, you will then know how much you really owe FedEx. If you pay them for the fees they have paid, then they should release your parcel (don't forget that it is illegal to withold mail).