FedEx invoice for HMRC charge 2 weeks after delivery

indextwo

I ordered a tailor-made shirt online (from what I believe to be a UK site) a few weeks ago - chose the fabric, measurements, etc., then paid for the shirt & shipping. A great online service, and when the shirt arrived a week & a half ago, it was a perfect fit.

Yesterday, however, I received an invoice for 'import duty' from FedEx for an item they had delivered from China(?!) - which turned out to be the shirt. I called up FedEx, and apparently HRMC had decided that the value of the package was greater than a given threshold (I think they said it was £25), and applied import duty of £3.80 to it. Howeve,r rather than it being held, FedEx paid the import duty - without my knowledge or consent - and delivered it to me. The invoice they have now stuck me with is for £15.80 - the original £3.80 duty, plus FedEx's £12 'advancement fee'.

I immediately complained to the company from which I ordered the shirt, as I had not been made aware that I would have to pay any duty (I believed the shirt was coming from the UK, and in all communications there was no warning of 'oh, you might have to pay extra import tax on it too'), who have offered me a 20% refund which is just over half of what I owe to FedEx.

I fully intend to push the shirt company for at least a 35% refund, which should cover these additional costs, but my question is: do I have to pay FedEx at all? They never told me they were going to pay the import duty on my behalf, and this invoice is the first I've heard about any of it. HMRC have already been paid (which again, I was never made aware of), so at this point it just seems like FedEx are trying it on.

Has any one else had to deal with this, or have any advice?

pappa_golf

you will NOT get a refund from the men in china , forget it , move along and research companies more before paying for goods a dot co dot uk web address does not denote a UK company .

does the company have a full UK address (with postcode) or just a web "contact us" page , with no links as to where the questions are going

Stevie_Palimo

I ordered before from China and got stung up with additional charges through FedEx however I raised this with the sender of the item who duly refunded my whole additional costs and said please add a good reference on Ebay, I did of course as requested because I had a good service.

To say you will not get a refund from men in China when the OP clearly states a 20% offer is completely untrue.

Caz3121

which website did you order from? any mention in the T&Cs re customs clearance?
If you are importing goods and do not wish the courier to clear the goods through customs on your behalf, you can arrange in advance to do this yourself (depending where you live this may end up costing you more as you will need to travel) there was a thread here with a similar tale of woe
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5153183

indextwo

To be clear: the shirt was made in and shipped from China, but from what I can determine, the company itself (which appears to offer products globally) is based in Switzerland. I am aware that a TLD does not necessarily denote a country of origin, however at the point of order I had no reason to suspect otherwise.

Also, the company have already offered me a partial refund, but not enough to cover the costs incurred from FedEx. My real question was: do I actually have to pay FedEx when they didn't inform me that there was additional duty levied against my item, and took it upon themselves to pay the duty?

indextwo

@ Caz I hadn't spotted that earlier thread (which is annoying, because I spent 10 minutes browsing the forum, trying to figure out where to post this thread!), so thanks for the link.

It does appear as if this presumptive handling is 'standard', but as I've not had it before, it's thrown me for a loop.

I think my best bet at this point is to push for a refund of the full import charge from the original company (for reference, it's Tailor4Less, and it turns out they have buried a mention about import duty in their terms, opening with the sentence "You should not have to pay any additional amount"...)

wealdroam

indextwo wrote: »

@ Caz I hadn't spotted that earlier thread (which is annoying, because I spent 10 minutes browsing the forum, trying to figure out where to post this thread!), so thanks for the link.

It does appear as if this presumptive handling is 'standard', but as I've not had it before, it's thrown me for a loop.

I think my best bet at this point is to push for a refund of the full import charge from the original company (for reference, it's Tailor4Less, and it turns out they have buried a mention about import duty in their terms, opening with the sentence "You should not have to pay any additional amount"...)

You really should've read beyond that first sentence.

Here is a more comprehensive quote from their FAQs:

Will I have to pay additional taxes or tariffs on my order?

You should not have to pay any additional amount. Nevertheless, some countries charge fees or extra shipping costs to receive an item from overseas. If your package is held in customs, you have 7 days from the receipt of your order to open a support ticket in your Tailor4Less account. Tailor4Less will cover the expenses up to 20% of the value of your order.

Looks like 20% is the best you'll get - unless you brush up on consumer rights in China.

m0bov

There is no contract with FexEx and yourself, I would have believed they should have got cleared funds from you before signing for it, either COD or online payment. I would tell FedEx to send the bill to whoever shipped it.

indextwo

@wealdroam As implied, I didn't stumble across that section until after the fact (more fool me for not reading through all the FAQs before placing the order, I guess). But, also as mentioned, the company itself does not appear to be based in China. As far as I can determine they are based in Switzerland. My grievance is primarily with FedEx, and secondarily with the the company - not the factory they've used to produce the goods.

andrewmp

ignore me. Looks like you agreed to this charge in advance.

dj1471

FedEx are known for quickly passing these debts to debt collectors (I think they actually have one as a subsidiary). The importer is liable for the duty/VAT and the charge from FedEx.

You can complain to the retailer for not making it clear that the goods were coming from overseas but ultimately you didn't do your homework before buying and it has cost you. I suggest you pay up and move on.