Fedex debt collectors after me after company failed to pay import duties

thedoberman10

They've dealt with customs clearance and paid HMRC on your behalf. So you need to reimburse them.

So not 'tax collectors for HMRC' then 

Ergates

thedoberman10 said:

They've dealt with customs clearance and paid HMRC on your behalf. So you need to reimburse them.

So not 'tax collectors for HMRC' then 

They're acting in that capacity.   You owed some tax, they paid it for you and now are asking your to reimburse you then.

You imported the goods, you owed the tax, now you owe Fed-Ex.   If you believe this should have been covered as part of the purchase then you need to pursue the retailer for that, but that isn't Fed-Ex's responsibility.

Ergates

thedoberman10 said:

There isn't a bluff for you to call. They believe you owe the money.

Could you not apply this to many parking charges? Calling their bluff is just refusing to pay and in some instances they just can't be bothered with it. 

The situations are fundamentally different.  When a parking company sends you a "fine" (actually an invoice) they're not actually out of pocket - they've just attempting to profit from whatever the situation is.  They often don't take cases to court because they're on shaky ground and there are myriad ways in which people can "get out" of paying the bill.

Here, Fed-Ex have paid a tax bill *on your behalf* - and are now out of pocket as a result.  They're unlikely to drop it as they're actually in the right here and if it came to court they'd win.

cmthephoenix

Ergates said:

It would be *very* unusual for a retailer to agree to pay the import duties in a country they're delivering too - it would make it very complicated for them to price the items on their website for starters and/or work out what delivery costs will be.

Also, even if they did, they'd only be passing the costs on to you, so those £150 shoes would have cost £200+ instead (or, more likely, the postage would have been £50-60 more)

Yoox do it, shipping from Italy. I've seen one of their shipping invoices, they've got a separate sold to section (where they list a Yoox GB company and VAT No,) distinct from the Ship to address of the buyer.

jon81uk

Ergates said:

thedoberman10 said:

Hi guys. I recently bought some running shoes from Altra, who are based in Italy. I have bought from them before but on a recent purchase I was slapped with an anomalous £75 charge from Fedex for import duty. 

Altra state on their website that they pay this. Clearly, there has been an admin screw-up. They aren't responding to my emails with anything other than 'our legal team is handling' or 'fedex arent responding to us' 

Fedex are nigh-on impossible to get through to and have ignored all email correspondence. 

Two questions: 
1) What can I do here?
2) Are Fedex debt collectors as flakey as the parking ones? They appear from forum posts to have a bit more gravitas but have any of you experienced a similar situation? Can I call their bluff and get them to back down? What additional costs may I incur by standing up to them?

One thought I had would be to speak to Amex and dispute what I paid for the shoes (£150) because of this but that seems to be too non-processual to be countenanced. 

Anyway, thanks for reading. 

It would be *very* unusual for a retailer to agree to pay the import duties in a country they're delivering too - it would make it very complicated for them to price the items on their website for starters and/or work out what delivery costs will be.

Also, even if they did, they'd only be passing the costs on to you, so those £150 shoes would have cost £200+ instead (or, more likely, the postage would have been £50-60 more)

Delivery duty paid isn't that uncommon, its usually added to the shipping costs. The retailer would pay FedEx upfront for the duty or have an agreement the duty invoice goes to them. But yes it usually is paid by the consumer upfront as part of the costs somewhere.

Caz3121

thedoberman10 said:

I regularly buy stuff from Europe and have never faced a problem like this before

there were changes to the rules from 1st January 2022 (which possibly is when their website changed)

thedoberman10

You imported the goods, you owed the tax, now you owe Fed-Ex.   If you believe this should have been covered as part of the purchase then you need to pursue the retailer for that, but that isn't Fed-Ex's responsibility.

Yes, hence the post, which in effect is to how to deal with a retailer who is refusing to foot the bill for a mistake they made. 

MobileSaver

thedoberman10 said:

You imported the goods, you owed the tax, now you owe Fed-Ex.   If you believe this should have been covered as part of the purchase then you need to pursue the retailer for that, but that isn't Fed-Ex's responsibility.

Yes, hence the post, which in effect is to how to deal with a retailer who is refusing to foot the bill for a mistake they made. 

Your first problem is that the retailer you have a problem with is in Italy so you are probably subject to Italian consumer laws.

Fedex and you on the other hand are both based in the UK and so subject to UK laws. As the importer you are liable for duty so if Fedex take you to court you will almost certainly lose. In your shows I'd pay Fedex before the fees/charges get any higher and then try to reclaim the monies from the Italian supplier.

MalMonroe

There is this info - https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad

and also this - https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP some links at the bottom with information which implies; if Fedex own the debt and have just hired a debt company to chase then that company can't add any fees.

If Fedex have sold the debt the debt company can add fees that were in the original agreement (which you don't have, 2nd bottom link talks about credit agreements) but they must be actual costs, i.e not £100 for posting a letter. 

The duties have been paid, Fedex are just a normal company, as far as I can see the only way for them (or the debt company if it was sold) to get the money is to issue small claims proceedings and the court can award actual costs that have occurred (which would start with a £35 filing fee plus anything they can convince the court is justified).

Their site appears to state:

https://www.altrarunning.eu/eu/faq/terms-and-conditions

4.2 With reference to requests for deliveries to countries that do not belong to the European Union, any customs duty for importation shall be payable by the consignee. The Client is therefore advised to contact the customs authorities in the country concerned beforehand to verify the costs and any restrictions on imports.

Do you have a link to the page where they say they'll pay the customs fees?

Debt advice links:

https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/debt-collection/debt-passed-to-a-collection-agency.aspx

https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/debt-collection/charges-and-interest-on-debt.aspx

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5996209/debt-collector-fees