Duty and taxes for delivered item.

MR1988

Hello all,

I have ordered an item from United States. Total with shipping it was £190.

The item got delivered the other day but I received text messages from FedEx that it is subject to duties, taxes and fees of £69.4

When I click the link it says "Your package has cleared customs - to make sure it got though quickly, FedEx paid the duties and taxes on your behalf." And then there's a field where I can input my email address to get payment details.

Is this normal? Why would they deliver the item prior to paying duties? Everytime I ordered before I got a card that instructed me to pay duties before the item was delivere. £69 also feels a bit high, is this correct?

Would appreciate some suggestions.

martindow

Some companies demand the invoice before delivery, but Fedex often deliver first.  VAT would be £38, it could be subject to duty which is often just a few percent but could be, say, £15 and then a clearance fee of £15 or so.  £69.40 does not seem impossibly high, but I would expect Fedex to send you a breakdown of fees.  In the past they sent a letter, but presumably they want your email address to send details.