ControlAccount Fedex

Ray76

I recently received a present from Italy for christmas and have now been given a letter from controlaccount asking for import/export duty charges of 19.34, which they then dropped to 15.59 because it included a late fee for a letter I didnt even receive (address was wrong on latest letter so maybe the reason)

Can this be ignored or do you have to pay it.

I have seen on previous threads there have been different views, I wondered as I live in Scotland there would be a different outcome in Scots Law.

Any help?

martindow

Fedex quite often deliver and then invoice for import fees.  Apart from the late fee do the charges for VAT and their clearance fee match the declared value of the parcel?

If you don't pay, I can't imagine that they will go to court to claim a relatively small sum although that is always possible.  If you are sent something else via Fedex it is quite likely that they will require payment for this as well before making further deliveries.  They could also take the payment from your relative in Italy who sent the parcel via their card if they paid that way.

soolin

The payment is due, whether or not you decide to pay it depends on how much you gamble on FedEx taking a legal route to reclaim it. 

RFW

I've said before that I don't believe that they would ever win a court case if they ever took one. If someone says it was an unsolicited item and if they'd let you know there was a charge in advance you wouldn't have accepted it then I can't see how a judge could rule against that.
That's in the extreme event that they ever took you to court, no one would go to court for that amount.

DullGreyGuy

The Postal Services Act gives them the right to pay taxes on behalf of recipients and charge an admin fee for clearing customs for the importer. The legislation is UK wide. 

Will FedEx actually sue you? Are you happy having 6 years of debt collectors calling etc to avoid paying what you are legally liable for?

Tell whoever sent it you from Italy that they should pay and you don't want more presents from them

RFW

This is the details regarding gifts sent from overseas.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad

Spoonie_Turtle

What's the value of the gift?  There's an import VAT exemption for gifts worth below £39, although the gov.uk page does seem to imply they need to be correctly declared on the customs form.