FedEx invoice

cherry76

Today my brother received an invoice of £52 for a used backpack he bought from Japan. Currently he is in hospital with mental issues and will not be able to settle the bill. What can I do, do I pay his bill or just ignore it.? Thanks

soolin

If it’s due then someone who is able to act on behalf of your brother needs to pay it. 

RFW

cherry76 said:

Today my brother received an invoice of £52 for a used backpack he bought from Japan. Currently he is in hospital with mental issues and will not be able to settle the bill. What can I do, do I pay his bill or just ignore it.? Thanks

There's not too much information there. Why did he receive the invoice, is it for the item or for something related to customs/import duties? Was it a legitimate purchase? Who is, if anyone, currently responsible for your brother's affairs? Has the backpack been delivered? It's not clear from your post if it has.
On the surface I'd say to contact whoever has sent the invoice and let them know your brother is ill and is consequently unable to pay at this time. Nothing much will happen for £52, if you tell them he is sick. Ignoring it would seem to be the worst course of action.

Flugelhorn

is this some VAT / tax invoice? with a huge "admin fee" attached - I think you certainly send a letter there are templates online) saying you / he are not paying the admin  fee

noitsnotme

Flugelhorn said:

is this some VAT / tax invoice? with a huge "admin fee" attached - I think you certainly send a letter there are templates online) saying you / he are not paying the admin  fee

I’m guessing a used backpack from Japan is possibly a collectors item so it’s possible it wasn’t cheap.  Let’s say around £12 for FedEx fee, then £40 in VAT/duty isn’t outside of the realms of possibility.

superbigal

If he has already received the package i would advise him to simply ignore Fedex for now and wait and see if they chase it up.
They should have collected in advance of delivery.
Also the commercial paperwork for a charge of £52 should reflect possibly a declared package value of about £180 ish. The £52 will be circa £15 handling and probably circa £37 Import Vat @ 20% 
 If this was for a much cheaper item he could simply put the invoice into dispute.

noitsnotme

superbigal said:

They should have collected in advance of delivery.

There is nothing in law that requires them to do that.  As far as I know only Royal Mail / ParcelForce hold parcels until import fees are paid.  The Postal Services Act only states "A postal operator may detain a postal packet to which this section applies until any duties and charges in respect of the packet that are recoverable by virtue of subsection (3) have been paid." but they don't have to.

The Act also allows them to use legal means to enforce the debt... "Duties (whether of customs or excise) charged on imported goods or other charges payable in respect of postal packets to which this section applies (whether payable to a postal operator or to a foreign administration) may be recovered by the postal operator concerned and in England and Wales and Northern Ireland may be so recovered as a civil debt due to him."

Whether Fedex will enforce that debt or not is anyone's guess but perhaps not something the OP wants to risk their brother having to deal with in his current vulnerable state.

For reference - Postal Services Act 2000 Part VII

noitsnotme

superbigal said:

Also the commercial paperwork for a charge of £52 should reflect possibly a declared package value of about £180 ish. The £52 will be circa £15 handling and probably circa £37 Import Vat @ 20% 
 If this was for a much cheaper item he could simply put the invoice into dispute.

Don't forget that import VAT is charged on the shipping cost as well.  And there could be duties included in that £52.  So the cost of the backpack itself could have been much less than £180.

MyRealNameToo

noitsnotme said:

superbigal said:

Also the commercial paperwork for a charge of £52 should reflect possibly a declared package value of about £180 ish. The £52 will be circa £15 handling and probably circa £37 Import Vat @ 20% 
 If this was for a much cheaper item he could simply put the invoice into dispute.

Don't forget that import VAT is charged on the shipping cost as well.  And there could be duties included in that £52.  So the cost of the backpack itself could have been much less than £180.

And on the duty

Spoonie_Turtle

(For reference, no customs duty on items valued below £135.)