Fedex - Customs Duty and VAT..had a call!

O'Prez

So I ordered a leather jacket from Schott in New York the other day which they shipped via Fedex. I hate when that happens. Anyway, the price of it including the p&p is $634. It's due to arrive on Tuesday. But today (Saturday) I get a call from Fedex saying I have to give em €170 fee for customs and VAT before they deliver it or I won't be getting it at all. Is this normal procedure for this shower or indeed legal? I mean this person could have been anyone. Shouldn't I wait for some official thing on paper from Fedex AFTER I get my parcel?

gbee

This is normal for UPS. In my past experience, FedEx delivered the item and three months later issued the invoice for the VAT/Duty/Fess and then gave you 14 days to pay or it automatically went to a collection agency.

Nasty stuff.

So, I guess they have got their act together finally and are asking for the Fees before delivery.

On the legality of it, yes. Except that aspect of not getting it at all! It should go to customs who will keep it for three months and then sell it to cover the fees.

O'Prez

Desperate altogether. I've had those bills from them too AFTER I got the package. Pain in the arse. It took me 3 months to save for that jacket so naturally enough I do NOT have the 170 fee they're now demanding.

gbee wrote: »

This is normal for UPS. In my past experience, FedEx delivered the item and three months later issued the invoice for the VAT/Duty/Fess and then gave you 14 days to pay or it automatically went to a collection agency.

Nasty stuff.

So, I guess they have got their act together finally and are asking for the Fees before delivery.

dudara

Moved to Online Buying & Auctions

OP - before you pay, ask for a copy of the invoice to be sent to you, either via post or email.

O'Prez

dudara wrote: »

Moved to Online Buying & Auctions

OP - before you pay, ask for a copy of the invoice to be sent to you, either via post or email.

Yeah I don't fancy handing over any info or cash to some faceless voice over the phone with absolutely no proof of who they are or where my money has gone.

dudara

O'Prez wrote: »

Desperate altogether. I've had those bills from them too AFTER I got the package. Pain in the arse. It took me 3 months to save for that jacket so naturally enough I do NOT have the 170 fee they're now demanding.

Did you realise that you would have to pay customs/duties/VAT on the jacket?

O'Prez

dudara wrote: »

Did you realise that you would have to pay customs/duties/VAT on the jacket?

Schott said there was a possibility so I was expecting it but not over the phone with no invoice to be seen. That doesn't seem very professional to me.

dudara

It's quite common TBH - but make sure that you get an invoice first.

O'Prez

dudara wrote: »

It's quite common TBH - but make sure that you get an invoice first.

I will. Thanx for the advice It'll be interesting to see what happens on Tuesday when it's actually supposed to be delivered.

snickers

Any goods and even services purchased outside of the eu are liable for duty charges so you pay vat on cost of item and shipping in some cases if the shipper declares a low value on the invoice u might get away with it but problem is if it goes missing then they can only claim back the price declared so a 600 dollar jacket declared with a value of 50 if it goes astray the shipper takes a big hit in my experience items shipped through post office are less likely to be taxed than the likes of fed ex, ups, dhl ,tnt.

allthedoyles

Glad to see that Fedex have changed their policy

gbee

allthedoyles wrote: »

next time you order , request delivery by ems / an post

Why? An Post don't operate in the USA. USPS [Global] will pass on to An Post in Shannon, there one's goods are handed to customs, you wait up to three weeks for notification receipt, you then need to go to your local tax office and then get a PO to give to the tax office so they can release your goods.

Two to three days later your goods arrive.

UPS and other couriers are clearance agents, so your goods arrive in three to five DAYS.

An Post, quite frankly only exasperate an already difficult situation.

limklad

allthedoyles wrote: »

next time you order , request delivery by ems / an post

You can still get caught by Customs, been done several times by An Post. UPS, Fedex, etc all the same for Items outside the EU. They always have a customs charge +VAT on top of the Custom Tax.
They look at big items, small items they let through.

limklad

gbee wrote: »

Why? An Post don't operate in the USA. USPS [Global] will pass on to An Post in Shannon, there one's goods are handed to customs, you wait up to three weeks for notification receipt, you then need to go to your local tax office and then get a PO to give to the tax office so they can release your goods.

Two to three days later your goods arrive.

UPS and other couriers are clearance agents, so your goods arrive in three to five DAYS.

An Post, quite frankly only exasperate an already difficult situation.

I never had problems with An Post delivery times with Customs Charges.

91011

O'Prez wrote: »

Is this normal procedure for this shower or indeed legal? I mean this person could have been anyone. Shouldn't I wait for some official thing on paper from Fedex AFTER I get my parcel?

suppose next time you are buying a pint, you'll telll the barman that you're not paying the duty & vat until afetr you get a written letter.

Exact same thing!

If you purchased the item here, VAT & Duty would be included in the price you pay at the cash desk - why should it be different because you purchased online?

If you want to get shirty with fedex, they'll simply return the goods to sender, who will then charge you the shipping fees anyway!

O'Prez

91011 wrote: »

suppose next time you are buying a pint, you'll telll the barman that you're not paying the duty & vat until afetr you get a written letter.

Exact same thing!

If you purchased the item here, VAT & Duty would be included in the price you pay at the cash desk - why should it be different because you purchased online?

If you want to get shirty with fedex, they'll simply return the goods to sender, who will then charge you the shipping fees anyway!

Are you purposely missing the point or what? If the VAT etc needs to be paid I'll pay it. My point is doing so over the phone with no WRITTEN PROOF of having done so is a bit off-putting.

Comparing forking out 4 quid for a pint to a barman standing right in front of me and forking out 170 quid to a complete stranger over the phone? Well spotted. It IS the exact same thing. I feel so stupid now.

jor el

O'Prez wrote: »

Are you purposely missing the point or what? If the VAT etc needs to be paid I'll pay it. My point is doing so over the phone with no WRITTEN PROOF of having done so is a bit off-putting.

Why does it need to be in writing? Fed-Ex have rang you to say they have your parcel and it won't be delivered until you pay the outstanding duty. If you don't trust the caller, then look up the phone number and ring the office yourself.

91011

O'Prez wrote: »

Are you purposely missing the point or what? If the VAT etc needs to be paid I'll pay it. My point is doing so over the phone with no WRITTEN PROOF of having done so is a bit off-putting.

Comparing forking out 4 quid for a pint to a barman standing right in front of me and forking out 170 quid to a complete stranger over the phone? Well spotted. It IS the exact same thing. I feel so stupid now.

No not missing the point.

YOU ordered an item and were notified that it was shipped via Fedex.

You ordered it from outside the EU and therefore should know that taxes & duties are due when it arrives in Ireland (as stated on the website yopu bought it from)

Fedex called you and told you the item was en route and that €170 was due for taxes & duties and was payable before delivery.


Maybe someone with physic powers called your number randomly and gave a story about a jacket being delivered to your address that just happens to have about the same taxes as they were loooking for and you then paid them by western union or cash. - Then your fears would be justified, but in reality there is no such thing as physic powers, so your fears are not justified.

That's the way the system works - if you don't like it, don't use it and buy in your local store.

mcko

Bought something from the US a couople of years ago , FED EX delivered it. A couple of months later they invoiced me for 40 odd euro. I rang them and they said they had paid the duty for me to clear said item, told them to bugger off as they never asked about this. Got a letter from a debt collection agency looking for the money, told them I never instructed FED EX to pay and I would pay the Revenue whatever I owed them when the Revenue wrote to me. I gave them my lawyers name and address and told them to talk to him. Never heard from them again.
If the revenue want to collect duties then let them, FED EX are not the Irish Govt.

jor el

mcko wrote: »

Bought something from the US a couople of years ago , FED EX delivered it. A couple of months later they invoiced me for 40 odd euro. I rang them and they said they had paid the duty for me to clear said item, told them to bugger off as they never asked about this.

This is the way Fed Ex used to do it. In fact, in a lot of cases they didn't even invoice people, but sent it straight to the debt collectors without ever contacting the customer themselves. It's about time they got their act together and started notifying people properly.

mcko wrote: »

If the revenue want to collect duties then let them, FED EX are not the Irish Govt.

Revenue have empowered the delivery companies to collect tax and duty on their behalf, so in this case they are acting as agents of the government.

91011

mcko wrote: »

I gave them my lawyers name and address and told them to talk to him. Never heard from them again.
QUOTE]

You're talking Bullsh1t.

Fedex have done and continue to issue civil summons to those who do not pay the duties & charges and for the few cases that do end up in a district court after not being paid, Fedex always win.

For those few eejits that do allow it to go to court, they then find themselves with a bill with an extra couple of hundred euro added for court costs and impossible to get credit as their failure to pay and the judgement is registered with the ICB.

Drop into a district court civil case sitting someday and see how it works.

Our man in Havana

Fedex will not go to court over an amount under a few hundered to being with. The problem being they can only claim scaled costs which are only a fraction of their true costs. I would reckon they would only target serial offenders who do not pay.

91011

Haddockman wrote: »

Fedex will not go to court over an amount under a few hundered to being with. The problem being they can only claim scaled costs which are only a fraction of their true costs. I would reckon they would only target serial offenders who do not pay.

yes they will and they have. If you sit in on a civil proceedings session in a district court, you'll see various small amounts listed for various companies including fedex, meteor, O2 etc. - maybe not for €10, but I have seen them for amounts as low as €60.

Our man in Havana

I am in the district civil courts quite regularly (I work closely with solicitors so I know the system inside out) and I have never come across a case for less than €500. It is simply not economically viable to pursue small debts. It is the scaled costs are the killer. I could spend a few hundred on a solicitor only to be awarded a pittance as scaled costs. It might cost me €200 to pursue a €100 debt and only get €50 odd in costs. So even if the debtor pays up the €150 I will still be down €150. You cannot recover the shortfall from the debtor It is simply not worth most companies time or effort as they actually lose money taking such small debts to court, it is easier and cheaper to simply write off the debts.

So whoever is taking cases for €60 needs to have their heads examined.

mcko

I can only tell you what happened to me, don't really need to come here to tell lies.

bingus666

so here a thing:

been thru the "purchased from US" & ripped off by UPS for customs, vat & admin charges before & swore to myself I would never do that again.

was on amazon.co.uk last week & bought a watch (in sterling), here was me thinking great! no customs BS to go thru, got a shipping email from fedex stating goods in transit from.....guess where...... USA!

wtf???? I specifically bought it from a UK site in UK currency so I would not have to go thru the customs xtra charges... now here we go again :eek:

mega pissed off with the deception, being trying to research the whole customs & excise thing agin as some couriers include all into the price but no banana so far, have emailed amazon.co.uk stating wtf etc.

buyers beware!!!!! went to online import customs calculator & now I have to pay €35 xtra & what ever fedex "admin" costs are...

will update on their response (if any), I'm sure there's small print somewhere... :mad::mad::mad:

whiteshorts

Go back to the seller.
Tell him if there are charges you are not paying them as "it states items in UK"
I'm assuming it does on the description?

Savage_Henry

I think its a great idea, that they call you. Much easier - you loose less time getting the invoice by post. BTW with dhl you can pay customs directly on delivery