Fedex Admin Charge - Is it a Scam?

[lejog]

Yes Fedex are unusual for a courier in sending an invoice for import VAT and duty and customs clearance fee after delivering the parcel, instead of not releasing it until you've paid. They are FAQs here. You are legally obliged to pay the VAT and duty, and in all probability they'll take you through the courts if you don't pay their charges.
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Surely that cannot be correct. The remainers are busy telling us how much DEARER things will be when we Brexit!

Complete nonsense, this is a UK tax imposed by a UK government (although there are EU guidelines) as import duties are imposed by governments worldwide. There is no reason why it would be reduced after Brexit, the government will still need the revenues. Indeed it may well be extended to imports from the EU (as said above) and Duty rates payable may well increase if trade deals remain unagreed.

 

[IanD]

The other thing to remember is that VAT is charged not just on the value of the item, but also on the shipping fees. That's the bit that annoys me.

VAT is carged on the amount the sender declares the contents of the package are worth. If they don't add to postage amount to that (which I believe they are not obliged to) then there's no VAT payable on that.

 

[timbo58]

Forgive me if this has already been answered.

I had the same thing a few years back and refused to pay the admin charge fedex levied and never did, telling them it was a 'speculative invoice' as I wasn't their customer.

I did pay however the tax levied which I accepted I was legally obliged to do.

Upon checking at that time it appears that the levy they charge can only be enforced if it's within the company T&Cs you have entered a contract with (and therefore it can be argued you agreed to the T&Cs of Fedex also as the company courier).

Luckily for me the company I was buying from T&Cs did NOT clearly state this and therefore the levy was not enforceable.

 

[lejog]

While I obviously cant comment on what happened when either you (or imdeed the OP) received your parcel, when I used to receive deliveries from Fedex on which import charges were due, I had to sign a slip agreeing to pay these charges when invoiced.

 

[timbo58]

With mine they'd already delivered the parcel when I was out of the office.
They therefore had little chance of forcing me to pay it afterwards.

Interestingly I had a parcel from China with duty (etc) to pay recently by DHL who held onto the parcel until I was there to pay it!

 

[Harpers Tate]

I'd not be surprised if firms like FedEx (i.e. who deliver first) maintain a blacklist of addressees who haven't paid, and you don't ever get another chance to fail to pay their fees. They may even share it. If I was in the courier industry, it's what I'd do.

 

[swj99]

Probably worth mentioning here, is this. It's fairly new legislation and many people are only just becoming aware of it.

Section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says the seller is responsible for the goods until the buyer receives them, unless the buyer has arranged his own courier. If the item doesn't arrive, it's the seller's problem, not yours. It's therefore not your responsibility to go chasing the courier firm asking where your parcel's gone. If it aint turned up, complain to the seller. And if enough people do this instead of doing the delivery firm's work for them by collecing their own parcels, then maybe the worst firms will disappear.

29 Passing of risk

(1) A sales contract is to be treated as including the following provisions as terms.

(2) The goods remain at the trader’s risk until they come into the physical possession of—

(a) the consumer, or

(b) a person identified by the consumer to take possession of the goods.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the goods are delivered to a carrier who—

(a) is commissioned by the consumer to deliver the goods, and

(b) is not a carrier the trader named as an option for the consumer.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/29/enacted

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'd not be surprised if firms like FedEx (i.e. who deliver first) maintain a blacklist of addressees who haven't paid, and you don't ever get another chance to fail to pay their fees. They may even share it. If I was in the courier industry, it's what I'd do.

Indeed, the invoicing is a piece of good customer service - your parcel arrives promptly and you can pay at your leisure.

Don't pay and you may ruin it for everyone.

 

[Harpers Tate]

...the Consumer Rights Act 2015...

which does not have any material effect on your liability, as the importer for taxes and fees due when you choose to import goods from outwith the EU.

 

[furnessvale]

Complete nonsense, this is a UK tax imposed by a UK government (although there are EU guidelines) as import duties are imposed by governments worldwide. There is no reason why it would be reduced after Brexit, the government will still need the revenues. Indeed it may well be extended to imports from the EU (as said above) and Duty rates payable may well increase if trade deals remain unagreed.

Only if a sovereign UK government chooses to impose such a duty.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Only if a sovereign UK government chooses to impose such a duty.

Like it does now, you mean?

 

[ainsworth74]

We have a thread for discussing the EU. This is not it. If people wish to discuss the matter further they are welcome to do so in the existing thread otherwise any further posts are liable for deletion as being off-topic.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Well the particular situation that caused me to start this thread has now been resolved. I contacted the seller, and they have refunded roughly the amount of the FedEx invoice (a bit less but not enough to quibble over). I've therefore paid the FedEx invoice on that basis, although the fact of having paid the admin fee leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously I haven't lost out because I'm just paying over money from the seller, but I feel a bit like I've handed money over to a bunch of con-artists.
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You asked them to deliver a commercial parcel from overseas to your house, and as part of that contract you agreed you would pay them an administration fee if they had to pay HMRC taxes and levies on your behalf. You agreed to it.

Actually in my case I didn't. I've gone back and looked over the website transaction page fairly carefully, and as far as I can see there was nothing either on or linked to from the page that mentioned any kind of admin fees for receiving the parcel. It simply quoted a straight delivery charge, included in the price. No link to any additional terms and conditions.
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This is very much a symptom of them being a business oriented courier - I genuinely (having dealt with them) don't believe it's obfuscation, it's an assumption that their customers will understand what it is and how it works - and for the vast majority of their business clients this will be true.

An interesting perspective. I wondered about this, but I don't think I can reconcile that with the invoice. I appreciate it's hard for you to comment precisely when you haven't seen the invoice, but from what I can see:

There is small print under the main invoice area saying 'You may not have been expecting a Tax and Duty invoice so we've put together some Frequently Asked Questions ...' followed by a link. That appears to indicate that FedEx are expecting that a significant proportion of customers won't be familiar with 'how it works'.

Further, the invoice, is clearly headed 'Duty & Tax Invoice', which is plainly incorrect when it's 50% a FedEx admin charge invoice. That by itself doesn't contradict your suggestion that FedEx expect people to understand what the invoice is, but it is distinctly odd. Putting a title that is factually wrong on the basis that customers will probably know that it's wrong so it doesn't matter hardly seems like good business practice. Put that together with the 'you may not have been expecting...' text, and I can't really see any plausible interpretation other than that the invoice is designed to deliberately obfuscate (at least as far as customers who don't know the system are concerned).

 

[DaleCooper]

Actually in my case I didn't. I've gone back and looked over the website transaction page fairly carefully, and as far as I can see there was nothing either on or linked to from the page that mentioned any kind of admin fees for receiving the parcel. It simply quoted a straight delivery charge, included in the price. No link to any additional terms and conditions.

That appears to be a failing on the sellers part, if you were being cynical you might think they omitted it to make their prices look more attractive to overseas customers.

Further, the invoice, is clearly headed 'Duty & Tax Invoice', which is plainly incorrect when it's 50% a FedEx admin charge invoice. That by itself doesn't contradict your suggestion that FedEx expect people to understand what the invoice is, but it is distinctly odd. Putting a title that is factually wrong on the basis that customers will probably know that it's wrong so it doesn't matter hardly seems like good business practice. Put that together with the 'you may not have been expecting...' text, and I can't really see any plausible interpretation other than that the invoice is designed to deliberately obfuscate (at least as far as customers who don't know the system are concerned).

I think you are looking for mendacity where there is none. How much detail should there be in an invoice's title?

 

[Harpers Tate]

As regards the DUTY and VAT
If you purchase an item from overseas on which duty and/or VAT is payable then it has got nothing to do with the seller, and it's not their responsibility to alert you to your liability. Legally, you become an importer of goods and as such you render yourself liable for taxes payable.

Carriers' fees are standard practice and you should expect these - but I have intentionally excluded them in my first paragraph. I'd say that the seller has exercised a degree of goodwill here by offering you reimbursement of these fees.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed.

Carrier's fees are usual - and the other option is that they just charge them on every packet at source, including an admin fee, and pocket them if customs don't show an interest. (There doesn't seem to be a facility to pay the duties in advance unlike the "goods to declare" channel at an airport - it's rather like a "reverse railway" in which it genuinely was the case that you only had to pay if challenged).

 

[swj99]

which does not have any material effect on your liability, as the importer for taxes and fees due when you choose to import goods from outwith the EU.

I wasn't suggesting it did. Otherwise I would have said so.