More hit by rogue fees in FedEx farce
D.B. writes: Your article last Sunday about FedEx bullying a customer for Customs duty reminded me of my own experience. I ordered an item from the US. When it arrived, FedEx demanded payment for import tax and VAT, which was more than the item cost. I refused to pay and when I challenged FedEx it explained that it charged a flat rate for anything coming from abroad. I said this was fraud and that I would report it to Revenue & Customs. Within five minutes the demand was cancelled and an apology was given. I just wonder how many customers have been overcharged.
WELL, one person no longer overcharged is Ms G, the reader whose letter we published last week. She ordered a lace bustier from the US costing £36.50 plus postage. It was too small, so she returned it but got a demand from FedEx for £19.27, apparently for Customs duty, and was pursued by debt collectors until she paid.
I had a word with the Revenue and a helpful official explained that the figures did not add up. He was right. FedEx has now returned her money.
The company told me: ‘FedEx is committed to customer service and we take all customer concerns seriously. We apologise for the inconvenience Ms G has experienced and have provided a refund in this particular instance. We remain in direct contact with her to address any additional concerns.’
But FedEx still failed to say how it calculated its demand. So here is the explanation: the true Customs figure was £7.27. FedEx added £12 for itself.
Other readers have sent me examples of demands they received from FedEx after receiving goods from abroad. Typically, the demand is headed ‘duty and tax invoice’, in bold letters. There is nothing that states plainly that FedEx takes a chunk of cash for itself. This is listed as an ‘advancement fee’ or a ‘clearance administration charge’ and could easily be mistaken for a Customs levy.
I did ask FedEx what right it has to demand this extra fee. After all, people who receive goods from abroad do not choose the courier so have no contractual relationship with FedEx. It is one thing to be asked to pay Customs duty, but it is another to be expected to pay FedEx a fee for acting as a tax collector. FedEx failed to offer any explanation or comment.
An industry insider offered a fascinating tale about international courier firms – though I should stress that he was not talking about FedEx.
He told me how another firm had demanded more than £40 from a friend for ‘clearance, duty and VAT’ on goods arriving from abroad that were worth just £6.
Working in the industry, he knew that no duty or VAT was due on such low-cost items and that the package would have been bundled together with hundreds of similar cheap goods, all cleared through Customs together for a single fee of £12.
As soon as he stepped in and made clear that he knew the system, the courier company scrapped the invoice. In short, it was a scam. There was no duty. There was no VAT. The £40 would have gone straight into the firm’s pocket.
The insider told me that because of his job at the time, he could not afford to make waves. Now he says: ‘If courier firms are still scamming people it is disgraceful and needs to be stopped.’
Which of our new Government Ministers will be brave enough to step forward and order an investigation, I wonder?
If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.