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Original poster

Received Amazon parcel from China. Now FedEx billing ME £30 for customs duties?

34 replies

KenzoBaby · 04/06/2020 17:59

I ordered an item from Amazon. Transpires it came from China. I have just received an invoice from FedEx referring to the item and invoicing ME £30 for customs duties!

I have emailed FedEx and suggested they invoice the sender instead. I have also messaged the seller on Amazon but WTF?! Has this happened to anyone else? Surely I don't have to pay it?

I used FedEx once before to send an item to the US and they were no end of trouble! Hence how annoyed I am at seeing paperwork from them on my doorstep once more!

Thanks.

OP posts:
MongerTruffle · 04/06/2020 18:01

This is perfectly normal. The courier pays the customs fee for you so that your parcel isn't held at the port of entry.

The only exception that I've experienced is when ordering something sold by Amazon in another country (not by a private seller on Amazon).

crankyhousewife · 04/06/2020 18:02

My daughters are always ordering albums from SouthKorea and get stung for customs charges probably 50% of the time. Can work out quite costly.

Yes you do have to pay it.

rosesarered9 · 04/06/2020 18:02

I have emailed FedEx and suggested they invoice the sender instead. I have also messaged the seller on Amazon but WTF?! Has this happened to anyone else? Surely I don't have to pay it?

As the importer, you are responsible for paying the customs duty by default. The seller might occasionally offer to pay it on your behalf, but that is the exception, not the rule.

Interested in this thread?

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General shopping
EatsShootsAndRuns · 04/06/2020 18:04

If you want your item you have to pay the customs charges for it. Up to you.

It's not the seller’s responsibility to pay customs fees for buyers.

heartsonacake · 04/06/2020 18:04

Yep, you have to pay it. Customs charges are your responsibility.

thatcarolebaskinbitch · 04/06/2020 18:05

Yes your responsibility so you pay

Original poster
KenzoBaby · 04/06/2020 18:09

Thank you for the advice. I think it's awful that this is not stated upfront on the advert for the product. It doesn't even say it's coming from China so you wouldn't know to budget for it.

OP posts:
heartsonacake · 04/06/2020 18:12

You can easily find out where an item is coming from by clicking on the seller and looking at their page.

The fact that you didn’t do that doesn’t make the fees their responsibility, it just means you were remiss in checking all relevant information.

sausagetown · 04/06/2020 18:15

I sympathise OP. I bought a skirt on Etsy from the USA and was pretty shocked to get a card from Parcelforce saying I had to pay an additional £18. Was raging! I think that's just the way it is though. I've had stuff from the States before and never been charged extra, so I wasn't expecting it. The postage was very expensive anyway and I wouldn't have bought it at £18 higher.

(The skirt is fab though :-) )

Original poster
KenzoBaby · 04/06/2020 18:15

Aye ok, "it was in the small print". My fault then obviously. Something like that should be more clearly stated imho.

OP posts:
TheClitterati · 04/06/2020 18:18

You do have to pay OP but I do agree that it should be clear on Amazon's website when goods originate outside of the UK.

Original poster
KenzoBaby · 04/06/2020 18:21

Where on the seller's page does it tell you where they are shipping from? I can't see any mention of China whatsoever...

OP posts:
Sheepareawesome · 04/06/2020 18:22

If it was bought from Amazon can you return it? They have a good returns policy normally. Or do you not have it yet - in which case can you reject it?

heartsonacake · 04/06/2020 18:25

@KenzoBaby

Where on the seller's page does it tell you where they are shipping from? I can't see any mention of China whatsoever...
It’s under Detailed Seller Information; you can see their customer service address and business address.
june2007 · 04/06/2020 18:26

People do get stung I used to sell nappies and sold some to a lady abroad, she then was annoyed because of import tax on her side and asked me to pay, but I said that was her look out. I made things cleaerer on my website after that so others didn,t get stung, but she is responsible for checking about rules in her coutry. She said she wouldn,t have got them had she known.

Purpleartichoke · 04/06/2020 18:28

I can’t tell you how many times I have put something in my cart only to realize by the long ship date that it might be coming from someplace like china. Most of the time I buy something else because I don’t want to risk the customs fees. Occasionally, it’s worth getting something special.

HoneysuckIejasmine · 04/06/2020 18:29

Yeah, we paid £20 to receive a baby blanket from the states as DGGM forgot to mark it was a gift and just said "textiles".

Original poster
KenzoBaby · 04/06/2020 18:31

I still can't see any mention of China in the seller's information but yeah tbh I should have realised by the long shipping time. Never come across customs duties before and I buy loads online and have done for years.

Yes, have contacted Amazon and they are investigating. Their customer services is good usually so fingers crossed.

At least it was only £30 - imagine if it were loads and you couldn't pay it!

Lesson learned.

OP posts:
UnfinishedSymphon · 04/06/2020 18:33

How strange, I've had lots of stuff from china via Amazon and other companies and have never paid an import fee

Original poster
KenzoBaby · 04/06/2020 18:34

The item arrived about a week ago so way too late to cancel or reject the delivery. Nothing with the parcel about the fees, just this invoice out of the blue the following week!

OP posts:
saraclara · 04/06/2020 18:38

I've had this happen a few times through Royal Mail. A red card put through the door saying they couldn't deliver because there was a fee to pay. Had to go to the sorting office to collect it and pay up. One of the (small) companies I order with directly, now puts 'gift' on the customs form for me, and ensures that the stated value is just below the maximum duty free amount.

Lolololololol · 04/06/2020 18:41

This happened to me, I contacted Amazon directly. I paid the charge to DHL, and Amazon refunded me. What was was really annoying, is that I placed one order but it came in 2 parcels, so I was sent 2 invoices! Got all the money back, but it's just a faff isn't it!

Time2change2 · 04/06/2020 18:45

Yes it’s super annoying. The seller doesn’t pay it’s the buyer who has to pay anything over £15 results in a customs charge. The UK has a very low customs threshold!
Always always check shipping times and if it’s a long time ahead it’s from China. Small things are ok but over £15 - nope!

ChateauMargaux · 04/06/2020 18:51

I have bought stuff from Amazon that has come from China and never had customs charges ... I am not surprised you have been blindsided by this.

Imohsotired · 04/06/2020 18:54

Go on amazon chat and get them to refund you. If you ordered through amazon UK the obligation shouldn't be with you

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