Parcel at door, requested £140. Aibu to think dodgy?

[DollyKoo]

Just opened the door to a man in a UPS uniform (couldn't see van). Mate behind not in uniform but poss id.

He was holding a parcel, said was cosmetics from Latvia had a different name but my address. Said it needed £140 to be delivered.

Do they really ask for money at the door? It seemed so weird, he pushed a bit but then smiled and said they'd send back when I insisted twice

Total dodgy scam - u have Latvian number plates? oh how convenient the parcel was from Latvia!

Report it. Get a description of both men, inform UPS someone tried to pretend their employees attempted a delivery and asked money for it and also inform the police.
UPS drivers never ask for money and should have no idea about the contents of the parcel.

There was a similar scam around here recently. The reason I know is because the person it happened to first contacted the police and they issued a warning in the local press and on Facebook.

For the sake of people who might be flustered and vulnerable and pay up, please do report this to the police.

I'd report to Fraud, maybe Citizen's Advice in your local area, it's clearly a scam. Imagine if you'd been a timid character or had learning difficulties? It doesn't bear thinking about.

To the person who said, "What if it were a pensioner?" We don't all lose our marbles once the pension starts to be paid.
When my neighbours were having their house extended I agreed to take in parcels for them. On one occasion the Fed-Ex driver said there was duty to pay on a parcel from the US. I refused to pay and told him to go next door. They paid on-line and he came back a couple of days later.
A few weeks later a driver came with a parcel addressed to Brandon Lee. No-one of that name lives in the immediate area and I refused it. This happened a couple of times, and then a driver came to collect a parcel for Brandon Lee, which was being returned. I repeated ..... never heard of him, had refused to accept etc. etc..... Yesterday I read in the paper that there is a Chinese scam in operation where they try to boost sales by sending parcels with fake names on to genuine addresses, so I reckon the Brandon Lee parcel was one of those.

I hope you've reported this to the police by now, OP. Other potential victims of these scammers may be more vulnerable, so the sooner they are found, the better.

If you are on any local facebook groups, I'd report the scam to them too, its an easy way to get a percentage of the area on alert to report and warn vulnerable relatives/neighbours.

I agree with PP, post the scam on facebook and warn friends/neighbours and also ring 101 and record it with the police. No courier company would ever ask for such a sum on the doorstep, but sadly some people will fall for it as they always do.

Eddie - I only mentioned pensioners as from experience, a couple of elderly neighbours have been scammed/taken advantage of as a burly man knocking on the door can be quite intimidating. Perhaps vulnerable would be a better choice of word, as Third said.

I have had to pay that much and more in customs charges to UPS and Fedex. If you are home they dont leave a card, they ask for the money. Perfectly legit.

Report it to Action Fraud.

There's no duty payable on goods from Latvia or any other EU country.

Even if it was from a non-EU country, you would have to be ordering a massive amount of expensive makeup to have to pay £140 in duty (I think the value of your goods would have to be something like £700)

If there was incorrect postage, they would drop a card round and you'd have to go online or to the post office and pay a fee of up to £3 - NOT £140.

Well the fact they you hadn't even ordered the item and they come knocking on your door with it asking for money. Screams dodgy. Plus you pay for things when you order. Don't you.
. Thank God you never fell for it, but. How many people have been conned. Some people are vulnerable and will fall for anything.
Glad you've been in touch with UPS.
I also agree about calling the police.
Have these people got no conscience at all. How would they feel if it were there mum who got ripped off.
Mind you. I don't suppose they'd give a shit.

I've paid customs duties to UPS before on delivery of goods from China. It completely threw me because up until then they'd come via FedEx and they sent an invoice a few days later. You wouldn't pay customs duties from Latvia though so that and the lack of van sounds like a definite scam.

DH works for UPS. They do not ever ask for cash. You'd get a letter telling you if any customs duty due first.

Let you local policing team know. They are keen to hear about these sort s of things as they tend to cluster/target one area then move on

They also may have targeted you hoping you don't speak English very well and would be intimidated.

In the future say something like 'I'm not expecting this parcel, what's your name please?' Ask them to wait at your door, closed, and phone UPS yourself and ask if they've got anyone with that name in your area.

A genuine delivery person won't mind.

As PPs have said, Latvia is in the EU so there is no duty payable. That's pretty much the beginning and the end of it.

I live in another EU country and UPS etc DO ask for money at the door - but it's only ever when you're expecting a parcel, it's addressed to you, they wear a uniform and show you all the paperwork first. You always know what it is because you ordered it yourself. And it DOESN'T come from inside the EU.

As I said, UPS do offer a Cash On Delivery service, www.ups.com/content/gb/en/shipping/time/service/value_added/cod.html

Collecting customs charges and VAT is an entirely different matter and wouldn't apply to a shipment from Latvia to the UK anyway, so that's irrelevant.

As for the van. it's perfectly normal to park outside one house to do a delivery and then walk another delivery a few doors away on the same road.

It's all irrelevant though, if nobody's expecting a cash on delivery parcel from Latvia then it's either a mistake or a scam.

Ive had to pay at the door. It was a customs fee or something for my wedding dress which was shipped from America. It was £100. I wa s abit surprised because althi i knew i would have to pay the fee i assumed id have to go to the post office to collect the parcel and pay it there. But no they brought it to my door and charged me on the doorstep and i paid there and then.

but yes you wouldnt be paying customs fees if something was from inside the EU would you?

Scam. I've had parcels from family in the States that we've had to pay fees for. Never as high as £140. And they leave a card with directions of how to pay and collect the parcel. Glad you didn't fall for this.

But don't worry, with Brexit coming you can soon hope to pay lots of lovely money to import things from Latvia...

I have paid cash on delivery of goods too. Fed Ex do this a lot. Yours however sounds v dodgy. Also I've never seen a UPS driver without a van.

"I have paid cash on delivery of goods too. Fed Ex do this a lot. Yours however sounds v dodgy. Also I've never seen a UPS driver without a van."

Chances are it's just a couple of blokes who've noticed the Latvian numberplates, and decided to chance it. Get a box, put the OP's address on it, they don't know the name, so make one up and then try to get £140 out of the householder. Not very sophisticated is it?

I've had a parcel being delivered by DHL (I think) from the States get held up at customs (it was something I'd won on a website, so hadn't bought it, but still had to pay import). They sent me a letter, and possibly also called, saying how much had to be paid and how to do so.