Have any of you come across this before, i bought some stuff from z1 that was delivered by fed ex about 2 weeks ago, i have recieved an invoice for import duty from FED EX, not from customs even though i have already recieved the goods, the wierd bit is that fed ex paid the duty up front for me and are now requesting it back.

 

anybody come across this before, is this generally what they do and what happens if you dont pay, as i have already got my goods

I've had that with Parcel force a couple of time and have always paid as it will just cause someone else problems when they decide to change their policy and refuse delivery until the customs charges are paid. Could me a fairly long drive to a FED EX depot to pick the goods up, or having to wait at home and take leave and pay the driver...if they still do that.

Fed-Ex pay the tax on behalf of you and then reclaim it. I am surprised you managed to get your goods without paying, normally they are sh!t hot on that.

i find that fed-ex send the bill afterwards, whereas parcelforce insist on payment upfront

Yep I had my bill a couple of weeks later from fed ex aswell.

gonna ask him to put gift on there next time, no duty that way according to the leaflet they sent with the invoice.but if thats normal practice then fair enough.

Never had anything with fed ex, however like jaffa said parcel force expect the payment up front! They send a letter out saying you have some stuff waiting, now pay us the money or you can't have it :( :rofl:

cheers

Yep, fedex always pay the duty and invoice later.

 

Gift only works if value below £18

Actually, I was confusing Fed-Ex with UPS - they take the money off you on the doorstep, just like ParcelFarce.

YEP! i usually get a call and pay over phone, but keep record of payment number they have tried getting money out of me twice by sending invoice!:rant:

 

dan.

You'll find that 99% of courier companies now pay the import duty & VAT upon importation, deliver the goods and then send an invoice at a later date. DHL is very hot on getting paid within 2 weeks or they close the account. You'll also find that in addition to the import duty & VAT you'll be charged an "agent" or handling fee which can be anything from £10 ~ £25.

 

Marking consignments as being a "gift" only works upto a value of £18 (as stated by SWZ above). Also, Customs & Excise are now very clued up on what the actual values are of goods being imported. They too have access to the internet and can easily check.

UPS held my parcel until I paid the duty. ;)

DHL is very hot on getting paid within 2 weeks or they close the account. You'll also find that in addition to the import duty & VAT you'll be charged an "agent" or handling fee which can be anything from £10 ~ £25.

 

 

Danny how do you mean close the account?

 

Reason I ask is i had a DHL invoice for £14 on a pair of £40 shoes Hayley bought on the net, i put it aside to look at later and it found its way into the abyiss, that was over a month ago and ive had no correspondence since.

 

Just to top off her whole shopping trip the shoes didnt fit so we ebayed them at a loss plus fees and a duty bill!!

 

No wonder im skint lol!!

Danny how do you mean close the account?

 

 

Sorry - meant to say the "freeze" the account. Basically - they won't process any further consignments until the outstanding balance is paid off. Had this happen to me last year when a consignment arrived just before I went on holiday. Three weeks later I return to find a letter on the doormat stating that the account was frozen until the invoice was settled. Once I settled the outstanding balance four (!) other consignments were delivered within three days! Invoices for those were sent later so they definitely held those consignments until the debt was cleared ...

 

I'm not sure whether this applies to individuals who import parts ad hoc. I have a business account with most couriers which makes a difference.

 

Regards,

 

Dan

Yep, fedex always pay the duty and invoice later.

 

Gift only works if value below £18

 

With the exchange rate right now, you can get turbos, injectors, IC's and pistons all for under £18 from America :rofl: