Can fed ex demand disbursement fee for parcel delivered from hong kong

[dizzyblonde1966]

Hi, hope someone can help, just checking if fed ex are trying it or on not,

Had a small parcel containing a small in car tv screen delivered from china, bought via paypal, Fed ex delivered the parcel to me no problem,

However a few days later and i get an invoice in the post from fed ex

 

Says £15.82 disbursement out of the scope of the EU vat

and an admin charge of £10,

 

Is this above board or not, ive had loads of items delivered from hong kong ,and never been charged anything extra by any other courier.

 

Why didnt fed ex give me an invoice or ask for payment when they delivered the item??

 

Any help much appreciated

[blitz]

Its usually rare but you can be charged custom tax on commercial items you have shipping into the UK. I am sure someone can confirm this though

[ScarletPimpernel]

I have been in a similar situation twice.

 

In each case sent the courier a cheque for the customs charges, but explained that I would not be paying their admin charge because they did not have a contract with me (their contract is with the sender), and did not give me an opportunity to decide whether I wished them to act for me in this way. I did not hear from the courier again.

 

Incidentally, a company in Australia I sometimes deal with stopped using Fedex because it seemed that a very high proportion of customers seemed to be getting hit for customs and admin charges.

[buzby]

Above board. You'd correctly be charged VAT and duty on the importation. FedEx's fee is usually reasonable (£10-15 depending on value collected). The fact you were billed later was a mistake on their part, as they normally withold until all the fees are paid.

[dizzyblonde1966]

Thanks guys,

Db