FedEx/Control Account pursuit of VAT not owed

[CPStars]

Hi

 

In December I ordered goods valued at £128.80 from Poland on Etsy and because the goods were valued at less than £135 the VAT was paid directly to Etsy (£29.04) who remit back to HMRC. I have an Etsy invoice that details this.

 

The parcel was delivered by FedEx and it was written on the parcel that VAT was paid. I have a picture of this.

 

Since then I have received communication from FedEx demanding payment for VAT that they paid on my behalf (£32.16 - calculated to include the delivery cost of the item) the plus their disbursement fee (£9.65). I contacted FedEx providing them all details that show VAT was paid but they insist that it is owed because the sender of the package completed their FedEx documents incorrectly. I did not make payment.

 

Some weeks later I begin receiving aggressive letters from Control Account seeking payment for the above sums totaling £41.81 plus additional control account fees. Again I provide my evidence to control account that the VAT was already paid, that I am not a customer of FedEx and have not contracted them to provide brokerage services and that the fees proposed by control account are illegal per the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act, Consumer Contracts Regulation, Fraud  Act etc. 

 

As the letters continued to arrive I felt extreme pressure from Control Account so I contact Etsy who refunded the VAT paid and made payment for this sum to ControlAccount. I advised them as follows:

 

I am making payment for the VAT FedEx claim I owed. I received a refund from Etsy of the VAT I had already paid because it was easier to do this than to reason with FedEx/Control Account that the money was already paid

 

I am not making payment for the clearing administration charge of £9.65 (disbursement fee) or the Control Account fee of £3.75 because I am not a customer of either FedEx or Control Account. I have never employed or contracted either to provide me a service and will not be held accountable for services or service charges I have not solicited or agreed to. At no point have I ever agreed to such charges.

 

Under the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971 (updated in 2000), it is a criminal offence for a company to bill for unordered services in the hope that the recipient will pay due to ignorance. Also, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (regulations 39 and 40) outline that a company must obtain consent / express agreement from the consumer prior to levying and / or billing for any charges.

 

At no point prior to receiving FedEx invoice 391110244 did I receive any communication of this advancement fee from any party. I therefore did not agree to, nor do I accept, these charges. The same is true of ControlAccount ref 3794369.

 

Now, I continue to receive aggressive letters from Control Account with ever increasing fees and unexplained fees, totalling £33.40 and threatening court action.

 

I don't know what to do but do not want to give them money simply because they ask. Their behaviour seems criminal to me. What do I do?

 

 

 

docs1.pdf

[dx100uk]

Simply ignore everyone!!

 

Nothing they could ever have done from day one!!

 

Dx

[CPStars]

Hi - can you give more details as to why FedEx/Control Account are not in a position to pursue this through the courts as is threatened?

[dx100uk]

Because they can't and don't 

 

It was a scam from day one and you simply should have ignored them 

 

Type in control account in our enhanced Google search box and read a good few threads 

 

A DCA is not a BAILIFF and have ZERO legal powers on any debt no matter what it's type.

 

Dx

[dx100uk]

pdfs sorted and merged

you'd left the order number everywhere