My company got billed by UPS for customs charges -- what?

Originally Posted by Michael Ay329

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My experieince with UPS is different. In December, I took delivery of 2 G&G shoes via UPS. Got hit with a $43 custom duty...no brokerage fee

Interesting, thanks for sharing. The UPS rep I dealt with seemed to indicate that if they get involved with clearing your package through Customs, the fees apply. Cool that you only owed import duties. As there are many, many categories of import, do you know if the $43 was a set amount because it was 2 pairs of shoes or was it a percentage based upon the value of those shoes?

thanks,

Sean Paul

ive gotten billed by fedex, customs fee levied on declared value of the package. (all disclosed by seller before purchase)

It depends on what level of service you get from UPS. The brokerage fee is included in the higher-priced options, so you'll only be hit with tax and duty. If you ship UPS ground from the U.S. to Canada you will end up paying $35 in extra brokerage fees on a $100 item.

Originally Posted by sjmin209

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This makes no difference. You still have to pay.

First, this is not legal advice. It's merely speculation.

I am not completely convinced that you do have to pay, especially not the "processing" fee. You actually have no contract with the shipper, the seller does. For example, the seller could have chosen to use Royal Mail and you wouldn't have been charged any processing fee. BTW, I have seen packages where no duty at all was due that were still charged a "customs processing fee."

To illustrate, suppose the shipper decided to bill you a $1000 processing fee. Would you be legally required to pay it? Did you agree to it? $10,000?

Now if you have an account with the shipper and the agreement requires you to pay these fees, that's different. But absent some agreement to pay the fee, you are a stranger to the transaction between the seller and the shipper.

Originally Posted by deveandepot1

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FWIW I rarely get hit with customs from other countries except when the seller uses UPS.

It all depends on the value of the item and the final destination (ie. which state). For example, in Illinois, things under $200 do not get charged.

Originally Posted by VKK3450

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Unfortunately UPS and FedEx have a vested interest in you getting charged for customs as they also take a processing fee.

K

+100.

Why US customs don't allow US residents to pay custom duties on packages via internet? Because someone's cousin is running a contract company that process your payment and charges you a fee that is MORE than the actual customs bill.
Welcome to United States of Albania.

Originally Posted by onix

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It all depends on the value of the item and the final destination (ie. which state). For example, in Illinois, things under $200 do not get charged.

Not really. Customs duties are charged by the feds and are payable on goods crossing the U.S. border. The states have no say in levying these duties.

Originally Posted by Bounder

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Not really. Customs duties are charged by the feds and are payable on goods crossing the U.S. border. The states have no say in levying these duties.

Are you sure? Last year during one of a deal craze, members bought shoes from the UK at the same price but reported custom duties differently across the States. IIRC, I don't have to pay custom fee, but one or two guys down in Texas had to pay.

Originally Posted by onix

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Are you sure? Last year during one of a deal craze, members bought shoes from the UK at the same price but reported custom duties differently across the States. IIRC, I don't have to pay custom fee, but one or two guys down in Texas had to pay.

Customs duties are technically due on (almost) ANY purchase of ANY value shipped to you from outside the US. State law has nothing to do with it, it's federal.

A lot might depend on the shipping service used, the reported value, the additional fees leveled by any customs broker in cahoots with UPS/Fedex/etc. and even how the customs agent parses the declaration of contents.

Trust me on this.

Originally Posted by Bounder

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First, this is not legal advice. It's merely speculation.

I am not completely convinced that you do have to pay, especially not the "processing" fee. You actually have no contract with the shipper, the seller does. For example, the seller could have chosen to use Royal Mail and you wouldn't have been charged any processing fee. BTW, I have seen packages where no duty at all was due that were still charged a "customs processing fee."

To illustrate, suppose the shipper decided to bill you a $1000 processing fee. Would you be legally required to pay it? Did you agree to it? $10,000?

Now if you have an account with the shipper and the agreement requires you to pay these fees, that's different. But absent some agreement to pay the fee, you are a stranger to the transaction between the seller and the shipper.

If you want to be able to receive a shipment with the shipper again, especially an international one, you have to pay the brokerage fee. DHL will send it for collections.

Years back when I broke up with my then American fiance, she shipped some stuff that I had left at her place back to Canada via UPS. I had to pay $70 TO GET MY OWN STUFF BACK. She worked for UPS at that time, and even declared it returned personal goods to a citizen. Seriously, their 'customs broker' bs has to be one of the biggest scams going. That being said, you're gonna have to pay...consider it a lesson learned.

Originally Posted by juuceman

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If you want to be able to receive a shipment with the shipper again, especially an international one, you have to pay the brokerage fee. DHL will send it for collections.

Well, first, I doubt that you would be unable to receive packages. Say you ordered a bunch of cheap shirts from TM Lewin who shipped it by UPS. (To be fair, IIRC, Lewin ships by Royal Mail.) I doubt seriously that UPS is going to return the package to Lewin and refuse to ship it because the receiver was in arrears on a UPS brokerage fee. That would be incredibly bad business on many levels. I'd be surprised if UPS UK could even screen for this information if they wanted to, though I may be wrong.

As for collections, I suppose they could try. But if you challenged it, I suspect you would find that it isn't legally collectable. Once again, I could well be wrong. But what if DHL or UPS did decide that they were going to charge a $1000 customs clearing fee? Would you be legally obliged to pay? if not, why not?

This is only my recommendation and cannot be guaranteed:

I ship worldwide from the UK. If I use Royal Mail or Parcelforce Priority Mail my customers don't usually have custom problems. These companies use the local delivery service in the destination country which seem to be more lenient about attached documents & duties.

If I use FedEx, UPS, or other couriers like these, the customs is taken very seriously. If you are purchasing from the UK, try to ask which service the seller uses. Worth noting that if it's Parcelforce Datapost ( their fastest service ) even Parcelforce use FedEx in the destination country for their faster service so more detailed documentation is required so try to avoid.

If you have the choice when you purchase, try the following:

Royal Mail "Small Packet" International Signed For service...Parcels under 2KG's

Parcelforce "International Priority" service...Parcels over 2KG's

I hope this helps.

Nick.

www.bespoke-england.co.uk

What if you don't have a ups or fedex account, does UPS just bill you directly or they will ask you to pay them when you receive the good?

Originally Posted by columbia92

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What if you don't have a ups or fedex account, does UPS just bill you directly or they will ask you to pay them when you receive the good?

Yes