Received a separate charge from Fed Ex. for Customs Duty $4.51 and Advancement Fee of $10!!!

[sue_ontario]

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I recently bought two dresses from a seller who turns out to be from Malaysia. I paid $15.10 shipping costs and eventually received items which were not suitable for the wedding in England. So I contacted the seller and I have sent the package back surface mail. Today in the mail I received a bill from Fed Ex. for Custums Duty of $4.51 and an Advancement Fee of $10. So the total of the bill is $15.01 

There was no mention of this in the Sellers notes and she is obviously not a member of the Global Shipping. Surely if I am due to be charged a customs fee, shouldn't the seller mention it in her listing. I have already paid $15.10 for shipping and what is the $10 Advancement Fee. Can anyone tell me if a seller is allowed to sell items without letting customers know of the extra charge. I am going to call Fed Ex as I want to know what the Advancement Fee is for. I think it is very unfair and it has made the items much more expensive than they are worth. I have never had a problem like this before, so would welcome any feedback people have. I also noticed on the copy of the sellers sheet which is on one side of the paper, she has undermarked the price of the dresses and they are also marked as a gift. Isn't that against one of Ebay's Policies.

I would love to hear form anyone who has had similar experience.

Thank You

Sue

[femmefan1946]

and I have sent the package back surface mail.

Well, that's your first mistake. Even if you did use a Confirmed Delivery /Tracked service, it won't arrive before the Dispute closes.

Umm. You did go to the Resolution Centre (at the bottom of this page) and open an Item Not As Described Dispute, right?

Today in the mail I received a bill from Fed Ex. for Custums Duty of $4.51 and an Advancement Fee of $10.

The trouble is the importer is you, and you pay Canadian duty and sales tax on any import valued over $20 CDN (about $16.00 USD) plus the shipper's service fee, which is probably what that Advancement Fee is.

People detest the GPS, but at least they tell you up front what the duty +tax+service fee will be , calling the whole lump 'import fees.'

And there is a 5000 post thread somewhere here damning and blasting UPS, who charge their fees on the doorstep, unexpectedly and won't turn the purchase over until those fees are paid.

FedEx is much much sneakier. They hand over the parcel then charge you later.

Surely if I am due to be charged a customs fee, shouldn't the seller mention it in her listing.

Not as such, you are expected as an importer to know the costs of importing into your own country. Malaysians are not required to know the customs and sales taxes due in all 178 governments in the United Nations.

However.

The seller is required to give the location that the item will be sent from. If your seller did not give Malaysia as her location, she should be Reported to eBay.

I also noticed on the copy of the sellers sheet which is on one side of the paper, she has undermarked the price of the dresses and they are also marked as a gift. Isn't that against one of Ebay's Policies.

Probably. More importantly, it is against Canadian Law and possibly against Malaysian law too.

So.

Open the Dispute if you have not already.

Be prepared to lose the Dispute if you did not use a tracked shipping method. Be prepared to lose anyway because your parcel will arrive after the eBay / Paypal deadline.

Call FedEx and let them know that the parcel has been returned. They will need a papertrail. Be polite. The clerk didn't make the rules and she will be more willing to help if you are nice to her.

You have 60 days from purchase to leave feedback. Allow time for the seller to refund you, but around day 58 or 59 , leave appropriate feedback. The most effective fb is calm and factual. "Poor quality shipped from Malaysia by courier  high ship charge''

At the same time you will be asked to leave the more important Detailed Seller Ratings. A normal transaction gets 5 stars. If a seller's DSRs drop below 4.3, his ability to list and sell is severely restricted.

The lowest DSR is ONE Star. No stars is a free pass.

Since eBay and PP are not likely to help you if you did not use a tracked shipping service, go instead to the credit card you back your PP account with. (PP is just a useful mediator.) Call the 1-800 customer service number and talk to the clerk about a chargeback. Have all your paperwork including return shipping numbers handy for her to process a refund.

FWIW- Asian sellers are notorious for poorly made, badly fitted garments of low quality fabric. Also for not shipping, for fake replacement shipments and for never giving refunds.

They are fine for throwaway fashion, but for important garments go to a local seamstress. She can make you a custom fitted dress for less than the bridal shops who don't have in-house couturier staff.

[afantiques · Accepted solution]

If you do not pay Fedex they  will  charge the seller.

The seller was doing you a favour by reducing the value.

[mater721]

"FedEx is much much sneakier. They hand over the parcel then charge you later."

Interesting.

How do they enforce collection? For a nominal amount (say < $10) how is it worth their time?

[reallynicestamps]

If a company or a person is using FedEx, FE has financial information on that person.

They may add the charge to the next monthly invoice or just charge it to the person's credit card.

One ten dollar charge is not important, perhaps. Several thousand a month are. And sometimes it is easier/ cheaper to complete those little chargebacks than it is to sort them out from the larger ones.

Perhaps it costs $10 to collect $10, but it may cost $20 to remove the $10 charge from the stream of unpaid bills.

I'm making this up as I go along of course.

The labour cost of collecting duty and tax on imports over $20 but under about $100 is the reason CBSA doesn't bother. When it comes to private couriers, who can pass that cost on to their customers as a 'service fee' or 'customs brokerage fee', the law has to be obeyed.

[afantiques]

How do they enforce collection? For a nominal amount (say < $10) how is it worth their time?

If the buyer does not pay they charge the sender. Simple.

[mater721]

"If the buyer does not pay they charge the sender. Simple."

Even more interesting.

Don't like that Fed EX policy at all.

They should charge upon delivery - at least gives the buyer option to refuse to accept if the Fee is beyond reasonable.

I'm not saying many buyers would actually do that - but on a $20 item, if Fed Ex charged more than that for Import Fees and their own fee for collecting, then buyer might be tempted to refuse delivery.

Sending bill after-the-fact opens a whole can of worms for a shocked buyer who refuses to pay...

[pierrelebel]

"Sending bill after-the-fact opens a whole can of worms for a shocked buyer who refuses to pay.."

Reminds me of the "good old days" in Ontario when we had photo-radar.

We would get a ticket in the mail (ten days to pay or else) for a speeding infraction that had taken place weeks earlier.  Most recipients paid, knowing they were responsible for the "debt". 

Actually many preferred that system than wasting fifteen minutes on the side of the road waiting for a patrolman to check you out and write the ticket.  Same results - much more efficient!

[mater721]

"Actually many preferred that system than wasting fifteen minutes on the side of the road waiting for a patrolman to check you out and write the ticket.  Same results - much more efficient!"

At least with a real person you have a chance of walking driving away sans the fine.

Maybe not a large chance, but in the immortal words of Lloyd Christmas "So you're telling me there's a chance... YEAH!"

[pierrelebel]

.... except that with a real patrolman.... you get demerit points (which may affect your insurance rates) .... with photo-radar you only get the fine, no demerit points.

[mater721]

".... except that with a real patrolman.... you get demerit points (which may affect your insurance rates) .... with photo-radar you only get the fine, no demerit points."

T'is true... but I still prefer the traditional "personal touch" version - always hated photo-radar.

[pjcdn2005]

Reminds me of the "good old days" in Ontario when we had photo-radar.

Ontario doesn't have photo radar? Alberta still does.

[pierrelebel]

"Ontario doesn't have photo radar? "

Photo radar got its start with Bob Rae's NDP government in August 1994. It met its end 11 months later, after Mike Harris – who had campaigned with a promise to scrap the program – was elected.

Photo radar, which takes pictures of a speeding car's licence plate and mails the driver a ticket, has always been controversial. There is a sharp divide among government, drivers and safety advocates, with all sides citing their own statistics and making rival claims.

Advocates say anything that can be done to stop lead-footed drivers is necessary to save lives.

In January 1995, the Ontario transportation ministry released a preliminary four-month study showing photo radar had reduced speeding on highways.

The program also gave the government a bang for its buck, costing $4.5 million but scooping more than $19 million in revenue.

[mater721]

"The program also gave the government a bang for its buck, costing $4.5 million but scooping more than $19 million in revenue."

IMO it's a cash-grab.

It does not stop the speeder until he's completed his speeding and gets the ticket 3-4 weeks later.

And as you pointed out it does not get him off the road long-term by deducting demerit points. Or adding them, or whatever.

Basically, those with deep pockets can speed.

[sue_ontario]

I like the idea of not paying and the seller getting charged. I appreciate you replying to my question. I have definitely learnt my lesson as this was the first and last time I will buy from Malaysia. 

[sue_ontario]

It isn't worth their trouble and I hadn't thought about not paying until I saw all the comments. 🙂 Thanks

[sue_ontario]

Thanks for your reply it really helped:)