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FedEx Delivery Charges From US to UK

M

Monty Pavement

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 8, 2006
137
53
Scotland
I ordered 8 Gb of memory from OWC (Macsales) which cost just over £200 inc. shipping from FedEx.

Just got a phone call from FedEx to say they wanted me to pay the duty on this before delivering, which came to £80!

This seems like a very large amount to pay - just under 50% of the value of the goods!

Has anyone else ordered from US to UK and if so how much did FedEx charge?
 
They can charge an import duty and VAT, which can really add up. :mad: I hate FedEx though, they seem to be one of the worst with this.

Not sure what (if anything) can be done here. It just sucks that they want the money before delivering. I've argued with them after the fact and got out of it but it was actually a gift in that case.
 
What really bugs me is that you pay a fee up front for delivery, then you pay the duty, and then they whop on a huge 'Handling Fee' on top!!! For what? I've already paid you to deliver it, why do I need to pay you another large amount to do some paperwork which is undoubtedly automated and costs you nothing to do?

Total rip off.

Rant over.

The VAT on a £200 order would be, what, £35? So what does the remaining £45 cover? Bearing in mind I paid a postage fee to OWC for FedEx to deliver it in the first place.

I suspect FedEx will just smile and still demand the money, knowing they have something I want ...
 
Does anyone know what the Taric code (think that's the right term!) for computer memory is?

And from that what the import duty would be?

I had a browse through the Customs and Revenue site to try and find the right code, and therefore the import duty rate, but couldn't find anything that seemed appropriate (the language is like a 17th century farmer describing a supercomputer - all 'automatic data processors' rather than 'computers'!) and anything close had very low import duty, suggesting that the £45 above and beyond VAT is mostly taken up by Fedex' 'handling fees'.
 
Monty Pavement said:
Does anyone know what the Taric code (think that's the right term!) for computer memory is?

And from that what the import duty would be?

I had a browse through the Customs and Revenue site to try and find the right code, and therefore the import duty rate, but couldn't find anything that seemed appropriate (the language is like a 17th century farmer describing a supercomputer - all 'automatic data processors' rather than 'computers'!) and anything close had very low import duty, suggesting that the £45 above and beyond VAT is mostly taken up by Fedex' 'handling fees'.
Click to expand...
There is a phone number you can call, you talk to people and describe exactly what you are having sent over and they will give you the exact commodity code that should have been used. It's on the HM Customs and Revenue site.
 
I guess it's too late now, but was it not cheaper to buy the RAM from someplace within the UK and avoid import duties? Or were you just able to take advantage of our dollar, which is dropping faster than a cheap whore's pants? :D
 
::Lisa:: said:
There is a phone number you can call, you talk to people and describe exactly what you are having sent over and they will give you the exact commodity code that should have been used. It's on the HM Customs and Revenue site.
Click to expand...

Cheers - might give them a call on Monday as the £45 "mark up" is bugging me ...
 
yg17 said:
I guess it's too late now, but was it not cheaper to buy the RAM from someplace within the UK and avoid import duties? Or were you just able to take advantage of our dollar, which is dropping faster than a cheap whore's pants? :D
Click to expand...

Pretty much - don't get me wrong, I'll pay the £80 as I knew I'd have to pay tax on the order, the amount of the excess being asked for by FedEx just raises some questions with me.

Crucial in the UK didn't have the right memory for ages, and when it appeared, it was on the expensive side.

Edit: Just checked Crucial in the UK - OWC do 4 x 2 Gb for just over £200 - Crucial has the same for £610!!!! So, I really ain't that fussed about the £80 as such, it's just my curiosity wonders how much FedEx are pocketing out of the deal ...
 
Sorry to keep banging on about this, but I hate it when big companies think they can just flash a number at you and you'll cough up ...

Anyway, I had a look at the FedEx website, and if you register (it's free) they will give you an estimate of tax and duty costs.

So I put my info in for the order they are holding onto, and claiming I need to pay £80 in taxes for, and it said the estimated tax and duties would be $96.52 or or £47.72.

It also says it provides customs clearance for free, so can't see any mention of a Handling Charge.

Looking forward to my chat with Mr FedEx tomorrow ...
 
I ordered 8GB from OWC, too. FedEx shipping and insurance came to $30. It was shipped to the UK and I received it. A week later, I received a bill from FedEx for £53.65.

That was made up of a £6.80 admin fee, a £7.19 VAT value adjustment, and a £40 freight charge.

So, in essence, I'd already paid to have it delivered to me, and FedEx were charging me almost three times as much too! It doesn't cost about £55 (£40 + $30) to deliver something weighing less than a kilogram to the UK.

FedEx are a rip-off.

I emailed them and their automated response email said the charge would be put on hold until they have investigated it. I've not heard anything yet, and it's been 12 days so far.
 
What I've been told by eBay sellers who do a lot of shipping is to use UPS and FedEx within the US, but don't use anything other than USPS (US Postal Service) for international shipping . . . it's the only way to avoid those added-on customs "handling" charges.

So, if you're ordering from the US, ask the merchant if they might be willing to adjust their shipping method to accommodate you. Goodness, offer to pay them extra to use USPS - they'll be compensated for their trouble and you'll still save loads of money!
 
Well, I called FedEx today, and after a bout of 'Pass the Call' (was told to call another number three times!) I got through to someone useful and helpful.

Turns out that the request for £80 should have been $80!!! I'd asked this originally, and was adamantly told that it wasn't a mistake and it was definitely £80.

I then paid just over £50 (including just under £7 for the using my credit card - another rip-off!) and the package has been cleared.

What I've learned is that all FedEx should charge is the duty and VAT. Duty on computer memory is 0%, so it should just be 17.5% on the value of the goods, excluding shipping and insurance. FedEx clearly state on their web site that they pass things through customs free of charge, so the VAT is all that should be charged.

From my experience, and that of others, it seems FedEx do a nice little trade in confusing this issue.

The moral of this all is - CHALLENGE FEDEX TO JUSTIFY THEIR CHARGES. They make cock-ups but a lot of people just assume it must be right and stump up.

Don't let THE MAN win!!
 
darkpaw said:
I ordered 8GB from OWC, too. FedEx shipping and insurance came to $30. It was shipped to the UK and I received it. A week later, I received a bill from FedEx for £53.65.

That was made up of a £6.80 admin fee, a £7.19 VAT value adjustment, and a £40 freight charge.

So, in essence, I'd already paid to have it delivered to me, and FedEx were charging me almost three times as much too! It doesn't cost about £55 (£40 + $30) to deliver something weighing less than a kilogram to the UK.

FedEx are a rip-off.

I emailed them and their automated response email said the charge would be put on hold until they have investigated it. I've not heard anything yet, and it's been 12 days so far.
Click to expand...


Hi Darkpaw

Your bill sounds pretty much the same as mine, but it looks like FedEx have cocked up how they have broken down your charges.

The £6.80 admin fee sounds like a fee for paying by Credit Card (mine was £6.90 which either means that this fee changes depending on who you deal with, or it went up 10p after the budget!)

£47.19 (the VAT fee plus 'freight charge') is much the same as my total VAT charge for the same good (£43.58 in my case - price of memory probably dropped slightly)

So your total is probably right, they've just mis-labelled the charges.

Would it be worth setting up a Sticky to tell people what the import costs should be, and how to find out what they will be before ordering, as there seems to be a bit of confusion (especially within FedEx!) over what should be charged?
 
Shipping/Order

My friend in the USA bought me an iPad and i can't seem to find any price information on how much in would cost to ship....
Does anyone know with what company Fedex etc, and how much it would cost to ship to the UK... Thanks
 
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