Fed Ex Formal notice??

[Jonah Hex]

I bought some comic related stuff ( not comics or anything paper ) a little while ago from the USA via ebay. It was sent Fed Ex to me in the UK which was great because it arrived very quickly. It was a week later I received a letter from Fed Ex saying I owed them £17.09 in charges or taxes after the fact. I got another letter following saying the same. I ignored these as I felt I shouldnt pay after the fact on an ebay tranaction. The charges were almost as much as the item itself ($35.00 US)!!

I now received a formal notice/final warning letter saying this...

 

Due to non payment of the above balance we are preparing instructions to issue legal procedings against me in the county court, which may result in the entry of a judgement.

On the issue of county court procedings, the total amount payable to fed ex will increase to include ant fees and solicitors costs.

In the event of judgement being obtained, further costs would be added and the registration of the judgement could severely affect your ability to otain credit in the future.

Failure to make payment after judgement could lead to-

-Seizure of your assets by Baliff or Sheriff officer

-Application to attach your earnings

-Seek security on the property you own

To prevent these actions, please remit immediate payment of the full balance to the address Below...

 

Does Fed ex really have the power to do all this or is this just scare tactics. Its only £17 pounds, but considering its almost as much as the item itself and I think Fed ex are just hoping to get some sucker who gets scared and pays.

Anyone have experince with this.

What will realistically happen if I refuse to pay this Bull---- charge?

[Wally's Comics]

don't pay it and find out...

 

 

[VintageComics]

Fed Ex has recently started charging a brokering fee that UPS has been charging for years. It's a BS charge and basically a cash cow for them. I've heard that it is even borderline illegal.

 

R.

 

 

[BlowUpTheMoon]

don't pay it and find out...

 

 

 

+1

 

I doubt FedEx will go through the trouble over such a small sum.

[Silver Surfer]

Someone on these boards said you should never pay them but its not worth the risk to let in slide in case they do start a collection. I would pay the fee then challenge them on it. Sounds like a bit of a hidden cost that they are trying to unload to their customer but if its not disclosed to the consumer up front I would think that would have a problem enforcing it? Anyone here work for FeDex?

[Bruce1971]

I asked about this once, I think it was Mio who said he never pays. This is for Canada. I paid mine as I dont want the bad credit history if they decide to put you into collecctions for not paying. I am guessing it is a major pain to try to clear something off of your credit history.

 

Burce

 

 

[Mutant Manatee]

Shouldn't FedEx be asking the shipper to pay those charges, and not the recipient?

[Bosco685]

Does Fed ex really have the power to do all this or is this just scare tactics. Its only £17 pounds, but considering its almost as much as the item itself and I think Fed ex are just hoping to get some sucker who gets scared and pays.

Anyone have experince with this.

What will realistically happen if I refuse to pay this Bull---- charge?

Have you called them about this to inquire how they assessed this charge and why it was not stated in advance of shipment?

 

Worst case, they make it clear you must pay. Best case, they admit it should have been communicated in advance and let it drop because you followed up.

 

I wouldn't just ignore it as you don't want to end up being the example.

[Bruce1971]

The shipper is not responsible. The are charging for brokerage and any taxes/duties levied on the shipment, at least that is what my Canadian invoices have been. They are offering their customers a service by pre-paying everything for you. I would guess if they did not do this the package would just be COD for the charges. At least in Canada anything not regular mail seems to get hit with these charges. If I remember correctly UPS's charges are far higher.

 

Bruce

[chromium]

Got the same thing about two years ago (I think it was when CGC sent me my plaque as boardie of the year ... of all things)

Threw the invoice away.

Got another one, threw that out as well

Then got a threatening letter...and then another one. The last one actually implied that I was going to be taken to court AND would never be allowed to send or receive stuff using Fed Ex ever again. When I read that last part, I knew they didn't have a leg to stand on and the worst thing they could do is blacklist me.

Threw that away as well and never heard anything from them again.

 

Oh and a few months ago, I got another Fed Ex box in the mail... (thumbs u

 

It's basically bully-boy tactics hoping to scare you into paying, same with companies that send you stuff you never ordered and then try to make you pay up...

[Mutant Manatee]

The shipper is not responsible. The are charging for brokerage and any taxes/duties levied on the shipment, at least that is what my Canadian invoices have been. They are offering their customers a service by pre-paying everything for you. I would guess if they did not do this the package would just be COD for the charges. At least in Canada anything not regular mail seems to get hit with these charges. If I remember correctly UPS's charges are far higher.

 

Bruce

 

 

Ahhhh, that makes more sense then. I was aware that recipients in Canada sometimes had to pay customs or duty fees or somesuch, but I was unaware that the UK had similar fees.

[Boozad]

Throw the letter in the bin and forget about it. You never entered a contract with FedEx, the seller did. They couldn't make you pay a penny.

 

Royal Mail on the other hand... you can't get away with owing Her Majesty money

[Mio]

UPS charged this for years in Canada. FedEx joined the cash-wagon threafter. UPS would actually hold your goods ransom until you paid. There is an open class action lawsuit against UPS in Canada for this practice.

 

I have received about 6 invoices from FedEx for them delivering stuff to me. I never agreed to pay them anything, so I will never pay the invoices. I haven't gotten one of those threatening notices yet, though. But if I ever do, I will ignore the threat and see them in court (unlikely).

[PokerKid]

UPS did do the same to me on a large shipment from Canada. I refused to pay and a couple of nasty letters later they stopped requesting payment. My concern was that UPS would no longer deliver to me until I paid, but apparenlty that was not one of their options. I later heard about the ongoing lawsuit over the fees.

 

I don't know UK law, but for small amounts, I say make the company get their top lawyers on it if they really want their money that bad. Most likely small fish are not worth the hassle.

[the blob]

Did you sign for the item in question? Maybe somewhere you signed there is some fine print.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

 

Due to non payment of the above balance we are preparing instructions to issue legal procedings against me in the county court, which may result in the entry of a judgement.

On the issue of county court procedings, the total amount payable to fed ex will increase to include ant fees and solicitors costs.

 

 

What are 'ant fees' ?!?

[Bosco685]

 

Due to non payment of the above balance we are preparing instructions to issue legal procedings against me in the county court, which may result in the entry of a judgement.

On the issue of county court procedings, the total amount payable to fed ex will increase to include ant fees and solicitors costs.

 

 

What are 'ant fees' ?!?

I caught that before, but let it go. You didn't hear about the EU project to raise super-ants, able to build skyscrapers made of cow dung and grass? Amazing stuff.

 

They are funding the entire thing through what is called an "ant fee."

 

[PokerKid]

 

Due to non payment of the above balance we are preparing instructions to issue legal procedings against me in the county court, which may result in the entry of a judgement.

On the issue of county court procedings, the total amount payable to fed ex will increase to include ant fees and solicitors costs.

 

 

What are 'ant fees' ?!?

 

Those are the ones you 'ant see coming until it's too late.

[JazzMan]

 

Due to non payment of the above balance we are preparing instructions to issue legal procedings against me in the county court, which may result in the entry of a judgement.

On the issue of county court procedings, the total amount payable to fed ex will increase to include ant fees and solicitors costs.

 

 

What are 'ant fees' ?!?

 

Those are the ones you 'ant see coming until it's too late.

 

It's the fees you pay so you don't see these guys coming after you.

 

 

[Beau]

This thread has officially taken a turn for the awesome with Bosco and Jazzman's ant posts.