Is there a way to have customs charge refunded?

[nicole0612]

I purchased an item from Japan, and for the first time I was not contacted to pay a customs bill. Instead my visa was automatically charged for $600 one day, and the charge was showing that it was from FedEx. I called FedEx to ask about the charge, and they said that since I have a FedEx account (personal, not business) with my Visa card linked to it, they automatically charged the card for customs payment since my info linked to the FedEx account when the item went through customs. This has never happened before, but the real problem is that the item was not as described (counterfeit) so I had to return it. Is there a way to prove that the item was returned and to have the customs charge refunded?

 

[Love Of My Life]

I'd contact your Visa credit card with this question. Since you do have proof of return because
the item was counterfeit, you may have some leeway...

 

[nicole0612]

I'd contact your Visa credit card with this question. Since you do have proof of return because
the item was counterfeit, you may have some leeway...

Thank you, I will try that. If I find success, I will add directions here since I know that others may be interested as well.

 

[gracie05]

There are a couple posts about it on this thread.

 

[nicole0612]

There are a couple posts about it on this thread.

Thank you very much. That is helpful. It sounds like it makes sense to try to contact FedEx first since they were the ones who billed me. If they say that I should contact Customs, I suppose they will need to provide me with the information since Customs never contacted me or billed me, it was just an automatic charge from FedEx on my card.

 

[MAGJES]

Thank you very much. That is helpful. It sounds like it makes sense to try to contact FedEx first since they were the ones who billed me. If they say that I should contact Customs, I suppose they will need to provide me with the information since Customs never contacted me or billed me, it was just an automatic charge from FedEx on my card.

Thank you, I will try that. If I find success, I will add directions here since I know that others may be interested as well.

I hope you work this out and they refund you. Please let us know if you have success.
I do think I would be annoyed if Fed Ex just up and charged my card without sending me an invoice for the custom charge though. I am going to check my account right now to see if my CC is on file!

 

[nicole0612]

I hope you work this out and they refund you. Please let us know if you have success.
I do think I would be annoyed if Fed Ex just up and charged my card without sending me an invoice for the custom charge though. I am going to check my account right now to see if my CC is on file!

Thank you! I am glad I could help a bit by letting others know of this possibility if there is a cc on file for a FedEx account. I still have not received an invoice, so I doubt that I will, it’s all very sneaky. I don’t have any refund update info to post because the seller sent me a return shipping label and paperwork, I shipped it back the same day, then via tracking watched it sit in outgoing customs for a week with an “exception” (this is within normal limits for my experience of waiting for packages to arrive, so I just waited). All of a sudden over the weekend I got an email that my item had been delivered. I am out of town and am not expecting anything. Of course I checked the tracking for this return and in one day it suddenly went from sitting in customs to delivered back to me. No email or message from the company (the seller sent the return label via DHL vs FedEx). I contacted ebay immediately and told them I used the return label and paperwork from the seller and it was sent back to me. I told them that I was happy to ship it back again, but I did not want the return to fail again for some reason, so they put the case on hold and are investigating why it was returned to me since I was not notified of a reason.
I had saved my receipt from the return drop off and a copy of the return label and paperwork so that I could approach FedEx for a refund once I could show that the item was returned, but of course now that is a future task since I need to figure out how to successfully return it first.

 

[onlyk]

Thank you! I am glad I could help a bit by letting others know of this possibility if there is a cc on file for a FedEx account. I still have not received an invoice, so I doubt that I will, it’s all very sneaky. I don’t have any refund update info to post because the seller sent me a return shipping label and paperwork, I shipped it back the same day, then via tracking watched it sit in outgoing customs for a week with an “exception” (this is within normal limits for my experience of waiting for packages to arrive, so I just waited). All of a sudden over the weekend I got an email that my item had been delivered. I am out of town and am not expecting anything. Of course I checked the tracking for this return and in one day it suddenly went from sitting in customs to delivered back to me. No email or message from the company (the seller sent the return label via DHL vs FedEx). I contacted ebay immediately and told them I used the return label and paperwork from the seller and it was sent back to me. I told them that I was happy to ship it back again, but I did not want the return to fail again for some reason, so they put the case on hold and are investigating why it was returned to me since I was not notified of a reason.
I had saved my receipt from the return drop off and a copy of the return label and paperwork so that I could approach FedEx for a refund once I could show that the item was returned, but of course now that is a future task since I need to figure out how to successfully return it first.

What a hassle! Hope the thing will get solved quickly, please keep us updated

 

[nicole0612]

What a hassle! Hope the thing will get solved quickly, please keep us updated

Thank you! I appreciate it

 

[bigverne28]

Thank you! I am glad I could help a bit by letting others know of this possibility if there is a cc on file for a FedEx account. I still have not received an invoice, so I doubt that I will, it’s all very sneaky. I don’t have any refund update info to post because the seller sent me a return shipping label and paperwork, I shipped it back the same day, then via tracking watched it sit in outgoing customs for a week with an “exception” (this is within normal limits for my experience of waiting for packages to arrive, so I just waited). All of a sudden over the weekend I got an email that my item had been delivered. I am out of town and am not expecting anything. Of course I checked the tracking for this return and in one day it suddenly went from sitting in customs to delivered back to me. No email or message from the company (the seller sent the return label via DHL vs FedEx). I contacted ebay immediately and told them I used the return label and paperwork from the seller and it was sent back to me. I told them that I was happy to ship it back again, but I did not want the return to fail again for some reason, so they put the case on hold and are investigating why it was returned to me since I was not notified of a reason.
I had saved my receipt from the return drop off and a copy of the return label and paperwork so that I could approach FedEx for a refund once I could show that the item was returned, but of course now that is a future task since I need to figure out how to successfully return it first.

If you bought through eBay they usually charge the custom fees at the time of purchase. This means if you need to return the item due to authenticity, you open a case, ship it back and once delivered to the seller, eBay process a refund including all custom charges. This is my experience. Even if the seller didn’t sign up to the global shipping program through eBay, where custom fees are included, you should still not have had the charges automatically debited from your card by FedEx. I’ve never heard of a shipping company charging a credit card without issuing a customs invoice. Because if you don’t pay, they ship the parcel back to the sender after about 2-3 weeks. The way it usually works is the shipping carrier notifies you they have a parcel that requires duties to be paid, once you’ve paid, the shipment is released and delivered to the receiver. I’d also speak to your credit card company as if you haven’t authorised payment to FedEx they can’t just use your card like that. I hope you get this sorted. Let us know how things turn out .

 

[nicole0612]

If you bought through eBay they usually charge the custom fees at the time of purchase. This means if you need to return the item due to authenticity, you open a case, ship it back and once delivered to the seller, eBay process a refund including all custom charges. This is my experience. Even if the seller didn’t sign up to the global shipping program through eBay, where custom fees are included, you should still not have had the charges automatically debited from your card by FedEx. I’ve never heard of a shipping company charging a credit card without issuing a customs invoice. Because if you don’t pay, they ship the parcel back to the sender after about 2-3 weeks. The way it usually works is the shipping carrier notifies you they have a parcel that requires duties to be paid, once you’ve paid, the shipment is released and delivered to the receiver. I’d also speak to your credit card company as if you haven’t authorised payment to FedEx they can’t just use your card like that. I hope you get this sorted. Let us know how things turn out .

Thank you. I always end up paying customs in the way that you describe, first customs contacts me to get my info (SS#) and then the shipping carrier calls me to pay the customs fee + brokerage fee before they will deliver. I don’t think I have made a purchase using the global shipping, because I have never paid customs at the time of purchase on ebay, only as it is clearing customs. This is the first time I have ever been billed by a shipping company without any call, email, or invoice, so once the item is successfully return I will contact FedEx for the fee to be returned and otherwise bring it up with my credit card. I did file a return through the normal return process on ebay, showing the document that it was found to be counterfeit and the seller accepted my return and sent me the return label and return customs paperwork. I shipped it back through a local shipping store to make sure all of the paperwork was formatted correctly prior to shipping. Suddenly after sitting in outgoing customs for a long time, I received a text and email (I have alerts set up for shipments) that a package was being shipped to me with the same tracking number. When I checked the tracking online it said returned to sender (me), with no reason given. I always like everything to be documented, so I called ebay and they looked into the returned shipment, they did not see a reason either so they put the return on hold to investigate so that the next time I return ship it, it will go back to the seller. I think they were going to get back to me within 10 days. Thank you for the kind wishes, kind advice, and I will certainly update once things progress or are resolved.

 

[880]

@nicole0612 , I hope you can get this hassle sorted out. I’ve never heard of FedEx doing this, and I’m sorry you have to deal with so much aggravation ! Hugs

 

[nicole0612]

@nicole0612 , I hope you can get this hassle sorted out. I’ve never heard of FedEx doing this, and I’m sorry you have to deal with so much aggravation ! Hugs

Thank you for the support! I tend to be pretty easy-going and an optimist, so I’m sure it’ll work out in the end. It actually ended up being a helpful occurrence in one way, I have to admit that I usually never check my credit card statements, but happened to be looking for something else when this charge popped up on a visa unexpectedly. It got me to check through my other recent credit card transactions on other cards, and I found a fraudulent charge on another card for a few hundred dollars on another credit card that I never would have noticed otherwise. I was able to alert the fraud dept of that card and cancel the card before more charges were made.

In this customs situation, I hope once I learn how to file for a refund (if it is possible), that I can add some tips for other members who encounter a similar issue, of seeking a refund of customs charges. I have asked about this it in the past, I think through UPS, and was told that it was impossible, but in those cases I had just decided that I didn’t like the item so I figured it was my own choice to return it so I was ok forfeiting the customs fee. In this case it is more about principle (and also curiosity, because it seems like it the customs portion should be refundable, but probably not the brokerage fee portion).

 

[nicole0612]

Update:
I waited on hold for over an hour, then talked to a customer support professional in the department of customs/duties/payments, received a list of all of the paperwork needed to prove that the item was returned (no longer in the USA) and that it was a “fraudulent item/shipment” which is what the agent guided me to explicitly state. He created a claim and claim number for me, and I sent the paperwork to the appropriate department.
I received an email back just now, and a refund of customs/duties is not possible (at least via FedEx).
This is not a big problem for me, but I would have felt lazy if I did not attempt it, since it seems logical that I may be eligible for a refund.
Perhaps this will save someone else a great deal of time, if they are in a similar situation.


This is the response I received:
Thank you for your request to dispute your duty and tax invoice. Unfortunately, return shipments are still subject to duty and tax fees as FedEx is required to pay Customs for your shipment; therefore, the original invoice remains open and is due. Once the shipment has cleared the customs, duty/tax charges will be applicable. If you have additional questions please reach out to us.
Thank you,
FedEx Revenue Services - Duty Tax Billing Team

 

[xincinsin]

When we set up corporate accounts with DHL or Fedex, there is an option to make the courier company our "agent", meaning they would pay customs duties and tax on our behalf, and then recover the money from us plus charge a service or handling fee. Perhaps in a previous transaction, you ticked a box or answered Yes when asked if you wanted to appoint them as agents to arrange to clear your shipment through customs.