FedEx taking the piss

Complaints Corner
1
Got a parcel from Italy with a value of 34 EUR including shipping via FedEx and it was delivered last week.

Today I got a bill for clearing customs from the fine people at FedEx:

Nicht Steuerbare Betrage - 5.20

Mehrwertsteuer 8% - 1.75

Vorlageprovision steuerpflichtig mit 8% - 22 CHF

So those m-f-ers charged me 28.95 to collect import taxes that amount to 1.75 CHF.

Next time I'll be in Meyrin to visit friends, I'll make sure to pass by FedEx and put a flaming bag of poo on their door. Or maybe take a piss on the door handles (#vandalism).

Rant over.

2
didn't I read on here that you don't have to pay there stupid fee's as you never asked them to pay it for you.

3
Oh, it's worse than that - the 1.75 looks like the VAT on their fees, not the import tax.

4
never buy anything from anyone using FedEx!

5
Ever!

6
standard procedure for fedex tnt dhl etc... NEVER use a courier for delivery.

7
TBF, I've never had an issue with DHL.

8
For small value orders I always try to get the seller to send stuff via post, if they won't and the item is available here in CH then I find it is often cheaper to pay the local premium. For larger items the courier add on handing fees etc. don't hurt so much.

9
Isn't the CHF 5.20 duty?

10
Phew, me neither

But then again, my sellers never had something delivered by them.

11
Correct! There is no VAT to pay on 34 Euros while it would be under the CHF 5 limit!

12
Was the piss correctly packaged and labelled as a gift?

13

NO, most imports are free of duty

14
I just had the same thing happen to me. Saved about 30 CHF on a laptop battery just to get a surprise 32.80 CHF bill from FedEx. I figured I owed import VAT on it; I figured it would be < 10 CHF (it's just about 9 CHF) and I was okay with it. Is there any recourse? I'm guessing *somebody* has to pay if I refuse the package.