I just received an invoice from FedEx regarding a purchase I made.
I paid the Vendor for shipping to Canada from the US.
The delivery was made to me by Canada Post,
The Vendor’s web site indicates shipping is Standard International Shipping.
No where on the site do I see a specific reference to Fed Ex.
The FedEx Invoice is for $14.09.
How can I be indebted to FedEx if there is no mention of them.
In the past I ran into these additional FedEx and UPS invoices but then I also knew the shipping was by FedEx or UPS . Once I was aware of this double shipping charges I no longer bought from Vendors using FedEx or UPS.
I can not believe that I can be charged if I did not know shipping was by FedEx. and I had allready paid a separate shipping charge to the vendor.
First, I’m glad I don’t (to my knowledge) have this complication. My overall reaction is to call the vendor(s) and understand more clearly how these things work, then choose according to what you’re willing to accept. If it’s the vendor not being up front, scratch them from your list. If it’s lack of clarity with many vendors, maybe you have to call them first to understand the terms.
Sorry I don’t understand the particulars, so don’t know if you have any recourse (aside from learning) on the past transaction. If you learn the details, perhaps advise the forum members what they need to understand with cross-border shipping.
All (well, most) my stuff is made in China but shipped to me within the US.
In some circumstances FedEx is required to pay certain duties and taxes in advance. FedEx may pay an advance fee in an instance where duties and taxes must be paid prior to customs’ release or prior to certain items clearing customs. In that case, FedEx will assess an Advancement Fee surcharge that will be billed to the customer, the shipper or to the party designated to pay duties and taxes.
Yes, that I know. I will not purchase any item from a Vendor who uses FedEx or UPS, the reason is the additional charges they charge. No where on the Vendors site does it say they ship using FedEx. There is no mention of FedEx at all.
The term International Shipping Rates is listed in their ad. I thought this referred to the USPS rates. It FedEX or UPS was listed anywhere on the Vendors site I would have gone elsewhere.
This double billing has come up a few times on this site where items are shipped to Canada from the US.
I did sent the Vendor a note. If there had been any mention of FedEx or UPS I would have bought from another Vendor. I suggested that he change his ad to indicate that the shipper he used was FedEx.
Just a FYI, but I won’t order from a US-based shipper that insists on using a courier. Unless they offer UPS, they don’t get my business. The couriers charge $35-40 for ‘customs brokerage’, which in some cases inflates the UPS rate by 200%. Nuts to that. But thanks a whole bunch just the same.
My take on this, if you’re not expecting a FedEx shipment, is that you’ve been had by the latest variant of phishing scheme out there, perhaps also leaving a virus-laden “gift” when you opened the attachment that tends to always come with these things.
If that doesn’t sound familiar, my apologies, but I admin a number of email lists and these faked FedEx/paypal/etc scams make up large proportion of the bogus email list users never see, as it is sent to the circular file by hard-bitten list admins like me.
No such luck, the invoice was received in the mail.
I did contact FedEx on line and using the Invoice number request information on the invoice.
However, with the invoice is their reference to a company which I did business with it shows the monies paid and fees levied for the transaction.
It is a real invoice. I just do not understand how I can be invoiced by FedEx when there is no mention anywhere in the vendors add that FedEx is their shipper.
Well, I don’t live in Canada, and I don’t buy anything that requires shipping from Canada or any other place outside the US directly to me - here in the US.
BUT, based on my own experiences shipping things to people in Canada, Australia, Europe, etc, if your package was shipped via the UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE there would be some clear labeling to that effect on the package before any handling by your own post office in Canada.
And, like wise if it was delivered to the Canadian post office via a private carrier like FEDEX, that too should have been evident on the package.
So, were there any such markings, stickers, postage labels, etc that would indicate who handled it in the US???
Seems simple enough to me to figure out? Here in the US, someone has to prove that you owe them money before they can collect it? What proof did FEDEX offer?
The USPS contracts with FedEX for some international transportation services.
Also there are apparently other agreements between the two carriers. I have recieved parcels that were sent FedEx at the Post Office. (I have a PO Box because home delivery is not offered to my home which is less than 1/2-mile from a very small rural post office) FedEx delivered them to the USPS distribution center for my zip code and USPS carried them from there to the post office.
Can’t really tell who you’re mad at. It should be the vendor in this case I’d guess as they are the ones who pick the shipper. If you enter into a contract to buy and agree to shipping charges without the vendor specifying which shipper they will use, then that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Based on what you say, the way I understand you, the vendor never said which shipper they would use and you never asked, so they can really use just about anybody they want. Including Bob’s Pest Spraying, Courier and Pizza Delivery. Delivering to the 48 states and parts of Canada and Alaska. (addition charges may apply. Please contact Bob’s wife Sarah for details Monday thru Friday 8am to 5 pm local. Except for Wednesday’s which is 8am til 3pm because Sarah does quilting at the Church.)
As for why Canada Post made final delivery, I assume they have the same type deal they made with the USPS where the cheapest (and slowest) shipping method with Fed Ex is to pick up and deliver to the nearest hub to final destination, then “mail it” from there. Keeps fuel costs and labor down and the white trucks from running all over delivering to every house, making room for the brown trucks to park. I Don’t know the deal, but the last couple things I got that way were cheaper than either Fed Ex or the USPS charged independent of each other. Of course, I don’t have the International part of it either so for you, who knows.
Bottom line, unless you can prove the vendor stated they would use a specific shipping method and or a specific shipper other than what they used and it would have been cheaper for you, you’re kinda stuck with what bills show up. I would not use the vendor again if I were you cause it sounds like they hide the not so good parts of a transaction and just use the blanket “International rates may apply” as a cover all statement for any and all charges or complaints. If they did state another shipper, th
I have to agree with Todd. If you knew in advance about the Fed Ex fee arrangement and you wouldn’t use the vendor if it was using Fed Ex, then why not confirm the shipper before completing the order with the vendor? Completing the purchase without any assurance that Fed Ex was not involved in the loop places the blame on you, not the vendor.
I really doubt that this is a scam. And note that if you don’t pay Fed Ex, it is their practice to turn over the unpaid invoice to a collection agency.
Again, I don’t have tons of experience with this international shipping thing, but I have never seen this situation were someone gets an invoice after the fact from a private delivery company.
When I sold stuff to people in other countries, all shipping costs EXCEPT the import duties were paid in ADVANCE - by me - the shipper.
And again, I think it should be clear on the package who handled it on each side of the border.
But what do I know, I live in the US and only buy trains from people/stores in the US.
But those folks in other countries love to buy those Bachmann decoders I remove from the locos I buy.
I knew there was a good reason I have never shipped anything via Fed Ex. The Fed Ex truck has delivered lots of stuff here, never got a separate bill - but then again I don’t think any of it came directly from a foreign country.
I still find the whole thing hard to believe, that these are legitimate charges but the customer was not aware of them?
When I buy something I know what the “deal” is - or I don’t buy it. Oh never mind, what a silly, common sense idea that would be.
We sell Assumption Abbey Soap internationally, we ship via the post office only, we ship pre-paid and I know of no duties and things that must be paid otherwise, but then I have never received anything that we have shipped in a different country, so who knows what may or may not have been added by way of a duty due upon receipt. Maybe what we ship is such small beans that there is none, but the label that we print out at PayPal does have the customs information printed right on the face of it.
I have received a shipment of stuff from China, and I do not recall that we had to pay any duty on it. I frequently receive software from a firm in Nottingham England, and there are no additional customs on it that we need to pay. This comes via the Royal Mail!
LION presumes that firms who expedite shipments between countries will pay whatever duties are necessary to move their shipments quickly and that they would add costs wherever needed, or rather are savvy enough to collect those fees up front.
Fed Ex uses their own Customs Broker so that is a normal charge. Fed Ex and UPS will not ship anything as a gift like USPS and Canada Post does. Even if I sent a package that was a gift. I would just pay it and be done with it, think of it as a learning experience. I ALWAYS ask before hand when I purchase off of Ebay. It’s not the sellers fault the question wasn’t asked. Most sellers I deal with prefer UPS or Fed Ex because it is easier for them to ship across the border. USPS requires a trip to the Post Office and that isn’t fun for anyone.