Troubles with FedEx

[steff 41]

4 hours ago, claude0001 said:

I wonder whether some of the complaints here are due to people picking the wrong shipping option with their Expansys order.

I am really upset with answers like this. I really do not want to be rude, but did you read my opening thread?

No I did not make a mistake Claude. Fedex is doing shady things. Please read the whole thread again.

[Rob. S. 1,559]

21 minutes ago, steff said:

I am really upset with answers like this. I really do not want to be rude, but did you read my opening thread?

No I did not make a mistake Claude. Fedex is doing shady things. Please read the whole thread again.

No reason to be upset; the question wasn't specifically aimed at you and I don't see how it would have tried to exculpate FedEx in any way, either.

Still, if someone located in Europe would have bought a phone from Expansys and got it delivered by FedEx, they would indeed have chosen the wrong shipping option. I originally did so myself with my Expansys order, and only saw it (then cancelled and placed a new order) when Expansys tried to charge me HK$550 for shipping instead of the HK$450 which I had seen for other Europeans here in the forum. For Europe, Expansys states only one shipping option, which is DHL. 

Again, obviously none of that can be an excuse for FedEx charging import duties twice. If anything, it could at best give a possible explanation for something going wrong because shipping wasn't handled the usual way.

Then again I would also say that FedEx should be able to see a shipment from Expansys to Europe as business as usual, given that that's exactly how phones sold by Fxtec and processed by Expansys have been shipped to Europe all along. 

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Rob. S.

[Spielverderber 7]

On 10/25/2022 at 9:06 PM, steff said:

I have ordered several Pro1x devices, i have received them and paid the courier in cash at delivery . He signed the receipt. I thought everything is alright, but i received an invoice for the already paid custom receipt from Fedex. Fedex send me payment reminder and already gave it to an inkasso company.

Before I tried to clarify the case with Fedex via telephone, their website customer service, email. I send them the signed receipts and they did not respond to it.

I had to send one device back to Fxtec because of depleted battery. They repaired it and send it back with... Fedex. This time i paid before arrival with paypal to avoid the same problems. This time is was a small amount, because it was declared as repair / warranty or something like that. Fedex send an automated email which confirmed the payment. Today i got an invoice from Fedex for the paid custom declaration again.

Please, if you have the same trouble, respond to this thread

Same here - also the depleated battery - but my Pro1-X is still in the U.K. Received the letter from the "LIQUIDA" today. Won't pay anything because I allready payed at delivery in cash. 

[claude0001 1,150]

5 hours ago, steff said:

I am really upset with answers like this. I really do not want to be rude, but did you read my opening thread?

No I did not make a mistake Claude. Fedex is doing shady things. Please read the whole thread again.

My post wasn't targetet at you as OP. I should have made that clear in my reply, sorry.

As @Rob. S.already wrote, I was speculating about Expansys orders, for which the website defaults to "FedEx" (and very low shipping cost) even if you order from a region where DHL (at much higher cost) would be the right option to pick.

Edited October 31, 2022 by claude0001

[EskeRahn 5,178]

21 hours ago, claude0001 said:

I wonder whether some of the complaints here are due to people picking the wrong shipping option with their Expansys order.

The cheapest option (FedEx, 114 HK$) is for US customers only, while the "rest-of-world" should use DHL (450 HK$). Now, as some of the complaints here clearly come from non-US buyers, I wonder if FedEX in their case just collects an additional fee that would have been included in the DHL option from the start ...

Nope! I accidentally chose the wrong option at first, and Expansys sent me a mail that I had done so AND a request to pay the rest, before the would process the order.
So the surcharge is NOT handled by the shipper. The CUSTOMS part is what is handled by the shipper.

And the custom part is what this thread is about FedEx (And other shippers) try to get paid for double. Whether this is merely due to incompetence, or fraud, we obviously do not know, but when it happens repeatedly the second seems most likely. We do not know if it the individuals that deliver the parcels that has found a way to register it in the shippers systems as NOT paid after getting cash, or it is even worse systematic fraud by the shipper.

I guess we can only recommend anyone to  pay electronically if possible, and IF paying cash, to make sure to get a written and signed receipt.

[Jacob_S 128]

A useful bit of information regarding shipping to Germany:

The shipping companies can only collect the additional fee, that they charge for handling customs for you, if they have written proof that you agreed to this service. Note that due to some international agreements this does not apply to DHL (which is stupid in my opinion).

[Rob. S. 1,559]

18 minutes ago, Jacob_S said:

A useful bit of information regarding shipping to Germany:

The shipping companies can only collect the additional fee, that they charge for handling customs for you, if they have written proof that you agreed to this service. Note that due to some international agreements this does not apply to DHL (which is stupid in my opinion).

Not sure I understand this correctly? DHL Express did charge me for customs/taxes for that Pro1X I ordered from Expansys. They collected the amount online, though, before delivery, not at the door. 

[EskeRahn 5,178]

38 minutes ago, Rob. S. said:

Not sure I understand this correctly? DHL Express did charge me for customs/taxes for that Pro1X I ordered from Expansys. They collected the amount online, though, before delivery, not at the door. 

Same here.

[EskeRahn 5,178]

1 hour ago, Jacob_S said:

A useful bit of information regarding shipping to Germany:

The shipping companies can only collect the additional fee, that they charge for handling customs for you, if they have written proof that you agreed to this service. Note that due to some international agreements this does not apply to DHL (which is stupid in my opinion).

I assume you mean that it is stupid that it does not apply to dhl. Not that the requirement is stupid?

If the shipping company could  collect, without a proof that the recipient agreed to it, then anyone could send anything valued at any price, to anyone, and thus hit an harassment target with an arbitrarily high bill. This would be absurd to allow IMHO....

[VaZso 1,959]

9 minutes ago, EskeRahn said:

If the shipping company could  collect, without a proof that the recipient agreed to it, then anyone could send anything valued at any price, to anyone, and thus hit an harassment target with an arbitrarily high bill. This would be absurd to allow IMHO....

Also, they requested me to fill VAT-handling documents and there were three options at VAT-handling statement:

1) See below
2) DDP parity (which is not the case here)
3) Request of VAT-free handling, act background:

The first is:
With the help of FedEx... blabla minimal fee of 2.5% or at least 5000HUF + VAT... payed at FedEx delivery person in cash - I have ticked this option.

(Translation is not perfect having  partly in law-related form.)

They have requested money in cash but asked to pay it again later after delivery which is clearly not what is written in document sent to them and requesting the same fee again is really a strange behaviour at their side.

[Doktor Oswaldo 892]

On 10/25/2022 at 10:55 PM, EskeRahn said:

I have a related experience with UPS, that in January 2021 would deliver a gift from the UK to me, and wanted a fee for that (after Brexit). I refused that, and refused to receive the parcel (that might have been at a value less what I was supposed to pay, with their fees added)

A week ago (yes 1½ years later!) I then received a letter from an inkasso-company with some further fees added!!!

As I have never ordered the parcel, it can not possibly be my responsibility to pay - and I will take it to court if needed. And If I loose, I plan to have friends from abroad send high value labelled 'empty' boxes to the involved parties, so they can take their own medicine!!! 👺

Since you are living in a country where people have some rights too, not only companies, I would not worry too much.
If the process is anything like it is here, you will just have to say that you refused the package and then they will have to prove different.
 

[Jacob_S 128]

On 11/2/2022 at 12:15 PM, Rob. S. said:

Not sure I understand this correctly? DHL Express did charge me for customs/taxes for that Pro1X I ordered from Expansys. They collected the amount online, though, before delivery, not at the door. 

Usually there are two options possible. Either the shipping company hands your package over to the customs office and you handle paying the customs yourself and have to pick it up from your local office then.

Or they prepay the customs for you and you then reimburse them. This is obviously faster and means less work for you, as they deliver the package to your house then. But they charge a fee for that. In your case you probably agreed during this online process, that they are allowed to handle customs for you.

But I had it several times already, that I ordered things online and the shipping company just used that process without my consent. Or FedEx would not let me use a certain customs process despite me being listed as the importer on the documents. Things like that. But if they then can not show, that you agreed to whatever they did, you have good chances in disputing their claims.

And @EskeRahn, yes, I meant, that it's stupid, that it doesn't apply to DHL. I would like to be able to choose, if I want my package faster or if I want to not pay them money for a service that should be included in the price you pay for international shipping.

[dicer 36]

I thought I was the only one with this problem... Also in Germany, also my IGG order delivered by Fedex. I also got a invoice by Fedex and several reminders.

Thankfully the driver gave me a receipt, which I emailed to Fedex twice and even sent them a letter with a copy... Still the dept collector (Liquida) took over eventually. Just uploaded them all the emails and the receipt and asked them to drop the "debt". They got back to me after a day and told me they did.

So this story is (hopefully) finally over for me, but it was way to stressful and time consuming.

Just a reminder to everyone: Don't just ignore this! The dept collector will take this all the way if you don't talk to them.

[steff 41]

Status update:

After getting the letter from inkasso company Liquida I contacted Liquida by phone call and send them the receipts by email. The employee told me they will contact Fedex to get more information. This is several weeks ago. Last week I called Liquida a second time and they told me that Fedex could not find my payment in their system. Liquida told me that they will write to Fedex a second time!!!! and I have to wait. So status is ongoing in my case.

And in the future 😞

I ordered Tech Bundles, they will be delivered with Fedex. The Drama continues. I will pay with Paypal for better proof and if it comes to a incasso case again I will write a letter and send it as registerd mail to Liquida, no phone calls and emails again.

[VaZso 1,959]

1 hour ago, steff said:

Status update:

For me, yesterday I called FedEx again (fifth time) and forwarded my mailings second time and received a promise third time that they will forward it internally and get back to me.

As per our conversation with representatives, they know about these problems but I think the problem is handled centrally.
(I have asked why their response was in English although I wrote in my local language and they told their internal communication is in English and that is the reason - what I still not really understand as it is not evident their local customer speaks the language but it may explain why local representatives are having problems solving these problems.)

[dicer 36]

@steff I used the upload form on liquidas webpage. That worked well.

And an update to my case: I opened the first ticket on Sep 22nd and sent them the drivers receipt via email on Sep 23rd. On Nov 11th Liquida confirmed that they dropped/finished my case.

Today I got an answer to that ticket from September saying they confirm the accounting transaction (whatever that means exactly). So I guess they are a bit overwhelmed by all the tickets they have/get and are about 2 months behind... Nice that at least their dept collection department seems to be fully automated and that they don't care about open tickets at all...

 

 

[dicer 36]

The big German computer magazine c't also had an article about Fedex behavior recently: https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2022/26/2200714271198716895

The gist: Same as our cases, just no dept collection involved yet. Even the magazine had problems reaching anyone at Fedex for weeks, even though looking for a press contact. After they found one, Fedex resolved it for that customer...

[Hook 2,655]

I'm curious whether FedEx US (the company being a US company in origin) is aware of this behavior going on in their name and how independent the international branches of FedEx are.  Would the parent corporation care (i.e. harm to the brand) or is this more like a loose franchise where you buy the branding and can go off an do what you want.  All I can say is, here, FedEx is pretty good (I prefer UPS, but FedEx is good also). Are the drivers in other countries employees (as they are her) or are they independent contractors? This just seems nuts.

[VaZso 1,959]

7 minutes ago, Hook said:

I'm curious whether FedEx US (the company being a US company in origin) is aware of this behavior going on in their name and how independent the international branches of FedEx are.

I think they know that something is happening but not necessarily know what.

I also think they are very dependent on the origin - when I wrote my problem by e-mail in my native language, I have received a reply in English... when I have asked representative by phone about the different language of the reply, she told me English is their internal communication... so if I understood well, all complaints are translated to English then forwarded to the center where they check/decide what to do.

I have just received an e-mail the second time that they have checked their system and not found any payments, but they have never replied to my reply of these e-mails, only once, when I wrote them using my native language...

Representatives all told me they know about these problems, they will contact somebody internally and will get me back... but the process was cut here, never received any follow-ups from them (maybe these requests were resulted in the "not found" empty messages from them).

I don't know if FedEx knows their system is bad but they think I haven't paid and they want me to pay AGAIN.
(The amount is about 27% of the price of Pro1X - again, which would be 52% additional charge.)

I feel enough running the very same circles again and again, simply because their system sucks.

I will think twice if I ever want to use their "services" again and I am planning to use other courier also for my company orders where it is possible for similar price.
I really sorry as when I order for my company from Farnell, they use FedEx for delivery and they do it really fast, ordered items are there the next day... so it is a really huge disappointment for me how they handle their personal users.

 

[steff 41]

2 hours ago, VaZso said:

I have just received an e-mail the second time that they have checked their system and not found any payments,

Dito. Just received the email today at the morning. They answered an enquiry I started 3!!! Month ago which they ignored until now. They want me to send them a remittance slip, which obviously does not exist because i paid cash. The proof for payment i own is the customs receipt signed by the courier, which i allready send them and Liquida Inkasso also. This company is  a nightmare.

[steff 41]

On 12/30/2022 at 4:32 PM, VaZso said:

I also think they are very dependent on the origin - when I wrote my problem by e-mail in my native language, I have received a reply in English... when I have asked representative by phone about the different language of the reply, she told me English is their internal communication... so if I understood well, all complaints are translated to English then forwarded to the center where they check/decide what to do.

A couple of observations on this. I am from Germany, we have special letters like this: ä, ö, ü

My rare answers from Fedex, I mean not automated answers in this case, were written in german (or translated to german?), but not with a german keyboard layout. In words with the above mentioned letters ä ö ü, these were replaced with chinese letters.

[VaZso 1,959]

44 minutes ago, steff said:

A couple of observations on this. I am from Germany, we have special letters like this: ä, ö, ü

My rare answers from Fedex, I mean not automated answers in this case, were written in german (or translated to german?), but not with a german keyboard layout. In words with the above mentioned letters ä ö ü, these were replaced with chinese letters.

I am from Hungary and we also have special letters like üöéáőűí but no ä, they seems to not even try to use the language here... or they try to shot for English-speaking users, however, I would not think it is as usual here unless they have a relatively high amount of business users.

However, Chinese letters sound very strange (if you strictly mean Chinese characters), however, they may still have a character-table related problem.
I mean US/UK locations may still based on the idea of the alphabet only has 26 letters which is not true for all nations... and who knows what settings the local staff may have of the computers they use.

These are only guesses, the best would be if they would try to solve issues regardless of the place of decision instead of insulting their users who ran into their - maybe nicely prepared - trap.

[steff 41]

8 hours ago, VaZso said:

These are only guesses, the best would be if they would try to solve issues regardless of the place of decision instead of insulting their users who ran into their - maybe nicely prepared - trap.

Trap. Bingo. I mean from a psychological point of view, writing an annoyed customer (who already paid) to send an already sent proof of payment a second or third time after 3 month and starting the process completely again, is a drastic move. It is stressful and will work in their advantage. This is a shady company.

[Rob. S. 1,559]

My guess is, FedEx is not malicious per se, but as long as they don't lose substantial amounts of money through their broken import duties collection scheme they have no incentive to do something about it. Maybe the affair needs more publicity, like a lawsuit...

[steff 41]

1 hour ago, Rob. S. said:

My guess is, FedEx is not malicious per se, but as long as they don't lose substantial amounts of money through their broken import duties collection scheme they have no incentive to do something about it. Maybe the affair needs more publicity, like a lawsuit...

If you go on any review portal or forum and read just a couple of results for Fedex, i. e. trustpilot.com, you will see that this happens regularly, i mean really often. Part of the reason i disagree with your guess is their style of communication and lack of communication. So in short: I think they are malicious per se.