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2026.07.24 FedEx tariff charges:


After getting a warming from one of my RAID enclosures about a failing hard drive, I went ahead and ordered a
replacement (New Old Stock) off eBay, best price was from China. It's been awhile since Trump started up his
tariff war, but so far all my international orders had included the tariff fees in the price. This time though,
the seller didn't pay the tariff. I didn't realize this, and the item arrived by FedEx. A few weeks later, I
got a letter from FedEx asking for $22.50, which was $7.50 in tariffs, plus a $15 "disbursement fee".

Looking online, there's a lot of people complaining about this. In a nutshell, FedEx doesn't provide receivers
with any notice or hold, they just pay the tariff and forward the shipment. Then they send the receiver an
invoice and tack on this "disbursement fee" for the service. So they're providing a service without approval,
and can "name their price" on the cost of the service, and you get a surprise bill they're expecting you to pay.

It doesn't sound legal to me. Reminds me of stopping at a red light in a big city, and some vagrant hops up
from the curb and spray and wipes down your windshield before you can stop them, and then demands $5 for the
"service" they just provided you with. Who knows what they'll do to your car if you say NO, so lots of people
will pay. FedEx is basically doing the same thing?

I called and asked about it, and it sounds like it IS possible to pay this fee before FedEx gets the chance,
but you have to know the package is coming, have a tracking number, and know the amount, all in advance. But
with FedEx doing their fast shipping, that's basically impossible if the seller doesn't give you a heads-up
notice before they ship it.

I gave them a call recently and discussed the problem at length. It sounds like I can pay the invoice online
but NOT at my FedEx account. I have to go to a separate URL to pay it. And I can email their "dispute" dept
to see if they are willing to remote the "disbursement fee". I tried to email them, but my email alias system
isn't working right after my recent migration to PolarisMail, so I'll have to chat with them and solve that
first. (unlike Rackspace, PolarisMail doesn't have a phone number to call, and their online chat is a bit of a
hit-or-miss proposition)



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