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Posted
My package from the US (value $118) was delivered two days ago and this morning some random man turned up at the door with a flimsy printed invoice for 51 Euros for what I assume is taxes (I dont speak Spanish so told him to come back another time). Anyway, I thought I had got away without paying duty on the thing and now they demand it?/ confused. One thing though: I had to fax a copy of my passport to clear the item, so how much trouble can I get in if I continue to tell the guy to come back? Honestly, if you have the package delivered how can they demand money after the fact? Bizarre. Any helpful hints anyone?
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 17 January 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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That doesn't make sense to me. I get packages all the time from the US...both packages from my parents as well as from businesses such as Amazon.com.

I have never been contacted about paying taxes. How was the package delivered? Through the mail system?

Did this random man have and ID? Did the invoice look official?

If/when he comes back, make sure you ask to see some identification.


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Posts: 1376 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 24 March 2002Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Chica, thanks for responding! yeah, it sounded a bit weird, but because I cant speak Spanish it was all a bit confusing. THere is NO way that I would give the guy money, but it looked like an invoice. I just thought it was weird that UPS delivered it and all was fine and then someone turns up three days later asking for taxes? We'll see if he comes back. Like I said, Customs has my Passport info so I dont want to get in trouble!
Anyone else experience this?
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 17 January 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Yes, I had the same thing happen with UPS several days after a delivery. It was a bill for customs payments that UPS had (allegedly) made on my behalf. In my case, the package didn't really have any value. I refused to pay it and never heard from them again. I'm not sure if they ended up billing it to the sender in the US.

I think, technically, the person sending it in the US is supposed to handle this. When someone recently sent me something via UPS, they put a value on it--even though it was just documents--and it got detained in the US and they had to reduce the value to 0 to get it to go through. It seems that they would have had to pay estimated customs tax on whatever value they declared. I guess UPS then gets the package through customs paying whatever they have to (when USPS packages get held up in customs the recipient has to deal with this).

For whatever reason, none of this crazy stuff ever seems to happen with FedEx.
 
Posts: 1070 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 10 December 2002Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Okay, so I'll refuse when the guy comes back and see what happens. Thanks for the heads up. They probably try it on and see if people will pay or not, which seems somewhat ineffective if you already have the goods!!
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 17 January 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Oh! And I did notice on the UPS tracking site, that the item went back and forth between the US and Spain at least once because there was some issue with a tax number. Again, not my problem. I bought it off Amazon.com who are pretty good with resolving stuff too. anyway.
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 17 January 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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I sure hope they don't come asking for taxes here. We got a package from Amazon on Thursday and the box was ripped open and in a bag. I was a little annoyed because they didn't even bother to close it again and the books we ordered could have gotten damaged if they got out of the box.

Maybe they're having some kind of crackdown on Amazon or something weird.
 
Posts: 65 | Location: Soto del Real | Registered: 10 February 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
jer
"the man!"
Picture of jer
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hey all.

the only time anything like this ever happened to me was when the ups guy said i had to pay the tax but he wanted me to pay it before he handed over the package and would not give it to me unless i paid it.

in my case it was an item that the company in the usa was supposed to pay the tax on and send to me all paid up so i refused it and i never heard about it again.

i got the package resent about a month later but free and clear of any charges.

saludos,
jer...


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Posts: 12232 | Location: ny, u.s.a. --> madrid, spain --> the plaza mayor ! | Registered: 30 June 1998Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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update:
So the guy came back again last night (8:15) and I hid in the dark, but my husband was arriving home at the same time and told him he would talk to me about it. The guy had his kid with him and no ID or anything.
I wonder if, as Mariposita mentioned, if someone at UPS just tries to get the $$. I mean, I wouldn't hand over money to someone who just came to my door.
Anyway, this is all very strange.
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 17 January 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Sounds dodgy. When we were at Aluche, a guy turned up at the door, armed with a clipboard, and insisted on seeing our last gas bill. He assured me there was no problem with payment; he just needed to see the actual bill.

I used the only Spanish phrase I knew, and he must have understood because he left promptly.

He never returned.

There's some dodgy people out there....

Cheers,
Steve


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Posts: 148 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 04 June 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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There is definitely something wrong, UPS don't do things like that, there is a procedure that must be followed if they require payment for anything, people don't just keep turning up on the doorstep demanding money. It sounds like a scam to me!!

Check with UPS head office stateside, and inform the Spanish Policia, and ask them to check the credentials of the individual, then watch how fast he runs off.


Saludos
Angelino
 
Posts: 696 | Location: Santander | Registered: 11 August 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
jer
"the man!"
Picture of jer
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i found an old e-mail that ups sent me after my experience with the tax thing (see my post above).

their policy is not to release any package that has taxes due unless you pay them on the spot (as they deliver).

ups often pays the customs duties on packages and then will try to get it out of the customer (on either end) but they DO NOT deliver the package and then go back and try to get the money later.

saludos,
jer...


- madrid nut, webweaver of www.multimadrid.com and keeper of the plazaCam.
- worlds biggest outdoor internet cafe --> www.plazawifi.info - GET CONNECTED!!!
--------------------
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at Onspanishtime.com.
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at spainSIM.com.
 
Posts: 12232 | Location: ny, u.s.a. --> madrid, spain --> the plaza mayor ! | Registered: 30 June 1998Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Thanks all! he keeps turning up though. Gonna get family in the US to call UPS and ask about procedure as I don't think calling the office in Barcelona will help much.
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 17 January 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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quote:
their policy is not to release any package that has taxes due unless you pay them on the spot (as they deliver).

they DO NOT deliver the package and then go back and try to get the money later.


That might be their policy, but that's exactly what happened to me. Someone came a couple of days after the package was delivered and gave me an official sort of receipt with the customs owed on it. I didn't pay it. This package only had a CD with documents on it and as I remember took over a week to get to me instead of the 2-3 days promised.

I asked my client what happened... after I refused to pay it, the tax it ended up getting billed back to them (they sent the package using a corporate account).
 
Posts: 1070 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 10 December 2002Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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the guy is back again (about the 5th time) and now he is banging heavily on the door and shouting my name angrily. starting to freak me out a little.
 
Posts: 18 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 17 January 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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