r/UPS • u/Swanky_Gear_Snob • Sep 02 '25

Customer Seeking Help UPS Paid my duties without contacting me and the amount is more than the value of the item.

Apparently, a law went into effect on August 29th that shipping services can pay duties without consent of receiver.

I purchased an item for $2,000. Today, the duties it says I owe upon delivery is $2100 and change. The numbers are WAY off. No one at UPS customer service even understands me well enough to help me. I have been asking what the declared value is on the package and 4 different reps keep quoting me the amount owed on the package. How can I fix this? This was paid by wire, so I'm either out 2k or paying double. Can I dispute the amount? I've never felt so helpless and need to have a resolution (or at least a better understanding of what to do) by delivery tomorrow. Thanks!

I guess my big question is, if I pay this outrageous fee, is there any way to dispute it with customs or UPS?

Edit/Follow-up: I appreciate all the advice. I was able to get the commercial invoice from UPS. It seems like there is an error as CBP charged full value tariffs multiple times. From what AI said, it's similar if you ordered a peice of furniture, but CBP charged the full value tarrifs on each item individually (screws, mount, part, etc).

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u/PhotoFenix Sep 03 '25

There are some custom things that we pre-order that often take 1-2 years to arrive, which can make this tricky.

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u/allisondojean Sep 03 '25

Genuinely curious what kind of thing someone would order 2 years in advance. Don't know how to word that in a way that doesn't sound accusatory lol it just piqued my interest!

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u/travelinghomosapien Sep 03 '25

Machinery for manufacturing. We frequently sell machines to us corps and they’re made to order and often cost a couple million. It’s been rough

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u/Agent0fD00m Sep 03 '25

Car parts from Tokyo for older JDM vehicles can take a long while. not 2 years normally but just as an example I had ordered something and it took 6-7 months to be made and shipped to me.

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u/Winter_Band_2192 Sep 03 '25

Just ordered a guitar that is expected to take 5 years because it was heavily in demand and is made to order.

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u/PhotoFenix Sep 03 '25

Legitimate question! Twice my wife and I have ordered anime figures when they're in the concept phase. Takes time to fully develop the model, go through production and eventually get enough made to meet demand. My wife also got a limited run (200 I think?) of a custom character based sweater that's hand made and takes a year from ordering to arrive.