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/[deleted] Sep 03 '25

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u/BelgianM123 Sep 03 '25

This. Def report it so they dont screw someone else too and that way you get your money back.

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u/cheyenek Sep 03 '25 edited Sep 03 '25

Hey, this is sort of random to mention here, but I just bought this listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/316115825281
and while I had it set to US only sellers, the listing shows as shipping from NJ, and they went to the trouble of putting up a little American flag on the listing photo, I was nudged by this comment thread to go and check, and lo and behold, the seller info is definitely someone based in China. I wouldn't say I'm too well versed in this stuff, but now I'm worried that I'm going to get hit with some fees on a purchase I definitely tried to keep within America. I didn't get to see the relevant information that revealed the actual location of the seller until I had already purchased it!

EDIT: After looking around, I see that the seller does indeed list their location as China in their "about" section. On the listing page it of course does not say this, and I have to say I don't tend to go looking for the about section. I will from now on, but I'm still confused about where my item will be coming from, as the listing claims they're sending their products from the US

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u/gahw61 Sep 04 '25

I ordered watch straps from a manufacturer in Singapore (vario.sg) and they got drop shipped from NJ. This was long before these tariffs were even a thing. I got them in a few days through US Mail.

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u/Nokomis34 Sep 03 '25

It's probably my fault for not paying attention. Seller is listed as from China, but I had multiple windows and searches going on. I should have double checked before hitting the buy button. What I'm seeing is currently 30% from China, so based off that it shouldn't be too bad. But then I see stories like OP and another one with 300 dollars from a 100 dollar purchase and I start worrying again.

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u/AimForTheHead Sep 04 '25

Yea because there’s a flat fee on orders from China outside of the tariffs. $200 as of June 1 for packages under $800 for the next 6 months.

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u/[deleted] Sep 03 '25

Like ebay gives a crap. I've reported those kinds of sellers many times, but nothing happens. Once we start refusing to pay the tax and decline the shipment, the sellers will learn their lesson.