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Comment by brntn | Hacker News Reader

In this case the consequence is that the Australian government agency collecting the import tax doesn't get paid. Which means that they don't release the package to FedEx, and that you don't get your package.

FedEx needs to do a better job with these notifications. At the very least they need to hire a copywriter.

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Our local FedEx once asked me for my details so they could be able to declare my package to the customs and in the SMS message they said that "The sender is paying all declaration fees." I sent them my info and got my package.

Then about five months later, I got a bill from FedEx for import fees, tax and service charges. Had to fight with FedEx for some time about it but eventually they agreed to void the bill. At this point in time, I have no idea if I paid the taxes when I bought the stuff, if FedEx paid them out of pocket or if the sender paid them out of pocket.

There are more possible realities. You listed the 3 first. There are more options, at least these:

4. You paid the taxes when you bought the stuff. Fedex wants the taxes anyways. They would have kept your extra taxes for themselves in the end.

5. You paid the taxes when you bought the stuff. Fedex wants the taxes anyways. They would have paid the extra taxes. The government kept them because, hey, they trust Fedex.

6. You paid the taxes when you bought the stuff. Fedex wants the taxes anyways. They would have paid the extra taxes. The government kept them but eventually returned them, because some kind of accounting kicked in.

7. You didn't pay the taxes when you bought the stuff. The sender didn't either. Fedex informs the sender and you. Fedex pays out of pocket. The sender pays out of pocket.

Could have happened if you paid:

8. You didn't pay the taxes when you bought the stuff. The sender didn't either. Fedex informs the sender and you. Fedex pays out of pocket. The sender pays out of pocket. You pay out of pocket. Fedex keeps twice the taxes in the end.

9. You didn't pay the taxes when you bought the stuff. The sender didn't either. Fedex informs the sender and you. Fedex pays out of pocket. The sender pays out of pocket. You pay out of pocket. The fed. governemnt keeps triple the taxes.

And many variations I can't think of right now.

I mean, either I paid the taxes when I bought the stuff, or I didn't. There's no reality where I "didn't pay the taxes when [I] bought the stuff" and also I "pay out of pocket", since I have not paid anything after placing the order. I guess there's also the possibility that I paid for the taxes but the seller ended up pocketing them, with FedEx footing the bill.

Sorry, I was unclear.

I mean in the general case - how much does FedEx win or loose from problems like this?

If they win, do they exploit it, by design or incompetence?

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