After delivering homemade bread, FedEx charged this London, Ont., man $48 in extra fees

A London, Ont., man says FedExslapped him with $48 in unexpected extra costs after receiving homemade bread as a giftfrom his granddaughter in the United States.

On Dec. 19, David Hicks, who is 80, and his wife arrived home to find a package at their doorstep. His granddaughter, who lives about an hour outside Philadelphia and can't visit because of COVID-19 restrictions, had sent him a homemade Hanukkahbread.

"It was round and about the size of a grapefruit," said Hicks."We were just delighted when we opened it and called her and thanked her for it," he said.

Hick's granddaughter had shipped the package with FedEx to give it the best chance of reaching London before Christmas.

All was merry until Jan. 8 when Hicks received an invoice from FedEx for $48.97, despite the fact his granddaughter had already paid for the shipping. The charges were broken down this way:

• Clearance entry fee: $25.50.
• Advancement fee: $10.
• HST on ADV/Ancillary Service Fees : $4.62.
• Canada HST: $8.85.

Hicks was shocked, especially by the HST (harmonized sales tax) charges. After all, this wasn't an item bought from a manufacturer or retailer, it was a piece of bread made in his granddaughter's kitchen.

"When we first looked at it, we thought this must be a scam," he said. "I was quite embarrassed to call my granddaughter and let her know that we had received this additional invoice," he said.

"It just doesn't add up, there's something very strange about this."

Hicks calledFedExbut was only able to reach anautomated voice menu with information about how he could submit payment.

"I couldn't get through to a real person," he said.

While he was trying to get answers from FedEx, the company sent him another invoice on Feb. 18, this time warning the debt was headed to a collection agency.

Hicks saidhe won't pay until he gets clarification from FedEx about the shipping charges.

FedEx says charges are accurate

CBC News reached out to FedEx for comment. The company replied with a statement and saidthe charges are accurate and that the shipper has the option of paying duty charges when the package is shipped, or letting the recipient pay them. The company saidin this case, the shipper opted to let the receiver pay them.

"FedEx shipments that cross an international border are subject to the assessment of duty and taxes, which can vary depending on the declared value of the item during the time it is tendered to us," the statement said.

"Further, shippershave the option to absorb the cost of ancillary international shipping fees themselves, or to pass them on to the recipient.We have reviewed the details of this shipment and based on the value declared by the shipper and the elections made by the shipper as to responsibility for the payment of fees, we have confirmed that the fees assessed were accurate."

Hicks feels FedEx could have been more transparent about the costs. He wanted to share his story as a warning to others since so many people are relying on courier services to shop or send gifts during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is gouging," he said. "How many unsuspecting Canadians are receiving FedEx invoices demanding further payments in addition to the prepaid amounts?"

Hicks said he wanted to share what happened to him after reading a story from CBC's Go Public team about a woman in Calgary who was asked to pay anextra $24 after payingDHL $23 to deliver a shirt from Ireland that she'd ordered for her 10-year-old son.

In that case, the company held on to the package and wouldn't deliver it until she paid the extra fee for "duty/tax and clearance fees." The jersey cost $68.