r/Switzerland • u/StinkyCockGamer • 10h ago
UPS asking for obscene import fee 4k CHF!
Hi all, i have been living in switzerland (canton aargau) for a year now and have recently decided to ship my personal PC to switzerland.
I filled out an 18.44 and attached it to the parcel while shipping (well my sister did haha) - i presumed this would he enough to cover it as personal belongings and be exempt from vat.
After about a week i have recieved an invoice of 3707 CHF, valuing the goods at 44k CHF.
I was wondering if anyone knew the process of disputing this, since the pc is worth no more than 500 chf and its a number i really cant afford.
Thanks for any help, any and all will be very useful!
Note: image of the invoice in the comments ...
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u/bibiweb 10h ago
How can a PC be valued at 44 KCHF ?
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u/Iolyx Vaud 10h ago
Bro has 256gb of ram
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u/StinkyCockGamer 10h ago
Its an optiplex on 16gb ddr3 haha :[ ...
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u/O_banana_si_doua_oua 5h ago
Why would you ship such a PC across countries instead of going to the next best Flohmarkt and buy another one?
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u/Felyxorez Jura 8h ago
UPS is really the worst company in switzerland. Probably they did a mistake somewhere. Goodluck contacting arlesheim...
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u/Ok_Oven2558 5h ago
100% agree! They did get my iphone lost! It takes ages to reach them. Good luck!
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u/Crafter1515 3h ago
Lol same here. A few years ago when they just dumped my dad's repaired iPhone at a random persons house because the driver couldn't find the adress.
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u/Worth_Medicine4881 10h ago
This should be treated as fraud. If customer makes it to corporation it is treated like fraud. It's time to make corporations accountable for their mistakes.
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u/unixfan2001 9h ago
Given even the government is fraudulent, I think Switzerland is the last country where you can enforce this.
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u/laughing_hyena1234 8h ago
Swiss Gov is fraudulent? What?
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u/unixfan2001 7h ago
I used to work for the FOITT (the same organization that screwed up unemployment information systems earlier in the year, after spending 10+ years developing this mess).
It's corrupt to the core. They don't honor Swiss labor laws (literally made me work on Sundays and then pressured me not to file it as weekend work, refusing to pay up) and there's lots of backroom deals and nepotism. Nobody cares about quality and the contracting firms they hire all just file hours willy nilly.
The guy who eventually managed to bully me off the job had his son and wife work in the same department, which really isn't normal.
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u/NateRiver___ 5h ago
Swiss post constantly double charges you VAT and refuse to reimburse no matter the evidence you provide. Total fraudsters
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u/3punkt1415 8h ago
Sure you have better chances in North Korea, Sierra Leone or Papua New Guinea. /s
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u/StinkyCockGamer 10h ago edited 10h ago
Ive attached the invoice. There is another page with a QR code and a phone number...
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u/No_Combination_6429 9h ago
21 kg?
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u/StinkyCockGamer 9h ago
On the box sizes i think they had predefined weights, 21kg was the one i picked and wrote haha.
Its probably closer to 10 idk.
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u/specialdefects Bern 1h ago
I think my first genuine reaction to this would be that it is 100% a clerical error.
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u/carcharoth84 Bern 10h ago
44332 is an odd number. sounds like some idiot typed the numbers because they're in a row.
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u/Cool_Samoyed 10h ago
Wow 44k for a PC is a lot, really hope you'll fix it. I had issues with some import duties from UPS some time ago. I reached out by email, at first they weren't useful but eventually they redirected me to another email address for these specific issues, and there they gave me the clarifications I needed. Unfortunately I can't find this email address in my old inbox so you should start from their public customer service, and maybe specifically mention you need to contact whatever office deals with these issues
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u/3l3s3 Bern 10h ago
18.44 doesn't work for shipping pretty sure. Only for importing while you move if you accompany the goods or give legal authority to a professional moving company. Legally speaking, you just randomly imported something expensive.
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u/StinkyCockGamer 10h ago
I read the documentation and it says i had up to 24months after settling to move personal belongings.
Nonetheless, the 44k evaluation is the bigger issue
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u/DescartesDilemna 9h ago
FWIW, you totally can use a form 18.44 for self shipping goods. I just moved from the USA and had to deal with a similar issue as you. We shipped a ton of medium/large boxes via USPS which is handed off to SwissPost. We received a bunch of invoices totaling nearly 3k CHF after a few weeks. Managed to sort it all out after nearly 5 months of repeated emails and visits to my local SwissPost office. We did get our 18.44 stamped by a customs office shortly after arriving though (which was its own challenge), I would start there and get that stamped at a customs office if you haven’t already
I never had anyone evaluate the price of my goods though, we wrote down the cost of goods in each box when shipping via USPS.
Not sure if they have any recourse if you decide not to pay. I would just email them and tell them they made a mistake, it’ll be stressful but I doubt you’ll have to pay
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u/Nice-Mess5029 10h ago
Dang, did UPS valued your pc to 44k because you have 8GB of RAM and 128 Gb of memory? XD
I do share my sympathies, I have tried one time to dispute and it's a lengthy process of ping-pong emails. Before calling them, reach your commune and ask for the "Attestation de domicile" (no idea how you say that in english or german). This way you can already prove that you are moving a personal item.
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u/Suspicious_Place1270 Zürich 10h ago
can you send the invoice with removed personal info and id-numbers? i actually want to see this dipsh*t work from ups
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u/StinkyCockGamer 10h ago
Hi, ive tried in a comment
https://www.reddit.com/r/Switzerland/s/Y9Z3f1Avys
There is another page with just a QR code haha
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u/Prize_Anywhere8611 9h ago
I once had problems with UPS imports and I solved them by contacting the customs and escalating internally at UPS by finding the head of the business on LinkedIn and complaining to him directly there ! By phone it was completely useless . Go get the manager above
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u/ChemicalScary1165 9h ago
Everything is explained here :-) https://www.bazg.admin.ch/en/dispute-customs-decisions-and-charges
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u/civiloid 8h ago
I had a lot of similar problems with UPS and their customs charge, it is likely that when you (or your sister) was filling the declaration form you put something that they've misread as 44k CHF price. Send them email, explain all to them, provide proofs (if any) that it can't cost that much and demand the recalculation of the fee. It usually takes time for them to react, but so far they've at least fixed most of their mistakes with fees for me (redundant fees, arbitrary fees and even sending a customs invoice for a parcel that I haven't ordered, shipped or received).
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u/Yeager__86 8h ago
This can also happen when the currency is incorrectly specified on the customs declaration. In such cases, they may not convert the amount and instead treat it as if it were in CHF.
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u/Bobertolinio 10h ago
If you have the original invoices for the components, you could send those and try to dispute it.
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u/_Jelly_101 10h ago
If you have receipts of the purchase that prove you had owned the goods at least 6 months prior to your move to switzerland (start date on the permit), the entire thing is VAT free. It’s in the customs law.
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u/LeroyoJenkins Zürich 10h ago
would he enough to cover it as personal belongings and be exempt from vat.
Big nope, too late for that. You had 6 months to do it.
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u/StinkyCockGamer 10h ago
I think the issue is less the exemption and more the 44k evaluation...
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u/LeroyoJenkins Zürich 10h ago
That's simple to solve, do you have the receipts and invoices?
Did you send them along with the PC?
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u/No_Combination_6429 9h ago
I once ordered something from the US. For 100$ of goods had to pay 40$ to UPS for customs.
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u/Time-Paramedic Zug 9h ago
Seems like a clerical error that should be easy to dispute. I didn’t see your 18.44 anywhere, what did you fill in that?
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u/alexrada 10h ago
maybe they thought it's a car?
did you provide invoice/documents?
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u/Betrunkentz 6h ago
Why did u even declare it and not just took it with u?
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u/StinkyCockGamer 6h ago
Hard to take a pc on a flight without declaring it
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u/zreofiregs Ticino 6h ago
ha ha! Jokes on you, i tore my PC down to bare items, packed them all with anti-static bags, proper packing material and took them among 4 checked bags when flying :D
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u/WakeNBakeGirl93 6h ago
Checked bags for electronics? That's pretty brave haha. I transported my PC and on other occasions consoles over the ocean. But always hand luggage. I also never had any problems bringing them in or out..
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u/GoodMix392 5h ago
I once stuck a Fender Deluxe tube amp weighing about 21kg on the baggage conveyor with nothing but a fragile sticker on it on a flight from Dublin to Ireland a few years ago as if it was a regular suitcase. Absolutely no issues. But if they had issues they learn very fast how tough life as a roadie is because that bloody thing is a nightmare to lift.
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u/ogni65 7h ago
because of SI, prices went up for memory… your PC is worth now 44k sorry… 😪
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u/summernightcat 6h ago
Out of curiosity: Are you using SI sarcastically or honestly because of the US/Trump? First time I see it used in European spaces...
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u/Ordinary-Experience 4h ago
People have been using ASI for a long time, "SI" is just an easier spelling. Trump really lives in everyone's heads rent free
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u/theoneandonlyecon 10h ago
Call ups?
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u/Worth_Medicine4881 10h ago
only email, because this way you don't have any proof.
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u/theoneandonlyecon 10h ago
Good point. However, just to find out what the process is and where he should send his request to, a phone call might do
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u/WakeNBakeGirl93 6h ago
Wtf u have for a PC that they think it is worth 44k?? 😂 But i agree with another commenter. Why didn't u take it with u? I took my whole Pc (except for the case obviously since i have a big one) on a plane. Static save packaging and into the hand luggage. I already transported consoles like that too without anti static packaging. Just don't put electronics into check in..
But they obviously made some mistake. Even with a 5090 and 64GB of DDR5 it would not reach that worth. I would try to get in contact with them and get a reason for the 44k. Better to have your own sheet on the side where u could tell them the actual worth of the parts.
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u/Leagueofcatassasins 2h ago
I mean definitely try to contact them and make them aware of the completely false evaluation. if they don’t react/nothing changes you can contact the „Beobachter“, a magazine that will often report on such things and contact companies on people’s behalf or „Kassensturz“, a tv series that does similar things. often when they get involved and there is bad press companies will suddenly find a solution/compromise. But you should first of course try to go the normal route by communicating with the company and making them aware of the mistaken evaluation.
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