Import duty on items then returned

[Sensibleboy]

Hopefully somebody is a subject matter expert on such things.

In January I bought some shoes online but without knowing it they were actually coming from Italy despite there being no sign of this on the website.

Shoes arrived and didn't fit so were returned through the same courier (Fedex) and a week or so later my money was refunded.

Before the item was delivered I got a text message saying duty was due. I thought this was spam so I ignored it.

Anyway an invoice got sent from Fedex asking for £70 to be paid. It's about £55 duty plus their £15 admin fee. They say this still needs paying despite the goods being returned through them.
I don't think the goods should have been released until duty was paid.

Anyway can anybody tell me if this really needs paying or are Fedex just wanting their £15 paid and then I have the hassle of claiming the other £55 of my money back from customs?
I'd rather avoid paying anything as it all seems a bit silly over a pair of shoes!

[Michael_B]

Here in Switzerland (another non-EU country) customs duty on imported EU goods is never reimbursable. I would imagine that neither UK HMRC nor Fedex gives a rat’s arse that the goods were subsequently returned to sender.
Over here it’s called “une importation définitive” and the clue is in the third word of that phrase.

[ZedLeg]

Yeah, the fees are due regardless of what you do with the item.

You might try getting in touch with the company but if they didn’t tell you where it’s shipping from then they probably won’t be interested.