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Some shipping companies in Kuwait have begun overcharging customers, tacking on a range of unnecessary and unregulated 'fees' that are not approved by the government. Few people understand what are the legitimate charges for packages shipped to Kuwait and even fewer read the receipts or argue with the charges when a package is delivered to your door.

Kuwait Times recently received several complaints from customers and when investigating the matter, learned that some companies overcharge customers, have no clear and stated customs duties or charges and are sometimes even asking outright for unnecessary 'handling fees'.

No names were used in this report to protect the identity of the customers. It's also worth mentioning that not all shipping companies were involved in overcharging and that many customers in Kuwait were aware of which company had a good reputation and which did not.

One customer was charged KD 12.5 for receiving an accessory, while the sender had already paid more than KD 16 for shipping it from Europe. The company refused to discuss the bill or hand over the shipment unless she paid up. She then called the office of the company, and was told the extra charges were fees charged by government authorities in Kuwait including the customs, airport and others.

The bill included unnecessary fees labeled as 'Bayan clearance', 'airport charge', a secondary 'customs duty', 'stamp', 'disbursement fee 'and others. After the customer threatened to complain at the customer protection department, the shipping company agreed to refund half the amount.

This isn't the only case. Ibrahim is another customer who received a gift from Dubai. The courier demanded KD 5 as delivery charges. Ibrahim refused to pay, as it was a gift from a company. On contacting the sender, they told him that all charges were paid for and he only has to take the gift, which was a box of chocolates. The shipping company then delivered the shipment without any extra charges.

Consumer Protection & Complaints

An inspector who answered the hotline of the Consumer Protection Department of the Ministry of Commerce said since it doesn't have a specific list of delivery charges, a customer can lodge a complaint. "If the customer suspects any bill on receiving a shipment, he or she can show the bill to the Consumer Protection Department in the governorate where the shipping company is located. The inspector will ask the shipping company's representative to visit the department. If he refuses, the inspector along with the customer will go to the company to resolve the conflict," Ahmad told Kuwait Times.

Not issuing a receipt in Arabic is also a violation. "The customer should bring all the documents he has, including the bill that he paid, any emails of his payment in advance or correspondence with the sender proving the charges were paid. If the shipping company doesn't refund the illegal charges, the case will be transferred to the court, which will decide any sanctions against the company. The customer can complain at our department no matter what the amount of the bill is, even if it is only 100 fils," assured Ahmad.

Another customer who received a shipment through the same company narrated his bad experience. "I was receiving goods to distribute in Kuwait, and I never paid a single dinar, as delivery charges were paid by the sender. Unfortunately, the sender once used a different company, which surprised me with its poor service," said Tony.

"It delayed my shipment for almost a month, I usually received it within three days maximum. Moreover, it charged a huge amount for delivery. After I protested, one of the staff there asked for a KD 100 bribe to complete the procedures. I refused and got angry, and threatened to complain at the ministry. I also contacted the sender, who contacted the company, and it finally delivered the shipment without any charges," he told Kuwait Times.

Customs duty in Kuwait is equivalent to five percent of the price of the item. In many cases, if people order online and receive their shipment at their PO boxes, they don't have to pay any customs fees. In some cases, when people import an expensive item like a motorbike, the customs inspector will not consider the price in the invoice if he suspects that the amount is very low compared to the usual price in the market. So the inspector will reevaluate the item and calculate the customs duty accordingly.

The hotline of the Consumer Protection Department is 135.

By Nawara Fattahova