Delayed payment from consignee
If the consignee is slow to pay duty and tax and it results in a held package, there are multiple ways to manage the logistics.
Shipment is held by the final mile provider
If you have the ability to manage the storage of unpaid customs invoices awaiting payment, you can continue to warehouse and hold packages until the consignee pays the duty and tax or a pre-determined amount of time has passed. If the consignee does not pay the duty and tax, Zonos will pay the customs invoice and take the title of the goods.
Shipment is routed to and held by Zonos
Zonos can take possession of the goods and hold the package until receiving payment for the customs invoice. During the storage period, a new invoice will be provided to the consignee with additional fees from Zonos for storage. Once paid, the final mile delivery provider is responsible for delivery. You may add your own fees to the invoices for held packages to support additional costs for re-routing and managing a new delivery.
Refused payment by consignee
Whether the package is held by Zonos or the final mile delivery provider, Zonos will continually contact the consignee for payment of duty and tax.
If the consignee refuses payment or is unresponsive, Zonos will contact the sender in the export country regarding the returns process. The sender will have two options:
- Return to sender: If the sender wants the goods returned, Zonos will process the return to the sender.
- Abandonment: If the sender chooses to abandon the goods, Zonos will take the title of the goods and liquidate the product.
If the sender and consignee do not respond within a pre-determined period, the goods will be considered abandoned, and the title will be transferred to Zonos.
Consignee support
Zonos will manage the customer service inquiries for consignees regarding questions on the customs invoice. We will also offer customer support for the sender in the export country. For an additional charge (paid by the consignee), Zonos can send paper invoices to the consignee for collection.
Pricing
In most cases, using Zonos Collect with a guarantee will be a substantially lower cost than paying customs for duty and tax you did not collect. Additionally, it is expensive to manage package storage, customer service, collections, shipment abandonment, and coordinating a return package to the sender. Pricing for Collect with a guarantee is specific to your current processes and risk. It also depends on the services selected and your current collection failure rate.
Get started with Collect
Get guaranteed collection of duty and tax for every customs invoice.
BETA
Through Zonos Collect guarantee, Zonos can pay customs invoices on all imports, regardless of whether the consignee pays the duty and tax. After the consignee pays the duty and tax, the shipment can be released for delivery. For consignees who are slow to pay the duty and tax or refuse to pay it, Zonos will still pay the customs invoice and take the title of the goods.