Unexpected fees and duties — Version History
Comparing v1 v2 +81 · −80
Updated by Julia
Published by Julia
Instructions +81 · −80
−If the customer's question is specifically about VAT / sales tax / GST as a line item on their order (not a bank or customs charge after the fact) — that's a different scenario, not this skill.
−
−This skill answers customer questions about unexpected fees and duty surprises that aren't from us.
−
−**The pattern**
−
−Most unexpected charges come from the customer's bank or customs authorities — not from Ridestore. Our role is to explain what's happening and guide them to the right next step (typically: contact bank or customs).
−
−**1. Bank currency conversion fees**
−
−- Even with prices in local currency on our site, some banks process the payment as international
−- Result: foreign transaction fee, currency conversion fee, slight price difference vs website
−- Bank statement labels: "International Fee", "Foreign Transaction Fee", "Currency Adjustment"
−- **What we tell the customer:** these are bank-side fees. Contact the bank to ask about international payment fees, or inquire about cards with lower foreign transaction rates.
−
−**2. Different exchange rates**
−
−- If payment is processed in a different currency, the bank uses its own exchange rate (different from rates online)
−- Result: charge slightly higher or lower than expected; difference between authorization and final charge
−- Normal — exchange rates fluctuate daily.
−
−**3. Authorization holds (look like charges, aren't)**
−
−- Bank shows pending holds that look like real charges
−- Common after multiple payment attempts or a failed payment
−- **Important:** These are not real charges. They clear automatically within a few days.
−- If a hold doesn't clear after a week, the customer can ask their bank to remove it.
−
−**4. Regional payment processing fees**
−
−- **Switzerland (Klarna):** credit card payments only. Klarna lacks a Swiss entity. Debit cards unaffected.
−- **Australia (Adyen):** may affect customers using NAB, Suncorp, or affiliated smaller banks on specific transactions.
−- **New Zealand and Japan (Adyen):** occasional issues due to lack of local entity registration.
−
−If a customer is in one of these regions and saw an extra fee — escalate so an agent can help (we may be able to assist).
−
−**5. Import duties and customs charges**
−
−- Cross-border shipments may incur duties or import taxes in the destination country
−- Customer pays as the importer of record — not us
−- We **cannot** reimburse import duties — they're set by the destination country's government
−- If unsure before ordering, customer should research their country's import regulations
−
−**6. Carrier admin or handling fees**
−
−- Couriers sometimes add their own fees for customs clearance, import documentation, or handling
−- Customer pays the carrier — these aren't our fees
−- Tracking or shipping notification usually explains the fee
−
−**What Ridestore does NOT reimburse**
−
−- Bank currency conversion fees
−- Bank-imposed charges (overdraft, late fees)
−- Third-party service fees (Klarna late fees, PayPal Credit charges)
−- Import duties and customs charges
−- Carrier admin / handling fees
−- Differences due to exchange rate fluctuations
−
−**Exception:** If the extra fee was caused by **our own error** (e.g. a shipping label issue that delayed a return and resulted in a late fee), an agent can review and may be able to help. Escalate.
−
−**How to handle the conversation**
−
−1. "I was charged extra" → ask what they see on the statement. Match to one of the six categories.
−2. "Currency conversion fee" → explain bank-side, suggest they contact bank.
−3. "Authorization hold" → reassure these clear automatically; suggest contacting bank if hold doesn't clear after a week.
−4. "Customs charged me" → import duties, paid to customs/courier, not us. We cannot reimburse.
−5. "Carrier wants money for delivery" → carrier admin fees. Tracking should explain.
−6. Customer in Switzerland / Australia / NZ / Japan with extra fee at checkout → escalate so an agent can help.
−7. "I think you charged me twice" → check tool data via the order lookup tool. Could be authorization hold or genuine duplicate. Escalate if duplicate confirmed.
−8. "I need help confirming what currency I was charged in" → escalate.
−9. Customer's question is about the included VAT (pricing model question) → that's a different scenario; escalate so the VAT-and-tax flow runs.
−10. Customer reports a charge from a website that doesn't look like ours → that's a different scenario (possible fake-site fraud); escalate so the right teammate can run the chargeback flow.
−
−**Escalate to a human agent when:**
−- Customer thinks they were charged twice — investigate
−- Statement amount doesn't match order confirmation amount and customer can't explain it
−- Regional payment fee in CH / AU / NZ / JP — agent may be able to help
−- Customer believes a fee was caused by our error
−- Customer is unsure whether a fee is from us or third-party
−- Customer's question is actually about VAT pricing or possible fake-site fraud (different scenarios)
+If the customer's question is specifically about VAT / sales tax / GST as a line item on their order (not a bank or customs charge after the fact) — that's a different scenario, not this skill.
+This skill answers customer questions about unexpected fees and duty surprises that aren't from us.
+The pattern
+Most unexpected charges come from the customer's bank — not from Ridestore. For customs duties and courier handling fees, Ridestore actually covers these, so any direct bill to the customer for those is a courier mistake we can fix by contacting them.
+Our role is to explain what's happening and guide the customer to the right next step (contact the bank for bank-side fees; escalate for courier billing mistakes so we can have the bill redirected to us).
+1. Bank currency conversion fees
+
+Even with prices in local currency on our site, some banks process the payment as international
+Result: foreign transaction fee, currency conversion fee, slight price difference vs website
+Bank statement labels: "International Fee", "Foreign Transaction Fee", "Currency Adjustment"
+What we tell the customer: these are bank-side fees. Contact the bank to ask about international payment fees, or inquire about cards with lower foreign transaction rates.
+
+2. Different exchange rates
+
+If payment is processed in a different currency, the bank uses its own exchange rate (different from rates online)
+Result: charge slightly higher or lower than expected; difference between authorization and final charge
+Normal — exchange rates fluctuate daily.
+
+3. Authorization holds (look like charges, aren't)
+
+Bank shows pending holds that look like real charges
+Common after multiple payment attempts or a failed payment
+Important: These are not real charges. They clear automatically within a few days.
+If a hold doesn't clear after a week, the customer can ask their bank to remove it.
+
+4. Regional payment processing fees
+
+Switzerland (Klarna): credit card payments only. Klarna lacks a Swiss entity. Debit cards unaffected.
+Australia (Adyen): may affect customers using NAB, Suncorp, or affiliated smaller banks on specific transactions.
+New Zealand and Japan (Adyen): occasional issues due to lack of local entity registration.
+
+If a customer is in one of these regions and saw an extra fee — escalate so an agent can help (we may be able to assist).
+5. Import duties and customs charges
+
+Ridestore covers all import duties and customs charges connected to the order — for every country we serve, the customer should never be billed directly
+Customer should only pay for their order plus shipping (including express shipping if they chose it)
+Sometimes a courier (DHL Express, UPS, DHL) mistakenly bills the customer directly — that's a courier-side error, not how it should work
+If the customer was billed: escalate so an agent can contact the courier and have the bill redirected to Ridestore
+
+6. Carrier admin or handling fees
+
+Couriers sometimes add their own fees for customs clearance, import documentation, or handling
+Ridestore covers these too — they should be billed to us, not the customer
+If the customer received a bill from the courier for one of these fees, escalate so an agent can contact the courier and have it redirected to us
+
+What Ridestore does NOT reimburse
+
+Bank currency conversion fees
+Bank-imposed charges (overdraft, late fees)
+Third-party service fees (Klarna late fees, PayPal Credit charges)
+Differences due to exchange rate fluctuations
+
+What Ridestore DOES cover (escalate if customer was billed)
+
+Import duties and customs charges connected to the order
+Carrier admin / handling fees connected to the order
+
+Exception: If a non-covered extra fee was caused by our own error (e.g. a shipping label issue that delayed a return and resulted in a late fee), an agent can review and may be able to help. Escalate.
+How to handle the conversation
+
+"I was charged extra" → ask what they see on the statement. Match to one of the six categories.
+"Currency conversion fee" → explain bank-side, suggest they contact bank.
+"Authorization hold" → reassure these clear automatically; suggest contacting bank if hold doesn't clear after a week.
+"Customs charged me" → this shouldn't happen — Ridestore covers customs duties for every country we serve. Reassure the customer it's a courier-side mistake and escalate so an agent can contact the courier and have the bill redirected to us.
+"Carrier wants money for delivery / handling" → same thing — these fees should be billed to us, not the customer. Escalate so an agent can have the bill redirected.
+Customer in Switzerland / Australia / NZ / Japan with extra fee at checkout → escalate so an agent can help.
+"I think you charged me twice" → check tool data via the order lookup tool. Could be authorization hold or genuine duplicate. Escalate if duplicate confirmed.
+"I need help confirming what currency I was charged in" → escalate.
+Customer's question is about the included VAT (pricing model question) → that's a different scenario; escalate so the VAT-and-tax flow runs.
+Customer reports a charge from a website that doesn't look like ours → that's a different scenario (possible fake-site fraud); escalate so the right teammate can run the chargeback flow.
+
+Escalate to a human agent when:
+
+Customer was billed import duties or customs charges by a courier — we cover these and can have the bill redirected to us
+Customer was billed carrier admin / handling fees — same, we cover these
+Customer thinks they were charged twice — investigate
+Statement amount doesn't match order confirmation amount and customer can't explain it
+Regional payment fee in CH / AU / NZ / JP — agent may be able to help
+Customer believes a fee was caused by our error
+Customer is unsure whether a fee is from us or third-party
+Customer's question is actually about VAT pricing or possible fake-site fraud (different scenarios)
Guardrails unchanged
(no changes)