Denver grandpa lost in tariff confusion after buying $67 hubcap online — $46.38 added from tariffs. What are his rights?

Paul Polak just wanted to do something nice for his granddaughter. Instead, the Loveland, Colorado, resident got tangled in America’s increasingly chaotic tariff system — and a bill that left him wondering whether it’s even worth buying anything from overseas anymore.

Polak’s granddaughter was about to inherit her dad’s 22-year-old Audi station wagon, and one of the hubcaps was missing. So he went online, found a replacement from a seller in the United Kingdom and placed an order. The hubcap cost $67.

Then came the letter from FedEx.

When the hubcap arrived in the U.S., Customs and Border Protection assessed a string of import duties. FedEx, which had covered the tariffs upfront as the shipment’s importer of record, sent Polak a bill seeking reimbursement — plus a $4.50 disbursement fee for handling the customs paperwork. All told, Polak owed $41.88 in tariffs and $4.50 in fees on a $67 purchase — an effective tax rate of roughly 69%, as first reported by 9NEWS investigative reporter Steve Staeger (1).

The duty invoice broke the charges into four separate tariff lines: a 2.5% standard duty, a 10% reciprocal tariff tied to the UK, a 25% tariff for a passenger vehicle part and another 25% tariff for a medium- or heavy-duty vehicle part.

Keith Maskus, a retired economics professor and former chief economist for the U.S. State Department, reviewed the invoice and told Staeger that the tariffs appeared to have been improperly stacked — each one levied against the full value of the hubcap rather than applied correctly.

Under current trade rules, auto parts imported from the UK are subject to a 25% Section 232 tariff under the Trade Expansion Act — the national-security provision President Trump used to impose broad duties on vehicles and vehicle parts starting in spring 2025 (2).

While the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal, announced in May 2025 and implemented in late June, reduced that rate to 10% for qualifying UK-origin parts, that lower rate only applies to parts destined for UK-origin vehicles — not a German-made Audi.

Either way, goods covered by Section 232 auto-parts duties are generally exempt from the separate 10% reciprocal tariff that also applies to UK exports. And the medium- or heavy-duty vehicle parts tariff — a 25% levy that took effect on Nov. 1, 2025 — shouldn’t apply to a hubcap for a regular station wagon at all.

In other words, the correct duty on Polak’s hubcap was likely 25% — roughly $16.75 — not the $41.88 he was charged.

Staeger’s investigation uncovered one man’s story, but tariff billing errors on small international purchases have become a nationwide problem since the de minimis exemption — exempting small-cost goods from tariffs — ended in August 2025, following reports of people exploiting it.

NBC News documented a wave of surprise bills after the exemption was lifted — including $1,400 for a computer part from Germany and $1,041 for handbags from Spain — with one trade consultant calling it “maximum chaos” (3).

On Reddit, a consumer reported being assessed nearly $8,000 in tariffs on a $200 order from an Asia-based retailer shipped via DHL from Hong Kong, as documented by Modern Retail; the figure is self-reported and has not been independently verified (4).

And in Miami, a consumer was charged $36 in duties and fees on a pair of tennis shoes from Germany that carried a standard tariff classification of “free” — meaning the only basis for the charges were IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court has since struck down. That case has become a proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of millions of FedEx customers (5).

The pattern is consistent: Carriers are struggling to correctly classify and assess tariffs on millions of low-value packages that now require formal customs processing — and consumers are paying for those mistakes.

For decades, any package shipped to the U.S. with a declared value under $800 entered the country duty-free under the de minimis exemption. By 2024, roughly 4 million packages a day — more than 1.3 billion a year — were cleared under the rule (6).

The Trump administration eliminated the exemption in stages: first for goods from China in May 2025, then for all other countries on Aug. 29, 2025. Now every international package — no matter how small — requires formal customs processing, a correct tariff classification and the payment of applicable duties. For a logistics company like FedEx, that means classifying millions of additional low-value packages every day.

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimates that tariffs cost the average American household roughly $1,000 in 2025, which it calls the largest U.S. tax increase as a share of GDP since 1993 (7).

The Supreme Court’s decision striking down IEEPA tariffs in February 2026 has provided some relief. Within hours of the ruling, however, President Trump imposed a new 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — later raised to 15% — meaning import costs for consumers remain elevated. The Tax Foundation estimates the remaining tariffs will cost households $400 to $1,000 in 2026, depending on how long the Section 122 duties last (7).

When Polak called FedEx to dispute the charges, the company told him he could challenge the assessment through its online process — but warned that if the tariff was found to be correct, he’d owe a $90 to $150 dispute fee.

“I’m afraid to contest this,” Polak told Staeger from 9NEWS.

Even in the worst case, Polak’s overpayment is roughly $25. Risking $90 to $150 to recover it doesn’t make financial sense, so companies have little pressure to get these assessments right.

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On Feb. 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that President Trump had exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (8). Three days later, FedEx became one of the first major U.S. companies to file suit seeking a full refund of every dollar it paid in IEEPA tariffs (9). The company has said publicly it intends to pass any refunds back to shippers and consumers, though it has not made a legally binding commitment to do so (9).

Consumers aren’t waiting. In addition to the Miami class-action suit, a customs broker in South Carolina has filed multiple lawsuits against both FedEx and UPS in federal courts across three states, seeking refunds for all consumers who paid IEEPA tariffs through those carriers (10).

The government collected an estimated $175 billion or more in IEEPA tariffs that the Supreme Court has now deemed unconstitutional (10). How and when consumers will see any of that money back remains an open question — FedEx’s own website currently states it “is unable to resolve disputes involving IEEPA tariffs or process any refunds” until it receives guidance from regulators or the courts (11).

The days of cheap, hassle-free international shipping are over. Here’s how to minimize surprises.

Check where the seller is located. Many online marketplaces don’t make it obvious that a product is shipping from abroad. Look for seller details and shipping origin before you buy.

Look for “Delivered Duty Paid” shipping. Some sellers absorb import costs and include them in the listed price. If shipping terms say “Delivered at Place” or don’t specify, you’re likely on the hook for duties on arrival.

Understand the tariff basics. Every imported package is now subject to duties regardless of value. Most goods face at least a 10% baseline tariff. Auto parts carry a steeper 25% under Section 232.

Review your customs invoice carefully. Compare the tariff codes and rates against what you actually bought. If something looks off — like being charged a heavy-duty vehicle tariff on a passenger car hubcap — document everything and dispute it.

Know the cost of disputing. Carriers often charge a fee to formally contest a customs assessment. Ask about the fee upfront and weigh it against potential savings.

Hold onto everything. Save the original listing, order confirmation, shipping receipt and any duty invoices. If you’ve already paid IEEPA-related tariffs, those records may be critical if a refund process is eventually established.

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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

9NEWS Denver (1); Congressional Research Service (2); NBC News (3); Modern Retail (4); ClassAction.org (5); NPR (6); Tax Foundation (7, 8); CNBC (9); FreightWaves (10); FedEx (11)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.