A charge that appears after you've already paid isn't automatically a mistake — but it isn't automatically fair either. Here's how to tell which, and what to do about it.
An additional charge appearing after you've paid and booked is a genuinely unsettling experience, but it isn't automatically wrong — Cargosender's Terms and Conditions (§2.3) explicitly allow additional charges for inaccurate information at booking or a shipment that doesn't comply with the selected service's terms, restrictions or limits, and Cargosender can apply an administrative fee of up to €15 on top of the underlying cost itself. What matters is working out which category your charge actually falls into before deciding whether to dispute it.
The two families of causes worth telling apart: physical discrepancies (your parcel measured or weighed differently at collection than what you entered at booking) and process-related costs (customs duty, a return, or a documentation issue). The right response is different for each.
| Likely cause | How to verify it |
|---|---|
| Size or weight didn't match what you entered | Compare the courier's recorded measurement against your own — see the measuring guide for how to measure accurately next time, and ask support for the specific measurement they recorded. |
| Volumetric weight applied where you expected actual weight | Check whether length × width × height ÷ 5,000 (in cm/kg) exceeds your parcel's actual weight — if so, the higher figure is what's normally charged, not a billing error. |
| Customs duty or VAT charged to you or the recipient | This is a separate, expected mechanism, not a booking error — see the guide on who pays customs duty and VAT for how this works. |
| A surcharge tied to a return or refused delivery | See the guide on returned and refused parcels for what triggers this and who's liable under the terms. |
Contact Cargosender support and ask exactly what the charge is for and what measurement or event triggered it — don't dispute a charge you don't yet understand.
If your own dimensions and weight were accurate and match the courier's own record, that's the basis for a dispute. If they don't match, the charge is very likely legitimate under §2.3.
Cargosender's terms describe a seven-day window to pay an additional charge that couldn't be applied automatically to your payment method — don't let this lapse while you're still deciding whether to dispute it; raise the dispute within that window instead.
Cargosender's terms require cancellations, modifications and complaints to go through written channels to be binding — a phone call or chat message alone may not be treated as a formal dispute.
Being charged more because your parcel was genuinely oversized or overweight relative to what you entered — this is the terms working as written, not a mistake.
Volumetric weight exceeding actual weight — this is a standard, real industry pricing mechanism, not specific to Cargosender.
A customs duty or VAT charge — this is a separate mechanism from your original shipping quote and is expected on many non-EU routes.
Yes — the terms state the client authorizes Cargosender to apply additional surcharges to the payment method used for the order, for costs arising from inaccurate booking information or non-compliant shipment details, with an administrative fee of up to €15 on top.
That's the basis for a legitimate dispute — ask support for the specific measurement the courier recorded and compare it against yours. If your figures were accurate, raise this in writing rather than simply paying or ignoring the charge.
The terms describe a seven-day window to pay an amount that couldn't be charged automatically. Use that same window to raise a dispute in writing if you believe the charge is wrong, rather than letting it lapse.
No — customs duty and VAT are a separate mechanism tied to the destination's own import rules, not a Cargosender billing correction. See the guide on who pays customs duty and VAT for that mechanism specifically.
Contact support in writing with your order number and ask exactly what triggered the charge.
Contact Support →