SpeedTrans: The Customs Monopoly That Collapsed Imports
SpeedTrans charged €20 per non-EU package. After mass complaints, Correos took back control. Has the problem truly been solved?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
SpeedTrans: The Fee That Ruined Non-EU Purchases
SpeedTrans was, for about two years, the starkest example of how a private company can slip into state gaps to charge an unjustified toll. With Correos’s cover and the Tax Agency’s passivity, it built a de facto monopoly on packages from outside the European Union.
Business model: flat fee with no real service
The company charged €20 for each package worth over €22 entering by postal mail. It did not matter if the package had already paid duties or VAT: the fee was independent. In practice, many consumers ended up paying more in management fees than for the product itself.
Dubious practices
Affected users reported delays of up to three months, peine packages, unjustified losses, and storage fees that skyrocketed because SpeedTrans deliberately delayed arrival notices. There was also an illegal transfer of personal data from Correos, abusa Data Protection laws.
Political connections
Behind the company was Miguel Fernández Aramburu, a Seville customs agent with ties to real estate and alleged political contacts in Andalusia. The concession was awarded without public tender, by appointment, and with a straw man to avoid conflicts of interest. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office showed interest in the case, though without known results.
The beginning of the end
Public pressure and a boycott by companies like Think Geek, which stopped shipping to Spain due to added costs, forced a change. In October 2011, Correos took back control of postal customs, though it implemented a simplified procedure with a €14 fee. SpeedTrans, at least on paper, disappeared.
New system, old uncertainties
To this day, citizens still have to deal with two procedures depending on the package value: one simplified (up to €150) and another standard that replicates much of the bureaucratic hurdles. Personal effects remain a nightmare, as demonstrated by a user who had to prove residency and airfare to recover her used clothes.
SpeedTrans showed that, in Spain, privatizing public management without oversight can turn into a full-blown robbery. The system changed, but distrust toward Correos and the Tax Agency remains entrenched.
Related forum discussions
SpeedTrans was, for about two years, the starkest example of how a private company can slip into state gaps to charge an unjustified toll. With Correos’s cover and the Tax Agency’s passivity, it built a de facto monopoly on packages from outside the European Union.
Business model: flat fee with no real service
The company charged €20 for each package worth over €22 entering by postal mail. It did not matter if the package had already paid duties or VAT: the fee was independent. In practice, many consumers ended up paying more in management fees than for the product itself.
Dubious practices
Affected users reported delays of up to three months, peine packages, unjustified losses, and storage fees that skyrocketed because SpeedTrans deliberately delayed arrival notices. There was also an illegal transfer of personal data from Correos, abusa Data Protection laws.
Political connections
Behind the company was Miguel Fernández Aramburu, a Seville customs agent with ties to real estate and alleged political contacts in Andalusia. The concession was awarded without public tender, by appointment, and with a straw man to avoid conflicts of interest. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office showed interest in the case, though without known results.
The beginning of the end
Public pressure and a boycott by companies like Think Geek, which stopped shipping to Spain due to added costs, forced a change. In October 2011, Correos took back control of postal customs, though it implemented a simplified procedure with a €14 fee. SpeedTrans, at least on paper, disappeared.
New system, old uncertainties
To this day, citizens still have to deal with two procedures depending on the package value: one simplified (up to €150) and another standard that replicates much of the bureaucratic hurdles. Personal effects remain a nightmare, as demonstrated by a user who had to prove residency and airfare to recover her used clothes.
SpeedTrans showed that, in Spain, privatizing public management without oversight can turn into a full-blown robbery. The system changed, but distrust toward Correos and the Tax Agency remains entrenched.
Related forum discussions
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (331 replies).
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