Customs cock up by son

[Rhinosaurus]

My son purchased a laptop from USA for £675, via PayPal using a Barclaycard - when it arrived he received a customs invoice for £143 which he could not afford to pay, he had no idea he would have to pay VAT and the seller had told him he wouldn't have to as he would mark it as a "gift".

My son did not pay it as he doesn't have the money, it has now been deemed return to sender and got exported back to USA on 19th July by parcel force. That is where the tracking ends.

Where do we stand here -'the seller is down a laptop and my son is down £675, who is responsible for chasing this up with parcel force?

I know my son has cocked up and I wish he had told me what was going on, so that I could have sorted it out properly, but any advice what to do now much appreciated.

[titchy]

Why is the seller down a laptop - they've got it back and should return the money.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

oohh... The seller would have committed fraud by declaring the item a gift. Was there an invoice in the parcel?

If the parcel is correctly labelled and hasn't been seized for incorrect declaration, it'll be returned to the seller. He should refund your son for the cost of the laptop - not postage or customs, though.

[Ratley]

If its been returned to sender then surely the seller has the laptop and refunds the sale price.
If that isn't the case I think you might have to chalk it up to experience.

[19lottie82]

anchor if it was an eBay purchase then the OP's son will get his FULL payment back, inc original postage.

[CuntTrollFreak]

He'll need to bring it up with eBay and they should good will refund your son. Not sure if they'll chase it up with the seller.

From memory I think you can call and speak to customer services at eBay. Also live chat with them I think.

Probably have to wait for the refund maybe a week or two but it should get sorted.

Is it not covered with barclaycard?

[CoconutAndVanilla]

I'd open a claim with PayPal they will give you back the money as the item is now back with the seller.

[19lottie82]

Is this an eBay sale? Paid for via PayPal with barclaycard?

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

Good point, 19lottie82 - I presumed it wasn't as OP mentioned PayPal and Barclaycard and not eBay, but it might be.

[19lottie82]

The op didn't even mention PayPal.,,,,,,,

[CocktailQueen]

Lottie - the op mentioned PayPal on the first line of her post...

[Xocaraic]

If you can prove the laptop was not accepted by you/your son and have evidence it was returned to the seller then you can begin a process with PayPal for a refund.
If you cannot fully track the parcel from
A -> B and back to A again, it will be difficult

[19lottie82]

cocktail durrrrr! I read it twice as well!

Ok then, all you need to win a PayPal claim is to show that the item has not been delivered to the buyer. Just put in a PayPal claim then, and the you will win no problem.

[Rhinosaurus]

Thanks for your replies - yes it was via eBay. I have started a PayPal claim but it is showing as exported but not received by the original seller. PayPal want proof he has received it back. I have contacted parcel force to see if we can chase it up. The seller has been communicating and says he has not received it back. I suppose if we get nowhere with PayPal we can approach Barclaycard for a chargeback. The laptop has never been signed for by us - it sat it the parcel force hub for weeks then got sent back return to sender.
Sorry it all seems confusing, my son is 18 and should know better, but he had never bought anything from overseas and didn't have the extra money for the tax.

[nauticant]

As I understand things Paypal would normally be refunding because the seller cannot prove that the item was delivered to the buyer. I suspect you've complicated things by giving Paypal information suggesting fault on your side. I'd be tempted to call Paypal and explain that the situation is simple in essence, an item was paid for, it was not delivered to the buyer, and so the payment made should be refunded.

[nauticant]

Just to check one thing. Did you (or your son) open an "item not received" case with Paypal?

[Rhinosaurus]

Yes we did and PayPal changed the reason to "item not as described"

[SoupDragon]

Will the seller have to put up with having no laptop and no money then?

[sealsandbeachballs]

I did SoupDragon.

I sold a console UK only so I could send tracked. A non UK buyer bought. After some persuasion I agreed to send. He claimed not recieved despite my proof of postage. I lost both my console and the money. :(

[Rhinosaurus]

I have only the sellers word he has not received it back, the tracking stops after it is reported to have been "exported from the uk". I have requested the seller chase it up with parcel force as surely such an expensive item was not sent without postal insurance.

[Rhinosaurus]

I agree it won't be fair on the seller IF he has not received the laptop back, but he had assured my son there would be no tax payable, which my son naively believed as he had never bought anything from overseas before.

What a mess

[CoconutAndVanilla]

sealsandbeachballs
Did the tracking show that the seller had signed for it??

There are a lot of fraudulent buyers on eBay! I once sold a brand new pair of trainers on the site, when the buyer recieved them he undone a bit of the stitching at the back of them, then put in a claim with PayPal and asked if he could have them for half price - The whole situation was laughable to me, that someone would be that petty, I'm so reluctant to sell on eBay now.

[CoconutAndVanilla]

Rhinosaurus

I don't understand how PayPal could change it to item not as described - when you haven't got the item? - I do hope the whole situation gets sorted out

[Rhinosaurus]

Hi, no tracking doesn't show it has been delivered to the original seller, the last tracking entry says "exported from uk".

I have emailed PayPal and asked them why they have changed the disputed type.

[Rhinosaurus]

I must admit I don't sell on eBay now, it is so heavily weighted in the buyers favour - you can't even leave negative feedback as a seller!