Tax on goods from EU surely not correct?

[floridapalmtree]

Husband has just had messages from DHL saying they will not deliver goods until £67 tax and import duty is paid. This is on clothing of £240. So 20% added. The items were ordered on 29 December so before Brexit exit.

Sister in law also ordered some goods from same company, also on 29 December, which were delivered yesterday but didn't have any tax to pay, think she may have spent less though.

AIBU that this is too much money? or is this just the way things are going to be post Brexit?

Buy British... Is this not an incentive to buy locally and buy from UK sellers on Etsy etc?

Well, I for one would like to wipe my British arse on British toilet paper, preferably an artisanal one from Etsy. However, I understand that while there are British toilet paper factories, most do not use British wood pulp. What's a patriot to do?

Baileysforbreakfast

I assume that Liz Truss has a wood pulp deal with Russia lined up.

@BaileysforBreakfast (nice name btw)
Dock leaves might be still around if you’re in warmer parts of the country.
Count yourself lucky as I just have gorse and pine trees around 😂

An enterprising soul needs to set up a British sanitary wear company with loos incorporating those 'Bum guns' common in e.g. Turkey and the Middle East. At least we would know the water used was good old British rain.

Susanna HMRC and the security services can open any package coming into the country. You were lucky they could not argue stationary was valuable. I had a cheap tea service sent to me, the sort of thing you can buy in any tourist street in Asia yet HMRC deemed it an expensive antique and charge me £100 to liberate it. I have heard similar stories when people sent fake watches etc. You can't argue with them, they simply impound the goods if you don't pay.

There used to be man from MI5 / 6 in a little office in the inward international mail office in London who armed with a knitting needle and a kettle helped himself with impunity to the mail, I assume they are more sophisticated these days

One thing about all this now applying to gifts incoming from the EU is there will be more people who find this really annoying

The kettle was to steam the letters open, not just to make his cups of tea. The knitting needle was to insert into envelopes and roll the contents out. All detailed in Spycatcher, which Maggie Thatcher tried to ban, so of course, people obtained copies.

@Peregrina

The kettle was to steam the letters open, not just to make his cups of tea. The knitting needle was to insert into envelopes and roll the contents out. All detailed in Spycatcher, which Maggie Thatcher tried to ban, so of course, people obtained copies.

In an incident that Brexiteers will claim not to recall, she sent a diplomat to tell Australia to ban it too.

He was told to fuck himself after the UK government was discovered - horror of horrors - to have lied to a court of law.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economical_with_the_truth#Political_catchphrase

The problem with having the brain of a goldfish needed to be a Brexiteer is that it seems to come with the associated 3 second memory. Which explains their blundering around the globe to thinly veiled sniggers as they insist on reminding everyone how wonderful the British were ....

@tttigress

It should really be a wash, because EU exporter exports VAT, then 20% vat is added on important.

As the EU vat (which you were previously paying) and the UK VAT are approx 20%, you should end up with the same result.

Maybe the exporter did not take EU vat off because they don't yet understand the system?

I think in OP's case the problem is the seller regards the sale as taking place pre-Brexit, so charged the VAT in their EU country. The courier however is regarding the sale as taking place post-Brexit and charging VAT again.

Emilyontmoor

The last time we had a package opened, there was a note inside to say as much. We were expecting charges, as it was expensive and from the US. Maybe they are not as polite these days!
Also had a package shipped from the UK suspiciously ripped open and repacked, it was a secondhand coat from eBay and it stank of cannabis. I do wonder what would have happened if they'd found a stash in one of the pockets

Susanna Yes the sniffer dogs do regular rounds so that would get picked up

Peregrina I did assume people would know he wasn't sat in there knitting and drinking tea but then as DGR says ......

Also in that office they had a huge and very secure safe. The jewellers of Hatton Garden used to receive their gems by recorded delivery, Some even sent their gems to themselves by recorded delivery because they were more secure than in their own safes overnight. If the Royal Mail had continued to offer such a good quality of service the Hatton Garden robbers would have had scant pickings. However HMRC would now have a field day with the customs charges and VAT.......

susanna Oh and you get an official letter in the post, long and very bureaucratic. Presumably these people have to fabricate ridiculous charges just to cover the cost of their activities. Talk about the full employment act, and now even fuller..... because Brexit is going to cut out waste and red tape

I did assume people would know he wasn't sat in there knitting and drinking tea

But I am a retired Civil Servant, and apparently drinking tea and eating at our desks comprised the bulk of our work .

@ListeningQuietly

If MrsMia's customers are individuals who cannot tax deduct the clearance fees they will now be incurring on goods imported to the EU they will be worse off

If her customers are businesses then their profit on the goods they purchase from her will have reduced

As she says he exports to outside the EU she presumably already had a tame freight agent which is better than most

but if she ships via the channel ports, once the traffic builds backup, so will her delays

but she voted for it
so I'm sure she is deligted

She’s got to hope that her EU customers whether business or individuals don’t decide to source their items within the EU to save money.

She’s got to hope that her EU customers whether business or individuals don’t decide to source their items within the EU to save money

Of course. But that's business for you!

It's pretty crazy that a woman can come on saying her business is doing okay and the response is a kind of collective gaslighting

Why is gaslighting so misused now.

What you mean is posters question the sincerity of her account.

Gaslighting means contriving to drive someone to question their sanity by manipulation.

@TatianaBis
Do you question the sincerity of accounts every time you come across an experience that doesn't align with yours?

Why not take people at face value?

Anyone is entitled to question the accuracy or sincerity of any account they think may be bullshit.

Of course I don’t take anything at face value online as I’m not a div.

@CrotchBurn

It's pretty crazy that a woman can come on saying her business is doing okay and the response is a kind of collective gaslighting

That's Mumsnet for you! I genuinely wonder what kind of conversations and experiences some posters are having on a day to day basis.

I am looking at it from the other side, Ireland, hit by the chaos in the deliveries, even though they're coming from other countries, even the EU.
I hope to God that 1. Shops in ROI will finally start sourcing the stuff locally, which would be a huge boost for home producers instead of delivering good from the UK (Tesco in ROI is very much guilty of it) 2. Heathrow will be ditched as a transit hub and they will move it to Frankfurt or France for air or ship transports and bypass the UK completely. I have several packages I sent or I'm expecting from the EU but they're all stuck in the UK in transit and it just makes no sense.

@MrsMiaWallis - as a matter of fact, I just had to ditch a supplier of raw food for my dog. They were bloody expensive but really good and high quality. With Brexit, they just became way too expensive and way to cumbersome to buy from. On the very positive side of things, I found a local supplier who are good quality too and cheaper.
I am pretty sure there are some companies, especially the smaller ones who are right now looking at losses of business with their EU customers and it has nothing to do with their business acumen but simply delays in deliveries and extra charges.