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AIBU?

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Original poster

THANKS A LOT BREXITEERS (and good luck when you order items from abroad)!

538 replies

customchaos · 20/02/2021 21:21

I recently bought some art through an online website (think, a bit like Etsy, but not that one). So the item was £400, plus £140 delivery, which I did think it was a lot, but it was being shipped from Russia. Anyway, two weeks later, I get an email from the website company, to tell me the item is being held at the depot and I am required to contact Parcelforce to pay a customs tax. I phoned up and the tax is to the tune of £140. For an item costing £400! Apparently this is the new post-Brexit norm. Just to get what you have ordered over the border!

I’ve also ordered more art from Bulgaria which is apparently in its way now and I’m really worried as this was more expensive (just under £3000). Does this mean I going to be charged another ridiculous amount as customs tax?

I’ve been on to HMRC today and they are no help, beyond saying “yes this is because of Brexit,” “No we’re not sure if you’ve been charged the right amount or why,” and “You will need to pay first and them make a claim if you think you’ve been overcharged.”

So basically, is this the end of ordering from abroad? What madness is this?

OP posts:
Miljea · 21/02/2021 12:34

@Proudboomer

£4K on art is the very thing that should be taxed to the hilt. It is a luxury good no matter no long someone has to save for it.

Do you have any idea how much revenue 'art' generated for the British economy before Brexit?

And tell that to an artist. 'Taxed to the hilt'.

OP, as per a suggestion quite early on in this, get MN to substitute 'art' for 'excavator' for you to weed out the tiny minded, sneery, philistine and jealous posters.

SapphireSeptember · 21/02/2021 12:36

Well as someone who is neither rich nor privileged I can see where the OP is coming from. Interestingly some US business used to send stuff via Germany so their customers can avoid import charges (I had a teapot and cup and saucer that I ordered that arrived this way, nothing very expensive, just something I really really wanted, and it worked out cheaper from the US than from here, and free postage!) There's also a German website I've been buying make-up from for years, because I like Catrice and they don't sell them over here, and I'm dreading the import charge the next time I order something from them!
Buy British they say. Is everything in your house by British companies? Doubt it!
Also have you seen how devoid of certain fresh fruit and veg supermarkets are at the moment? Or is it just me? Sure I can't fork out a few thousand on some artwork, but I want my leafy greens, thank you very much. (I love the assumption that people who voted Remain are all rich poshos. Yeah right. And this is going to effect everyone, regardless of which way you voted.)

diagold4u · 21/02/2021 12:36

Wow the amount of jealous people on here is astonishing!! Just because you wouldn't be able to afford art costing more than 3k doesn't mean you give someone that is able to a hard time!

rawlikesushi · 21/02/2021 12:40

"Wasn't customs tax always a thing from non eu countries?"

Many countries outside the EU - such as Russia - have trade deals with EU countries. We no longer benefit from this.

diagold4u · 21/02/2021 12:43

The crazies on here saying buy British whilst using a phone made in China!! Shut up. No one wants everything British.

flourella · 21/02/2021 12:45

DdraigGoch I don't know whether or not that's true regarding EU websites wrongly charging extra, but I'm certain it's irrelevant to what the post I quoted said, which was surely that retailers shouldn't be collecting VAT at all and that it should be paid via the postal carrier. Which is no longer happening for goods under the threshold for customs duty. Which is what I said. So that's not "the point" at all.

diagold4u · 21/02/2021 12:49

Op don't explain yourself to these posters that don't buy beyond bread and milk. Their artwork comes from B&m and Poundland which is why they can't comprehend actual art work Grin

Gwenhwyfar · 21/02/2021 12:53

@diagold4u

Wow the amount of jealous people on here is astonishing!! Just because you wouldn't be able to afford art costing more than 3k doesn't mean you give someone that is able to a hard time!
I think it's a fair point to be honest and I'm a massive Remainer. On the other hand, someone on another thread is talking about her Brabantia bread bin and that's just as much a luxury item in its own way imo and nobody's telling her to just buy a cheap bread bin.
Gwenhwyfar · 21/02/2021 12:54

@diagold4u

Op don't explain yourself to these posters that don't buy beyond bread and milk. Their artwork comes from B&m and Poundland which is why they can't comprehend actual art work Grin
Making fun of people with less money than you is really not classy.
truthisalie · 21/02/2021 12:55

The crazies on here saying buy British whilst using a phone made in China!! Shut up. No one wants everything British

Many things are simply not made in Britain but essentials, e.g. computer parts.

WhenISnappedAndFarted · 21/02/2021 12:55

Saying stuff like that though @diagold4u is exactly why there's so many people having a go at the OP

KittyKattyKate · 21/02/2021 12:56
Biscuit
Whammyyammy · 21/02/2021 12:58

£4k on a piece of art on MN is cheap, remember this is MN, not RL.

Average UK salary for 2020 is £38.6k(from ONS), average salary for MN must be at least twice that......

WhenISnappedAndFarted · 21/02/2021 13:01

@Whammyyammy I'm on less than the average salary (by far). I save up all year and (before Covid) spend 2k a year on an all inclusive holiday.

So, if I didn't go on holiday and saved up in two years I could have afforded that art. I'm far from rich, in fact I basically have no savings but I do prioritise my holidays over other things because they're important to me.

truthisalie · 21/02/2021 13:02

It doesn't matter how much OP spends on the art. We have different incomes and we are all different. If it is tasteful then why not if you can afford it.

nordica · 21/02/2021 13:07

Everyone saying "buy British..." - well this also affects lots of British businesses, especially the smaller ones. I'm in a Facebook group for small British clothing brand and most of their EU-based customers have now had to stop buying from them as shipping costs have gone up and they face these same duties/VAT in their own countries now. So a £45 item easily costs someone in France or Germany £60-70 with shipping and fees/VAT added.

Some of my favourite items are not available to buy in the UK either as they are from smaller independent businesses. And anyway I would rather support a small ethical business with manufacturing based in Portugal or Czech Republic than buy from a large "British" company that manufactures their products in China or India...

Toorapid · 21/02/2021 13:10

It is a weird system when you don't know in advance what the tax will be and have no way of checking it surely?

Even if we accept (and we'll have to) that these taxes are a fact of life, why can't the amount be known in advance?

Xerochrysum · 21/02/2021 13:18

The system isn't exclusive to UK. I think most country has the threshold amount set for the importing goods into the country from outside. So if I sent something expensive to my family abroad, they need to pay duty if the value is over the duty free limit. Just that UK set it very low compared to other countries imo. I think it was about over £40 a piece or something like that few years back, might have changed now.

Xerochrysum · 21/02/2021 13:21

And it's not just ordering stuff from abroad, it applies when you go on a holiday and bring back something too. You need to declare it and pay tax/duty if the value is over the limit.

Original poster
customchaos · 21/02/2021 13:27

Thankyou so much to the people who understand the point I was trying to make when I started this thread.

I do obviously recognise that many people are struggling financially and I apologise if the concept of spending an amount of money on art is triggering for some people.

Perhaps I should have foreseen this and just said I bought something for £150 and was charged £80 in tax or something like that? But, I thought if I’m going to post at all, I’ll just say it as it is and be honest about the specifics, rather than make up random amounts. Yes, I realise it’s a lot of money and may seem excessive to many, but at the same time, It is obvious to me (and, I would have thought, most people) that many people spend a hell if a lot more on art than that - all the time! Not only art, but all kinds of things.

Again, I apologise if my post was insensitive. However, what is most depressing, are the belligerent posts to the effect of “I don’t do that so f**k off” or “What's wrong with our own British art” because this mentality is everything that’s wrong in society, in my view.

OP posts:
Skyla2005 · 21/02/2021 13:28

Let's all just buy British then problem solved ! Couldn't care less really. still benefits of leaving will far out way any minor inconveniences I'm sure !

Gwenhwyfar · 21/02/2021 13:35

@Skyla2005

Let's all just buy British then problem solved ! Couldn't care less really. still benefits of leaving will far out way any minor inconveniences I'm sure !
As I pointed out before, there are people living abroad who will now stop buying British. Also, British companies need to import parts from other countries so everything is just more difficult now.
Changechangychange · 21/02/2021 13:35

£4k on a piece of art on MN is cheap, remember this is MN, not RL

£4K on a piece of art is cheap. Art is expensive. You aren’t getting a Rembrandt or even a Banksy for £4k. £4K would also be cheap for a house, or a brand new car. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a lot of money. It just means that art, houses and cars usually cost a lot.

SqeakyHindge · 21/02/2021 13:40

I can’t believe you apologising for buying something you can afford because other can’t.

I read threads and comments on them people started talking about where they going on holiday etc my holiday is going to my sisters I don’t expect everyone to adjust to my financial circumstances.

The poster who said about weight yes you correct.

Blyatiful · 21/02/2021 13:48

@FrenchFancie - if your cousin orders from Amazon, and they can confirm that the BFPO number is outside the U.K. (which they can easily, as there is a list), they can get a refund of the U.K. VAT. They just have to email Amazon and it will be deducted.