Another MIL one

[Pongo101]

Mil is in UK. We are in European country.

Mil lives near a charity shop and likes to go there in her spare time. Usually finds something special junk for 3 year old and sends it in the post. Before it was slightly annoying because we live in a small flat and I have to keep junk to the absolute minimum.

Then Brexit happened. Every mystery package from mil comes with a visit from the postman demanding a customs fee, the exact amount in cash. This week I had to leave a work zoom call and find 13.75 euros for just the head part of a child's snowman costume. No body. Just a head in a box.

I'm redoing my kitchen so I'm surrounded by boxes and chaos. The packages won't stop coming. Every time I have to pay for literal trash.

DH is on the phone arguing with her now and she's highly offended at how ungrateful we are. She refuses to stop the packages and somehow we are the big bad evil ones.

Would I be unreasonable to send a shredded snowman head back in a box to the uk?

Stop accepting them. If they are returned she'll soon stop sending them.

Yes stop accepting them and tell MIL you won't be.

Can you refuse to pay the customs charge & the postman will have to return it to depot or your MIL!

Refuse to accept delivery.

Refuse to pay. They should surely be returned to sender

Refuse delivery dont tell her or she won't put a return address on

YANBU. She’s probably spending more on posting these things than she’s spent on the tat itself.

I’m sure someone will come along soon to tell you to be grateful that MIL wants to send presents. Ignore them.

Refuse to accept delivery

I asked the postman what happens if I don't accept and he told me the package gets destroyed and we get sent a bill for the cost of destroying it.

There was one package that customs kept sending back. A ring binder with photocopied pages of a textbook for learning English. I think mil attempted to send it 3 times before it got through (customs staff probably thought who the would want this). She wouldn't give up and just kept trying.

Im not sure if he was just trying to bully me because he wants me to pay up so he can get on with his day?

Occasionally my own parents do send me useful stuff I actually need though, so I don't want to piss the postman off completely.

But DH did warn her. The head was the last straw. We are not accepting anything else.

Ignore all the reasonable people telling you not to accept delivery; send the shredded head in a box (with not quite enough postage).