Customs charges - ouch!!

[Piffpaffpoff]

I bought an item from a US seller and have had card through door this morning from Royal Mail saying customs duty is due, plus an astronomical £8 Royal Mail 'admin' charge. Was not aware there would be any customs duty due and was given no warning of this at the time of sale.  The amount due in total is about half of what the item cost and had I known about this I would not have bought the item.

Am I just going to have to suck it up or should the vendor be paying this? Advice/Opinions welcomed.

[19lottie82]

Customs fees have nothing to do with delivery fees? They always apply when receiving goods from outside the UK. 20% plus handling charge so £22 sounds about right.

[r1029344]

i ordered something that was £70 and paid all the delivery fees but now i have a customs charge of £22!!!!! i’m so angry

[nauticant]

I'm surprised there's no way to pay the charge without RM getting involved - especially when virtually everything can be done online now.

There is actually a way. You buy from a merchant who uses a shipping agent such that they can pre-pay the VAT. When this is done the item gets waived through without any payment being required as a result of processing on arrival in the UK.

Other than that I'm seeing a thread containing suggestions of fraud and dishonesty. I'm unconvinced by protestations of "only suggesting what some people might choose to do".

[PhilJVTaylor]

Saw your post. Trying to do something myself to stop this international mail charge rip off, see below. The most effective tactic I think is to persuade Competition and Markets Authority to investigate.

www.facebook.com/groups/1252560038166577/

[PoodleChops]

..or it's "buyer remorse"....

[PoodleChops]

I always factor in the customs charge to any bids I make. If I'm overcharged due to the seller over-inflating the value on the CN22, then I claim it back and appeal.
What I wouldn't do, is refuse to pay, thus getting it sent back to the seller? Afterall, why would I, if I wanted the item in the first place and I knew there was a way for me to pay the correct HM Customs charge?? But I suppose we're all different and if one doesn't want the item badly enough in the first place.....

[Piffpaffpoff]

soup I've no problem with some sort of charge from RM either, but £8 for a £3.91 tax charge just feels wrong. A sliding scale would be better, with a fixed upper limit.

[SoupDreggon]

I'm surprised there's no way to pay the charge without RM getting involved - especially when virtually everything can be done online now.

I don't have a problem with RM charging something as there is admin involved but £8 is steep.

[Piffpaffpoff]

I don't want to avoid Customs charges, I've no problem with paying those charges, as I said in my last post, providing they are applied correctly ( which they were in my case). I want to know how to avoid having to paying £8 to RM - at the moment I don't seem to be able to see any way of not having to pay it, which seems wrong to me.

[SoupDreggon]

Not paying the customs charge so it is returned to the seller when there is no good reason like over charging, just because you don't want to pay the customs charge and can claim money back through Ebay is a horrible thing to do.

The £8 Royal Mail charge has been £8 for many years though - I've not had to pay customs charges for ages and it was £8 then. There seems to be an element of luck involved with customs charges though as not every parcel gets charged for.

[PoodleChops]

Piffpaffpoff said:
"What i do have a problem with is that I had to pay Royal Mail £8 for sticking a sticker on a box, sending me a card postcard informing me of that charge and then processing a payment of £3.91 to customs and I have a bigger problem with the fact that there appears to be no way whatsoever of avoiding or pre-empting that charge. A charge on a sliding scale, related to the value of the item, might feel fairer.

I also have a huge issue with the whopping charge RM or Parcelforce levy - it's outrageous. Are you saying you wish you knew how to avoid HM Customs charge, or RM charges?

[PoodleChops]

fergoose said:

"Poodle - my seller told me they filled it in for the higher amount so if the item was lost they could claim for the lost item for more money - so yes, my seller did lie actually. And it wasn't an 'insurance' value - they were clearly fraudulent.

Yes and you could have appealed the HM Customs charge

You say you don't need a lecture, you're not getting one. You asked if you should overpay on an inaccurate declaration and I told you you don't have to. Would you have paid the HM Customs if they had declared it accurately?

[fergoose]

Poodle - my seller told me they filled it in for the higher amount so if the item was lost they could claim for the lost item for more money - so yes, my seller did lie actually. And it wasn't an 'insurance' value - they were clearly fraudulent.

I really don't need a lecture thanks.

[PoodleChops]

And at the risk of repeating myself, assuming a seller puts the correct declaration on the CN22 (customs form)....

Not exactly fair on the seller, either, is it? They send the goods in good faith and the buyer then refuses to pay the HM Customs charge..the buyer sets up a claim in Paypal or eBay, wins then claim ( you say you've won) and the seller gets a black mark on their eBay or Paypal account. What did the seller do wrong?

[Piffpaffpoff]

poodle the value of the item was £20 so technically, under the gift rules, it was exempt from import duty (i had already looked up the information you have copied to while trying to establish the facts for myself). However, it was clearly not a gift due to the massive business sticker the vendor had put on the box so, rightly, it got taxed. I have no problem with that.

What i do have a problem with is that I had to pay Royal Mail £8 for sticking a sticker on a box, sending me a card postcard informing me of that charge and then processing a payment of £3.91 to customs and I have a bigger problem with the fact that there appears to be no way whatsoever of avoiding or pre-empting that charge. A charge on a sliding scale, related to the value of the item, might feel fairer.

[PoodleChops]

If the seller has entered an amount on the customs declaration that is over and above what you've paid, the HM Custom allow you to appeal with your evidence. It's a very simple process, so in answer to your question, no, you shouldn't have to overpay and you won't if you have the evidence/documentation.
It's also a little dangerous to say that a seller "lied" so that, as you say, you "..would have had to overpay the customs fee" Many sellers mistakenly think they have to put a value on the CN22 that covers an "insurance" value, rather than the true value. This isn't deliberate deception to make you pay more customs, afterall, what financial benefit does the seller get from doing this?

[fergoose]

and my item was tracked - showing it is half way to the buyer doesn't mean the seller wins the case - it has to show as delivered to the buyer - not sat in customs.

[fergoose]

my seller wrote double the value of the item on the parcel, so I would have had to overpay the customs fee - this I refused to do, so the item was returned to them and I got my money back. The item didn't show as delivered as it wasn't delivered to me so I was able to claim for not received. Should I have let the seller keep my money do you think?

Why should I overpay because they lied?

[PoodleChops]

Not exactly fair on the seller, either, is it? They send the goods in good faith and the buyer then refuses to pay the HM Customs charge..the buyer sets up a claim in Paypal or eBay, wins then claim ( you say you've won) and the seller gets a black mark on their eBay or Paypal account. What did the seller do wrong?

[PoodleChops]

fergoose said
"the buyer can claim not received if they don't pay the charge and don't have the item redelivered - I did it myself last week."

That will only work if the item isn't tracked. If it's tracked then eBay and Payal can see the status that it's waiting in HM Customs.

[fergoose]

the buyer can claim not received if they don't pay the charge and don't have the item redelivered - I did it myself last week.

[PoodleChops]

fergoose said:
"well the seller could have marked it as a gift, many do to prevent the charges. If you don't want to pay the item will be returned and you can claim your money back via ebay/paypal."

The item won't necessarily be refunded - many have tried this and failed. What criteria would you use for a claim on eBay or Paypal? You can't use "Item not Received" (INR) because it clearly has been received and if the seller sent it tracked, then a buyer would automatically lose the claim. Paypal tend to shunt claims back to the eBay system if it's an eBay transaction, anyway. This advice can mean the fast-track to no goods and no money.

Piffpaffpoff said:
"Small update - the seller HAD marked it as a gift. So technically it should not have attracted duty."

I'm so sorry but it isn't as simple as that Marking it as a gift isn't enough to get it zero-tariffed. If the goods are valued at over £36 then there will still be charges. This is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs - hope it helps to clear things up.

"Gifts sent from outside the EU

If you're sending or receiving a gift from outside the EU:

Excise Duty is payable on any alcohol or tobacco products
Customs Duty is payable if the value of the gift exceeds £135, but will be waived if the amount of duty is £9 or under
import VAT is payable if the value of the gift exceeds £36

To qualify as a gift:

It must have been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in the UK.
The Customs Declaration must be completed correctly ? see guidance on the customs procedures for goods posted to the UK link below.
It must be for the use of either you or your family.
There must be no commercial or trade element and it must not have been paid for by the recipient either directly or indirectly.
It must be of an occasional nature only - for example for a birthday or anniversary.
If it's perfume or toilet water it must be within the allowances described in the earlier section 'Perfume and toilet water'. If the allowances are exceeded than charges apply on the excess.

[GemmaTeller]

You can't pay the duty and avoid an admin charge.

I regularly buy from US, using FedEx, UPS, DHL and they all have admin charges in there somewhere.
I have paid some eyewateringly large import fees, although I do agree the £8 royal mail 'handling fee' is a bit of a stinger.

I have a statement on all my web shops that I am not liable for any customs customs charges on overseas purchases and that buyers need to check with their own customs/mail offices.

[Piffpaffpoff]

Small update - the seller HAD marked it as a gift. So technically it should not have attracted duty. However, as they had also stuck a massive business sticker/advert on the box which was probably visible fom space, customs rightly presumed it was a business import.

Anyway lessons learned about buying from overseas, but ultimately the item I wanted was not available from uk sellers so that's just the price I pay for being so specific with my requirements .

[sarahtigh]

well sorry fergoose but your tone did suggest that you thought the seller should have marked as gift, my apologies I did not mean to offend