What's the deal - would I have to pay custom duty on pair of antique quilts purchased from the States?

[inglis]

I have seen a pair of beautiful - albeit pricey - quilts.

If i bought them they would be shipped over from the States. What's the deal with customs/tax etc. Would i end up spending another small fortune on custom duties or something else?

i bought two pair of crocs from taylors shoes in states, everyone told me i would be hit for about£20 tax by delivery people...bought them july,,still not been charged and it DID say it was a purchase from a shop on parcel??...i think its whoever they get to deliver..mine was just royal mail, think delivery firms charge more??

I was done for £11 on t shirts worth $45 day before yesterday.Posted about it on Chat (I know, I live life on the edge, don't I?)

PO told me it is hit and miss as to whether you get done.

Oooh,I'd love to see your quilts!

You have to factor it into the cost, would you still be prepared to buy them if they cost 20% more? You might be lucky, I find that about one in six of my orders sent by post from the states has duty charged. I try to avoid having things sent by courier service as duty is almost always charged on those, plus a disproportionately huge admin charge (about £15 quid last time by DHL I think).

It's just the luck of the draw- the PO certainly charge too, with an £8 handling charge. I have been charged for the last 4 or 5 parcels from the US compared with only getting charged for about 1 in 5 a few years ago.

Be aware that you might get charged long after the time as well. Whether they pursue or not must depend on the amount and the person dealing with it. I get charged about £8 for something years ago and didn't reply (thought I would see what happened) and never heard anything again.

Someone I know imported 2 Nintendo DS's and got a charge through, didn't respond and received another saying that the charge had doubled and would continue to rise until they paid!

How much are they?

Meant to add that the letters received were from the delivery company here, so they must have had to pay the charge and then passed it on.

Theoretically you should be charged duty at the relevant rate and then VAT on top of that.
However, it is a bit hit and miss whether you are or not, sometimes parcels get through PArcelforce that haven't been checked by customs and you won't be charged.
Courier firms will nearly always charge you otherwise your post goes through the main sorting bit and it is luck of the draw. I would count on being charged and count yourself lucky if you aren't. If you are they normally won't give you your parcel until you pay.
If the person sending it to you labels it incorrectly and it is spotted you will be held responsible and possibly fined, so don't try that.
You can find out how much you are likely to be charged by calling HMRC, this won't make you any more likely to be charged as it is completely separate departments (I know this as it was part of my job pre baby!)
HTH

Oh yes, as Lazylinepainterjane said, a courier company will pay it for you and then hound you until you refund them, parcelforce will keep your stuff until you pay them.

Ummm - really helpful thank you.

So it sounds like i could end up paying duty and vat or get lucky and pay neither

Not much of a risk taker me - so might think twice about buying them now

thanks everyone who has advised so far...

Not what you wanted to hear I know!

I would call and check price if you really like them, you never know, they may come under some weird section that pays a low rate of duty or VAT...

Thanks chirpy - bet they come under that even weirder section that pays the highest rate of all since they'd probably class them as antiques or something!!

i'd have them ship it to me as used goods i'd left behind on a visit.

that way you don't pay jack shit.

Still, chirpygirl, as you say might be worth calling just in case .... You don't happen to know the number do you having worked there and all?

They'd probably come in as second hand goods,I know new fabric gets hammered (when they even look at the parcel) not so sure about made up stuff esp if it's not new.

0845 0109000.
Good idea of expat's but some companies won't do that as they have to fill out the customs forms.

Thanks chirpygirl for that.