Boris_G

I've already posted about this in another forum, but suspect the topic's of more relevance here.

Has anyone else here (perhaps particularly in the UK) been stung by (HM) Customs when buying CDs or DVDs from outside the UK? I've recently bought a 4-disc DVD set of Elizabeth R starring Glenda Jackson - not available in the UK, for some reason, so I had to buy a copy from an American dealer. So, as it happened, I chose Caiman who were offering the set for £29.20 - quite a reasonable price, I thought. But then I got a card from my postman saying I had to pay a £13.11 surcharge - this turned out to be £5.11 for customs charges (VAT), and £8.00 to the Royal Mail 'International Handling Fee'. I picked up the package from my local sorting office, and there was a big red label saying 'Goods purchased and imported into the EU with the value over £18 [...] are subject to Customs charges.'

One thing I noticed is that the franked postage label seems to indicate the package was actually sent from Frankfurt, ie within the EU.

No, I'm not bankrupted by this: but on the other hand I rather resent having to pay extra for something I can't otherwise get in the UK. Anyone else had this experience? Might I have a case to dispute the charge with customs given the apparent Frankfurt postage?

batman

It's happened to me several times. I have queried it but unfortunately there seems to be nothing we can do about it.

Bats.

Steve Crook

It is the law - but it seems that they only apply it on about 1 in 5 packages. I import a lot from the States, especially with the dollar/pound as they are at the moment. And of all of those things, quite a few are valued at £18 or more but only some of those get the additional charge.

The more annoying one is when the customs people are suspicious of the package and open it to check what it is. They then charge you for their time in opening it

Steve

David Brent

Is this another "benefit" the UK has received from joining the EU?

Dave.

Steve Crook

No, it's always been the case. The trigger point varies as do all other tax levels. We still manage to set our own tax - unless the European Constitution is signed

Steve

smudge

No, that's the post people - not HMRC - and their fee only went up by 100% last time it changed. There's talk of the £18 threshold being dropped, but not to worry - at the moment they are busy looking through their own parcels for a couple of CDs...



Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

batman

Isn't that the most ridiculous cock-up for a long time! Well, a few days anyway ... .

Bats.

Steve Crook

I think it's the customs that decide which to search and who do the search. Maybe there's a branch of HMRC at Mount Pleasant which is where all the international mail comes through (or ours in the SE anyway). But yes, it's the Royal Mail that makes the charge.

Steve

Steve Crook

Have they looked down the back of the sofa? That's where things go that I can't find

Steve

Modular

Unfortunately, there's no case to dispute. Anything you import that exceeds £18 (and that includes the P&P) risks being pulled by HM Customs. It's very much a lottery. Sometimes you'll be lucky, other times you won't.

I wouldn't argue too hard on the EU/German connection either. It's just a postal hub for gear coming in from the USA, and then redistributed throughout the EU from there. Amazon (US) have been doing it for years now. But it's all correctly subject to the same customs charges as if your stuff had come directly from the USA.

I think what most annoys people isn't the customs charges. It's the courier's 'administration charges' that are added on top. The Royal Mail recently increased their admin charge to £8 per item. But if you think that's a rip-off, you should check out the charges made by firms like UPS, FedEx etc... it'll make your eyes water!!

smudge

Yes, you'll find in the run up to Xmas a lot of stuff will be coming throught Mount Pleasant and they seem a little more rigorous than the main international hub at Coventry...

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Carmel

I always get my mother to get them in America as she is over there quite a bit shopping because to ship them over is so expensive especially if you buy quite a bit in one go. It seems to be another way of getting money out of us.

Live each day to the full because one day it will be your last.

Steve Crook

Regardless of the customs surcharge, it seems that it always costs a lot less to send parcels to the UK from Canada rather than from the US of A. Maybe it's because we're closer (via the Great Circle route over the pole). But postage from the US can be almost twice as much as from Canada

Steve

Wolfgang

What happens if you refuse to pay this 'handling fee'? If you have already paid your supplier for shipping then surely it is their responsibility to cover all postage costs? Import VAT is another thing altogether, but Royal Mail handling fees should be covered by 'shipping costs' in my view. Someone added VAT to my postage costs on ebay once and when I queried why they were adding VAT to postage they said I was not paying for postage but their 'delivery service'. I would sure love to land them with this handling fee!

Steve Crook

Then you don't get the parcel! I don't know what would then happen to it, if it would be returned to the sender. I've never refused to pay the fees.

The customs fee and any handling fees aren't really part of the cost of postage. The person sending it can't pre-pay it. And as I said, these extra fees aren't always applied, even when they should be

Steve