VAT on item from China

tyllwyd · 22 May 2013 at 2:33PM

I recently bought a wig for my daughter (Cosplay) from what appeared to be a UK website. I was a bit taken aback that shipping was £12 but I ordered it anyway. I then started getting DHL emails and realised that it was being shipped from China. That wasn't a problem but when it eventually arrived, I was charged £10.25 (£5.25 VAT plus a £5 admin charge) by the courier at the door.

I'm pretty annoyed because I thought that if a price was advertised with no mention of VAT, it should be VAT included? I've ended up paying £10 on a £16 item (VAT was charged on the total amount including shipping). I've asked the company to refund my money, but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyhow, since my daughter is still obsessed with Cosplay, I was looking on ebay for a different wig and 99% of all the wigs are shipped from China. I don't want to end up getting caught out again, so my question is whether it is usual to be charged in this way? I've recently bought a dress which came from Japan and pyjamas from Vietnam (! yes I know !) and this didn't happen then.

00ec25 · 22 May 2013 at 6:26PM

you are importing goods from outside the EC and are therefore totally exposed to what it says on the paperwork accompanying the parcel and whether HMRC/ the courier company pick up on it at the point of entry to the UK

some they spot, some they miss...
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.htm

Thrugelmir · 22 May 2013 at 6:33PM

tyllwyd wrote: »

I recently bought a wig for my daughter (Cosplay) from what appeared to be a UK website.

What gave you that impression?

agrinnall · 22 May 2013 at 8:18PM

Probably a .co.uk, but as we all know that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

tyllwyd · 29 July 2013 at 3:08PM

Sorry for late reply but somehow I missed that anyone had responded - I thought it was a UK site because it was this one
http://uk.hellocosplay.com/

- the webaddress very clearly says UK in it, and the banner on the top says hello cosplay UK, the copyright information at the bottom is cosplay UK store, prices are all in £. I think anyone would assume it was a UK website, or at least the UK website for an international company, which is what I thought it was.

The shipping information says "After your costumes are finished, they will be shipped by UPS or DHL to US, Canada, Australia (only DHL) and most European countries, usually customers in these countries will receive the package in 2-5 working days after shipping." It doesn't say where the costumes would be shipped from. It certainly doesn't mention China anywhere on that page - or anywhere on the website that I can find.

thenudeone · 29 July 2013 at 4:17PM

All UK companies are required by law to state their company name, number and registered address on their websites.

If it doesn't have these details, either it's not a UK company, or it is UK company with a lax attitude towards basic legislation. In either case -beware.

If the website specifically marketed to the UK genuinely doesn't state anywhere that the goods will come from outside the UK, I suggest you ld take copies of each website page and then ask your card company to initiate a chargeback on the basis of misrepresentation.

tyllwyd · 29 July 2013 at 5:08PM

Well, it's a bit late now to do a chargeback - and to be fair, the wig arrived safely and my DD was very happy with it. I will be more aware in future though!

VAT on item from China

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free