Beware - import tax!
Options
hopecross
Posts: 7 Forumite
It is very much a case of 'caveat emptor' when buying any goods from e-global digital store - the price displayed is not the price you will end up paying (the items appear to be a bargain because of the low price and free shipping). What they don't tell you upfront (and at any time during the purchase and payment of the goods), is that any item will be imported from their warehouse in Hong Kong and thus subjected to import tax on arrival in the UK which you, the buyer, will have to pay (payment is demanded by the carrier before they will deliver the goods) and that therefore the price you see (and pay) is not the total cost of the item; needles to say, however, you will find your liability to pay the import tax buried deep in the terms and conditions.
I recently bought a camera for 205.99 with free shipping but I had to pay £47 to the carrier (DHL) before they would deliver the item. Not only is this underhand as far as the consumer is concerned but it also gives this company an unfair advantage (by appearing to be cheaper) over UK companies who import the goods themselves. Finally, needless to say, the camera could have been bought considerably cheaper from a UK online store - £229 (compared to the final cost of £253 from e-global digital)
I recently bought a camera for 205.99 with free shipping but I had to pay £47 to the carrier (DHL) before they would deliver the item. Not only is this underhand as far as the consumer is concerned but it also gives this company an unfair advantage (by appearing to be cheaper) over UK companies who import the goods themselves. Finally, needless to say, the camera could have been bought considerably cheaper from a UK online store - £229 (compared to the final cost of £253 from e-global digital)
I say what I like, I like what I say!
0
Comments
-
In fairness it does tell you in a number of places that they are in Hong Kong and/or that you may have import duty/ vat to pay.
The Contact Us gives their address there, their About Us says goods are shipped from HK, their Why Buy From Us warns VAT and import duty may be added, their T&Cs state your liable for import duty and VAT, the Shopping Process page says they ship from HK and there are probably more places if I spent more than a few minutes looking.
What do you want them to do? Have a flashing banner advertising which country the goods are sent from?0 -
The time for an 'emptor' to 'caveat' is before buying, not after!0
-
What they don't tell you upfront (and at any time during the purchase and payment of the goods), is that any item will be imported from their warehouse in Hong Kong and thus subjected to import tax on arrival in the UK )
We provide free shipping for our orders to United Kingdom from our central warehouse in Hong Kong
And you can't complete the sale without doing the following:
Selecting this check box to accept the Terms and Conditions
Part of the terms and conditions are as follows:
15.1
By purchasing any goods through eglobaldigitalstore.co.uk, you agree to accept and comply with any responsibilities incurred in the process of importing your purchase to your country in accordance with all laws and regulations of the country which your purchase of goods are received.
15.2
When ordering goods from eglobaldigitalstore.co.uk, import duties and tax are applicable on overseas deliveries, which are levied once the package of purchased goods reached specified destination. The import duties and taxes levied on the invoiced order, as well as courier’s custom handling fee and any indirectly related tax and duties arise from custom policies are responsibility of the buyer/recipient, eglobaldigitalstore.co.uk has no control over these import duties or taxes. Any additional charges for custom clearance must be borne by you.
So to say that at no point are you advised of the fact that the goods will be imported and duties payable is incorrect.
0 -
This company changes its T&Cs and website on a regular basis so what is seen now is not necessarily what the OP saw at the time of purchase. Until mid December the company claimed it would refund any customs and handling fees that were incurred - which would have been relatively low as they declare the items to be 'warranty repair' with a negligible value (in my case £36 for a £300 rrp camera). I was lucky and Royal mail didn't spot my package so I never had to test whether they would have reimbursed me. I was purchasing on behalf of my godson and stupidly just purchased from the link he emailed to me without looking at the company's site until after I got the confirmation mail from them which set alarm bells off. Review sites now show lots of unhappy customers!0
-
This company changes its T&Cs and website on a regular basis so what is seen now is not necessarily what the OP saw at the time of purchase. Until mid December the company claimed it would refund any customs and handling fees that were incurred
But as you say, that was "mid December" which was about 11 weeks ago.
As the OP stated that they recently made their purchase and the fact that the delivery time from this company is normally a couple of weeks, it's very unlikely that they purchased when the old T&C's were still showing.
However, even if they did, the detailstill showed that the goods were being shipped from HK hence their statement about them paying the import duties.0 -
shaun_from_Africa wrote: »But as you say, that was "mid December" which was about 11 weeks ago.
As the OP stated that they recently made their purchase and the fact that the delivery time from this company is normally a couple of weeks, it's very unlikely that they purchased when the old T&C's were still showing.
However, even if they did, the detailstill showed that the goods were being shipped from HK hence their statement about them paying the import duties.
According to Wayback Machine the old terms were there on 7th Feb.. I wonder when the OP ordered.0 -
shaun_from_Africa wrote: »But as you say, that was "mid December" which was about 11 weeks ago.
As the OP stated that they recently made their purchase and the fact that the delivery time from this company is normally a couple of weeks, it's very unlikely that they purchased when the old T&C's were still showing.
However, even if they did, the detailstill showed that the goods were being shipped from HK hence their statement about them paying the import duties.
The confirmation that they would pay the import fees was made via live-chat and e-mail - I still have the copies. When I ordered there was no reference to the items shipping from overseas and it was the wording of their confirmation e-mail which caused me to look into them further.
As a 'valued customer' I was sent an e-mail about the change to their policy re customs duty and for several weeks after it was on their web homepage. The T&Cs they have now don't even look the ones from a month or so ago, let alone December or when I ordered in the autumn.
Funnily, when I looked at their site a few weeks ago, some of the testimonials from customers on their homepage made reference to the unexpected duty they had been made to pay. Obviously didn't read them too closely when they lifted them from review sites and copied them onto theirs!
I should have known better than to just follow my godson's link as he is rubbish at shopping on the net. I've had to stop him from buying concert tickets from 'dodgy' sites a couple of times because he just doesn't look and assumes that every site is above board. Not really his fault as he is South African and they don't really have much in the way of internet shopping. I think (hope!) he has learned his lesson, though it would have been at the expense of my credit card had it all gone pear-shaped.0 -
"The ContactUs gives their address there"
Forgive me for being such a green-behind-the-ears-numpty but Isuspect that many others, like me, do not check out the 'Contact Us' detailswhen buying
"So to say that at no point are you advised of the fact that the goods will be imported and duties payable is incorrect"
Read my post again - "needless to say, however, you will find your liability to pay the import tax buried deep in the terms and conditions. "
"What do you want them to do? Have a flashing banner advertising which country the goods are sent from?"
No, but a statement somewhere during the buying process telling the purchaser that they will be liable for import tax (and that therefore the price being paid is not the final cost) would be helpful and more honest.
And some are missing the point here - it is a legal requirement for UK retailers to quote prices that includes all taxes; this is not so for imported goods (mainly because the IR do not care who they get the tax from) leaving an obvious loophole that is clearly exploited here
I say what I like, I like what I say!0 -
But you are missing the point that as the company is not UK based, there is no legal requirement for them to comply with UK laws.And some are missing the point here - it is a legal requirement for UK retailers to quote prices that includes all taxes; this is not so for imported goods (mainly because the IR do not care who they get the tax from) leaving an obvious loophole that is clearly exploited here.
They no doubt export to many countries.
Are you suggesting that they should detail all the import regulations and customs and other fees for all the countries they export to?
In the global trading world we now live in, it is important for the importer to be aware of these things.
Edited to add:
Just spotted that this company is claiming to be UK based, so some of what I have already written may not apply.
On this webpage they say:
Yet in their T&Cs they say:DWI Merchants Ltd is a UK registered company with VAT number, operated for the purpose of providing local service and located at below address.
Address:
3 Oak Field House, Oak Field Road
ILford, Essex
IG1 1EF
United Kingdom
Goods can also be returned to the above address for repairment and replacement purpose.
Surely one of those quotes cannot be right.17.2 By visiting this website, you agree that the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms and Conditions, and any other applicable policies or dispute of any sort that might arise between you and eGlobaL or its affiliates.0 -
it is a legal requirement for UK retailers to quote prices that includes all taxes; this is not so for imported goods (mainly because the IR do not care who they get the tax from) leaving an obvious loophole that is clearly exploited here
It is a requirement for a UK site to give the price including taxes (or say they are excluded) for sales inside the UK.
If the situation was reversed and it was a UK site selling into another country there is no requirement for them to state what charges that other country will charge for importing
In fact many UK sites are wrong in that if you order for outside of the EU they still include VAT which they shouldnt do0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.7K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.9K Spending & Discounts
- 235.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.3K Life & Family
- 248.4K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards