Royal Mail

House_owner

Just had to collect a parcel from my local sorting office. It had come from the U.S.A and the contents were worth more than £18 so I had to pay VAT of £5.28, and then a Royal mail 'handling fee' of £8.00! - This seems excessive to me, why would it cost as much as £8.00 to handle my parcel?!

custardy

House_owner wrote: »

Just had to collect a parcel from my local sorting office. It had come from the U.S.A and the contents were worth more than £18 so I had to pay VAT of £5.28, and then a Royal mail 'handling fee' of £8.00! - This seems excessive to me, why would it cost as much as £8.00 to handle my parcel?!

well your package comes to the UKis then presented ot customs
who then decide it has duty to pay
this is calculated and RM pay it,they create a tracking barcode and send the item to you local delivery office
you are then notified of the charge and can pay via post/online/in person or dont bother
what would you class as a fair cost?

you could use a courier(and pay their fee)or arrange your own shipping company at this end next time

cyberbob

Use fedex and its about £20 handling fee. Your paying RM to do the paperwork and to deal with customs. I doubt you'll find a cheaper way to do it in fact I know you wont