What happens when you reject an international parcel due to unexpected customs charge

MatB

I have ordered a four (identical) items from the same seller on eBay, £10-odd a piece, P&P inclusive. As they are being sent from Hong Kong I 'bid' and paid for each item in an individual transaction and specifically requested that they be sent separately to remain under the £18 import VAT threshold, and particularly to avoid Royal Mail's brokerage fee.

I had no communication for four days, then received an email with tracking numbers. All good, except he's listed the same tracking number for each of the four items so I'm a bit worried that he's packaged them together.

Assuming I get stung for import tax and handling fees, what are my options? I'm assuming my best bet is to reject the package and let it get sent back for him to try again. How long will it take for the package to get back to Hong Kong and what will he end up being charged for its return? Where do I stand with PayPal and eBay if he gets shirty re replacement/refund? Is there a risk that if the parcel arrives without any fee to pay I may get an invoice later?

Leif

They usually lie about the item value, so you'll probably be okay. Customs seem not to check unless it is obviously over the limit. Even then some sellers have wheezes, such as saying that the item is being returned from a service.

Pembroke

Well if you reject the package and it goes back to the sender I would expect him to request that you pay the next lot of postage, which may be high if you instruct him to send separately, so that might make the goods not worth the money you are paying. If you accept the goods then depending on what they are then they may attract import duty with VAT on top. Just as an aside when you paid the invoice did the seller give you a combined postage price ?

Assuming what they are sending you doesn't attract an import duty then you can expect to pay VAT at 20% on the value and then a handling charge to the carrier. I believe that Royal Mail currently charge £8, Parcel Force are approx £10 and couriers are ??? If there is a duty then it's added to the price then the VAT is charged on top.

If you are buying to sell the items on then it's a no brainer as they say. Just build in the import fees into the starting price. You may need to do a quick bit of research and see if the items you are buying can be bought in the EU for a price less than or very near to the Item + Duty + VAT + Postage from Hong Kong. If so then reject them.

soolin

The only thing that matters to paypal is whether the seller can prove delivery, if you reject an item and the tracking never shows it having been delivered then paypal will refund you in full if you do an INR claim.

terra_ferma

Be aware that you may not know you are being charged until a couple of weeks after the delivery. I believe that with Parcelforce and some other companies you have to pay upfront, but fedex will send you a bill for custom charges, vat and their handling fee, got mine a couple of weeks later.

soolin

terra_ferma wrote: »

Be aware that you may not know you are being charged until a couple of weeks after the delivery. I believe that with Parcelforce and some other companies you have to pay upfront, but fedex will send you a bill for custom charges, vat and their handling fee, got mine a couple of weeks later.

I have been really lucky so far as I buy quite a bit from the States and they never under declare value, yet I've only ever paid duty and handling on 2 items..and both of those were via RM so i had to pay before I received the goods.

However i don't push my luck and like the oP I try and get things seperately when I can. I've just bought more of my usual mineral makeup from the US and had to buy each single pot seperately and pay postage on each one as that is still cheaper than buying it all in one go and paying one lot of postage but being stung for charges on delivery. Again , like the OP I checked with them that would send seperately and explained about the charges and they have assured me that they will pack and send one thing at a time..if they don't ot if there is any problem they have told me themselves to just reject the item and claim a refund.

MatB

Thanks for the prompt replies guys.

Pembroke wrote: »

Well if you reject the package and it goes back to the sender I would expect him to request that you pay the next lot of postage, which may be high if you instruct him to send separately, so that might make the goods not worth the money you are paying.

The item was listed as £10 with 'Free P&P' so they had already factored the postage cost into the price. I can see why it would normally make sense and be quite reasonable to combine postage to their benefit, EXCEPT that I specifically asked them not to for clear reasons.

I don't agree how they can insist I pay the next lot of postage, but I see what you're getting at. Even if we call it quits and cancel the first order once he gets the rejected package back there seems little to stop me ordering through eBay again? Albeit, I would order one wait for despatch, then order a second, etc. I could of course go to another seller, but their prices are not economically viable at present.

I want to be reasonable about it with them. If I can strike a deal to offset their rejected postage (presumably it costs extra to get it returned) and re-sending costs against my import fees then I will do. Good for the environment if nothing else.

Pembroke wrote: »

Just as an aside when you paid the invoice did the seller give you a combined postage price ?

I simply bought one then immediately paid for it with PayPal. Then bought the second and paid for that with Paypal seperately. Four times. So there are four separate eBay purchases and four separate credit card and Paypal transactions. I specifically stated in the additional information message that I was ordering four and to ship separately. With hindsight I wish I'd followed up with an email which was my original intention prior to seeing the additional information field. I'm not convinced they'd have taken any further heed of that than the message attached to the order though. I've been pretty disappointed with their communication - received no indication they'd taken the order until I got an email with tracking number.

Pembroke wrote: »

Assuming what they are sending you doesn't attract an import duty then you can expect to pay VAT at 20% on the value and then a handling charge to the carrier. I believe that Royal Mail currently charge £8, Parcel Force are approx £10 and couriers are ??? If there is a duty then it's added to the price then the VAT is charged on top.

From the tracking number it seems to be destined towards Royal Mail Special Delivery, so £8 is less than I thought it was but, with 20% of £40 is another £8. I can get the same items for £15 each + P&P in the UK so it negates the point of ordering from afar somewhat.

Pembroke wrote: »

If you are buying to sell the items on then it's a no brainer as they say. Just build in the import fees into the starting price.

Not buying to sell. Just buying to use myself. I would have thought import duty and VAT make it impractical to sell on unless you get a really good deal on something people are willing to pay a lot more for here. I suppose larger quantities offset the brokerage fee though.

Pembroke wrote: »

You may need to do a quick bit of research and see if the items you are buying can be bought in the EU for a price less than or very near to the Item + Duty + VAT + Postage from Hong Kong. If so then reject them.

Indeed they are about the same in the UK after VAT and brokerage fees on four. Buying the four items to be sent individually brought my import costs down to zero, or so I planned.

soolin wrote: »

The only thing that matters to paypal is whether the seller can prove delivery, if you reject an item and the tracking never shows it having been delivered then paypal will refund you in full if you do an INR claim.

Will they not get shirty with it being four separate transactions I'll have to dispute!? I guess the seller won't want to let it get to that stage though.

terra_ferma wrote: »

Be aware that you may not know you are being charged until a couple of weeks after the delivery. I believe that with Parcelforce and some other companies you have to pay upfront, but fedex will send you a bill for custom charges, vat and their handling fee, got mine a couple of weeks later.

This worries me. I presume it loses me the ability to reject the charge and return the items, unless I don't open the package for a couple of weeks and there is a way to reject at the stage. I guess it sounds like I'm safe if its come through Parcelforce or Royal Mail but I need to be wary if it's a courier.

In this circumstance, who is it sending the invoice, the taxman or the courier? If the latter I suppose I have someone to throw the unopened package back at to deal with it.

soolin wrote: »

I have been really lucky so far as I buy quite a bit from the States and they never under declare value, yet I've only ever paid duty and handling on 2 items..and both of those were via RM so i had to pay before I received the goods.

There's hope for me yet then. I've had a couple of courier deliveries from the states and got stung every time - but that was different as I anticipated I'd get stung so factored it in.

soolin wrote: »

Again , like the OP I checked with them that would send seperately and explained about the charges and they have assured me that they will pack and send one thing at a time..if they don't ot if there is any problem they have told me themselves to just reject the item and claim a refund.

If there's one mistake I made, I think I should have sent a message to confirm beforehand rather than relying on separate purchases and a note on the order. I expected them to come back to me if they had any problem with the instruction. But to any normal person I would have thought four separate purchases for identical items would have struck a chord and they'd have glanced at the attached note. I guess they process a lot of orders each day and didn't read it properly.

I suppose at the end of the day it's only £16 or the back and forth return time I'm going to be down. But it's the principle and annoying nonetheless.

MatB

Leif wrote: »

They usually lie about the item value, so you'll probably be okay. Customs seem not to check unless it is obviously over the limit. Even then some sellers have wheezes, such as saying that the item is being returned from a service.

They've replied to my concerns and said they've declared it as a gift with value lower than US$10. Sounds like it'll come through fine.

Pembroke

MatB wrote: »

They've replied to my concerns and said they've declared it as a gift with value lower than US$10. Sounds like it'll come through fine.

Good luck with that.

Just be aware though that if customs smell a rat and open the package then it's the importer (you) who will be in trouble not the sender.

MatB

Pembroke wrote: »

Good luck with that.

Just be aware though that if customs smell a rat and open the package then it's the importer (you) who will be in trouble not the sender.

I see where you're coming from but I have no control over what the sender puts on the package. They clearly ignored my instructions and effectively I have an unsolicited package marked below true value. I will end up rejecting the package if they open it and want to charge duty.

Although in theory it is marked wrong I don't feel too bad morally as had they followed my original instructions there would be no duty to pay so the tax man hasn't really lost out.

terra_ferma

to reply to your question: the courier would be paying custom charges on your behalf and then pursue you to get them back.