Parcelforce 'Clearance fee'

chrisup

I've recently ordered an item of computer diagnostic equipment from a manufacturer's website in the USA as it seemed cheaper than buying it from a UK reseller. I did the dollar to Sterling conversion, add VAT and it came out about £13 cheaper overall (£135+VAT including delivery versus £175.99 inc. VAT).
However, when I received an invoice from Parcelforce I hadn't bargained for the addition of a 'Parcelforce Clearance fee' of £13.50 which reduced my saving to 22p!
I did a Google search on this fee and there seem to be a few mentions of it on eBay's forums and this interesting article on The Guardian web site:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/post/story/0,11489,875711,00.html
It looks like there is no way of avoiding this fee (at least until PostComm do something about it), so be aware of it if ordering goods from outside the EU.

JohalaReewi

You were lucky. As well as VAT, you could be hit with customs duty. Also, the VAT is calculated on value of goods plus shipping and insurance etc. plus customs duty! Added to which, the agent which handles the incoming mail will add their admin fee.

HM customs info here...
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&propertyType=document&resetCT=true&id=HMCE_CL_001454

Smiley_Mum

I just came across this website which may be of some use to you...

http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=351900

smcaul

It does not matter which courier was used they all charge for the service, some might do it up front though, so shipping cost would be more expensive to begin with. Basically you are importing goods, and so have to pay the extra costs - rightly or wrongly that is how it works by buying goods out side of the EEC.

JohalaReewi

Nice one smiley_mum. Never thought to challenge the ParcelFarce admin fee.

fubar_2

When you purchase an item from outside of the EU you are expected to check that the item you are purchasing can legally be imported to the UK and be aware of any additional costs that you may incur with your purchase.

Because HM customs office makes available these details on their website and by telephone it is assumed that you are aware and agree to these costs before placing an order from outside of the EU.

Under international postal agreements, the sender must make a Customs declaration on a form, which, in most cases, will be attached to the package. The declaration includes a description of the goods, their value and whether they are gifts or commercial items.

The Post Office may charge you for clearing your package through Customs. They handle packages for Customs examination and, if required, open and re-pack them. The Post Office will also store packages if Customs need to make enquiries; for example, when the contents have not been declared properly by the sender. The Post Office fees are collected at the same time as Customs charges but are completely separate and Customs cannot reply to queries about them.

Usually the Post Office will collect charges on delivery. A charge label will be affixed to the package at the Customs Postal Depot. This will show the amount of Customs charges to pay as well as any Royal Mail fee applicable.

Sometimes you may be sent a declaration form, which you must complete and return to the Depot before a Customs package can be delivered. You should not send any payment of Customs charges with the form unless you are asked to do so.

Ignorance of the information that is available is no excuse in this day and age, but then again the charges that are imposed for reading a customs declaration on a package and taking payment on behalf of the HM C&E is no excuse either, as a business you have 30 days to pay charges so why should an individual be forced into making payment before being able to take delivery of their goods.

All it needs is an extra tick box on the delivery notes that says you accept the charges and payment has to be made within 30 days, this lets you have time to examine the goods and if they do need to be returned to the sender then no monies need to exchange hands this would seem a far simpler solution for the average mere mortals like us, lets face it only those stupid enough are going to try and bring the evil eye of the HM C&E into their lives by trying to rip them off.

fenech

I did it too.. my first ever purchase on ebay, my first ever purchase from the US.. contacted postwatch to check that these 'clearance fees' are legal and they are apparently.. Parcelforce also claimed (a very rude postal person on the phone) that this fee is charged to them by the H&M Custom in order to hand to them the parcel for them to deliver hence why they are charging us.. I suppose it makes people think twice about ordering goods that are less than 30% cheaper than in the UK. That's the way it works if it is less than 30% it probably is worth it otherwise not.
Thanks

rogue_element

I had a problem years back with a game I ordered off ebay. Its a collectors item, and old video game. The guy wrote the value on the package like this:

$5oo

and they thought it was $500 or $50 when in fact he meant

$5.00

I had to pay £50 in charges but amazingly I got a cheque from customs about 2 weeks later after I had sent them the documentation they wanted...

RadoJo

Stan_Morris wrote: »

Everyone has to pay, you're wasting your and the police's time.

That's what people thought about banking charges!
This is not the first time I have heard of the law of lien, and to be honest, it sounds reasonable that a private company should not be able to interfere with the delivery of mail. However, I would be very surprised if any of the customer facing staff at most delivery companies were au fait with this area ofthe law, so I think you would have to be prepared to stand your ground and take it to the top if you wanted to dispute their methods.

geolabuk

Well - don't we have some sceptics?

When an inspector from Morriston Police phoned Parcelforce HQ, they gave the answer that they (Parcelforce) work as agents on behalf of H.M. Customs. Now, this is a police inspector they have told this to - so it must be true, eh?

I spoke to the legal department of H.M Customs yesterday (Friday) and the nice lady there said that as far as she knew, Parcelforce acted as agents for the public, delivering mail. She did not know of any agreement or law that excluded them from section 104 of the Postal Services Act and she knew of no 'agency' agreement with them that would allow Royal Mail to hold our parcels in lien.

To make sure, she has passed it on to her policy department and they will be getting back to me Monday or Tuesday.

It's looking bad for Parcelforce :-)

dzug

Hmm a couple of thoughts, pointing in different directions.

Are Parcelforce a postal operator at all? I thought the point of hiving them off was to free them from some of the shackles of being such. If yes, are TNT, DHL and the like, postal operators?

And lets all start posting all our mail unstamped. It will be illegal for the Post Office to refuse to deliver it, and the amounts will be too trivial for them to bother to go to the small claims court about it.

Somehow I think there is something OP has missed. Maybe the bit that says 'without reasonable excuse', maybe there's something somewhere else.