Parcelforce 'Clearance fee'

Reverbe

custardy i find it laughable that you see it as a chip on my shoulder. I have no beef about the co in general nor most of its employees..in fact have several friends who work for Royal Mail currently and also the recently retired- just the ones who seem to be approrpiating items of post or being too lazy./stupid/whatever to deliver them to the correct address.

Excuse me for having the chip on my shoulder when effectively my items are being stolen from me..

Last time I looked, I was not a charity to donate my personal paid for goods to needy wage-earning postpersons..:eek::rotfl:

jonnybrandon

Update on my [STRIKE]Clearance Fee[/STRIKE] ransom charge.

I went to the depot, handed over the card and said that I would be paying the customs charge but not the Clearance Fee. The guy behind the counter snapped back before I'd even finished my sentence "You do realise that PF will invoice you for it later". (Clearly well-versed and rehearsed in this issue). I said that would be fine, and he then went through the process, or appeared to go through the process, of 'updating' my file on the system which lets them know I've not paid the Clearance Fee. It seemed to take a while and he complained a couple of times that it was a long-winded process. (Not my problem!). He also made a written note on my slip that I hadn't paid it.

Then today an invoice turned up in the post for the £13.50. On the invoice it is referred to as a 'Customs Administration Charge'. On a sidenote, the address to which to send payment is a freepost address - nice touch!

Has anyone else had one of these and if so have you paid it or ignored it?

One of the things I find particularly annoying about this fee is that PF have yet to give a detailed and accurate breakdown of what it covers. All their answers so far have been very vague.

I noticed that DHL have responded to its customers' concerns by introducing a 'private individuals' fee of £1.25 or 2% of the total duty - whichever is greater - because they realise that the cost was previously unfair. If they can do it for £1.25, why can't PF?

w w w.dhl.co.uk/en/express/shipping/customs_support/duties_taxes.html

Also, if this is an 'optional' fee for a 'service' (the service of them kindly paying our customs charges on our behalf), should it not include VAT?

Anyway, even if I end up having to pay it, it has made me feel a tad better that they've had to go to the trouble and minute expense of sending out a separate invoice.

custardy

IIRC the DHL set up is a minimum of £1.25 or 2%,whichever is greater
why do you feel a % is better? given the costs involved dont fluctuate?
regardless.as you are now aware you will be doing all your own clearance from now on and wont have any issues

jonnybrandon

custardy wrote: »

IIRC the DHL set up is a minimum of £1.25 or 2%,whichever is greater
why do you feel a % is better? given the costs involved dont fluctuate?

Well we all know that the actual cost of the extra administration is a fraction of the extortionate cost, and that any courier will use this loophole as a means to create profit.

But at least DHL have made an attempt to make it fairer on us private individuals with a small amount of products, who might otherwise be put off ordering from overseas, by introducing a threshold.

custardy

jonnybrandon wrote: »

Well we all know that the actual cost of the extra administration is a fraction of the extortionate cost, and that any courier will use this loophole as a means to create profit.

But at least DHL have made an attempt to make it fairer on us private individuals with a small amount of products, who might otherwise be put off ordering from overseas, by introducing a threshold.

but how is a % "fair" in regard to an admin charge?
ecause someone makes a larger purchase its okay for them to pay more?

jonnybrandon

The whole thing is unfair, because relatively speaking it costs very little for the extra admin.

IMO it's fairer to vary the fee so that people who are importing a large amount of stock pay more, and those of us who have bought a small gift for our aunty only pay a small fee. Because that way, the cost of the fee is relative. For most people complaining, the biggest issue is the size of the fee compared to the size of the duty and expense of the goods in the first place.

custardy

jonnybrandon wrote: »

The whole thing is unfair, because relatively speaking it costs very little for the extra admin.

IMO it's fairer to vary the fee so that people who are importing a large amount of stock pay more, and those of us who have bought a small gift for our aunty only pay a small fee. Because that way, the cost of the fee is relative. For most people complaining, the biggest issue is the size of the fee compared to the size of the duty and expense of the goods in the first place.

who mentioned stock?
anyone importing a large amount of stock will most likely be dealing in a different type of shipping
an item the size of a coin can be worth £000s
a metre square box can be worth £30

if you are buying a gift for aunty then you can do your own clearance for free

Take-No-Prisoners

Hi Just joined and read some of the forums. Whilst I agree with both sides, you have to bear in mind why we are having this forum...to resolve the issues of Parcel force 'clearance fees' or any other courier service for that matter for the good of the people concerned. Suppoert with ways around unfair practices (like Martin Lewis set up this web site for!) is what we are here for.

My Story - bought an item from the US for $75 as its not available here and my son wants it for a birthday present. Item had not arrived after over a week and a half despite paying USPS $35 to post it ASAP - Express Courier.

Finally got a letter from Parcel Force today advising me of duty - fine happy to pay, but then the Fees which are almost double the VAT. Including all costs, the postage alone will have cost the same amount as the item $35 USPS + $20 Clearance Fee + $20 to deliver on a weekend = $75 in postage.

The letter goes on to mentions all kinds of ways to resove the charges etc and suggest I read the reverse of the letter...however there is nothing on the other side of the letter!! Clever Ploy by ParcelForce...!!

Read the blogs and have decided to take Custardys' advice and emailed HMRC in order to pay them directly for the VAT and then get a confirmation to collect my parcel without having to pay any fees..done it all myself. If it works, its a way aroung the fees end of.

Whilst I agree with Fees, they have to be fair and warrented. In my case both Courier Fees combined have spiraled to almost beyond the cost of the item and in this case completely unwarrented. I agree that the 'fees' are excessive and also agree that they appear to be in line with what banks are doing..Trust me as an ex banker I know what 'coining it in' is all about and why I left on moral grounds.

As for PostComm...I wouldn't hold my breath, like all UK watchdogs...all bark and no teeth. You would have to wait until hell freezes over before any of them OFCOM/OFGEM/OFWATCH etc grow a backbone and start doing what they are set up to do!

Take-No-Prisoners

Following on from my previous message I can confirm that you can avoid Parcel Force Clearance Fees. The response from Parcel Force's Trading Partners - (HMRC), is:

Dear Sir,

I am writing in reply to your query of 28th July.

It is possible to avoid the Royal Mail handling fee by declaring the goods yourself but you might well find that this procedure incurs more work than is warranted by the financial saving.

First you'd need to refuse the parcel and have Parcelforce return it to the consignor. You'd then have to ask the consignor to re-send it marking the parcel clearly 'goods to be customs cleared by importer'.

You will then need to complete a legal import declaration which you will have to send to our Central Processing Hubin Salford.

They will calculate any import charges and write and advise you of your tax liability.
When you have paid this and the funds have been cleared, the Hub will clear the documentation and inform the Customs unit at the relevant Royal Mail Office that the goods may be released for delivery.
This manual procedure will considerably delay receipt of your goods if you decide do your own import declaration.
You can obtain copies of the import declaration form (C88) and further information from our National Advice Service (NAS) on Tel 0845 010 9000.

So there you have it...Together they have now made it extremely difficult in order to make a fast buck and save costs on the people who have skipped paying Tax and Revenues in the past.

Personally, my Gripe is with USPS, who charge a set postage up front to your address and then dump it in a HMRC warehouse instead, where you then have to pay additional fees for postage and release fees. USPS fees should include ALL postage costs except HMRC Tax and ensure..as agreed..to deliver it to your address.. Something they and no doubt other Couriers are not doing.

Moral is, ensure your courier is paying all the costs including the Parcelforce/HMRC randsom fees, before using them!

custardy

Take-No-Prisoners wrote: »

Following on from my previous message I can confirm that you can avoid Parcel Force Clearance Fees. The response from Parcel Force's Trading Partners - (HMRC), is:

Dear Sir,

I am writing in reply to your query of 28th July.

It is possible to avoid the Royal Mail handling fee by declaring the goods yourself but you might well find that this procedure incurs more work than is warranted by the financial saving. so do it yourself

First you'd need to refuse the parcel and have Parcelforce return it to the consignor. You'd then have to ask the consignor to re-send it marking the parcel clearly 'goods to be customs cleared by importer'.

You will then need to complete a legal import declaration which you will have to send to our Central Processing Hubin Salford.

They will calculate any import charges and write and advise you of your tax liability.
When you have paid this and the funds have been cleared, the Hub will clear the documentation and inform the Customs unit at the relevant Royal Mail Office that the goods may be released for delivery.
This manual procedure will considerably delay receipt of your goods if you decide do your own import declaration.
You can obtain copies of the import declaration form (C88) and further information from our National Advice Service (NAS) on Tel 0845 010 9000. as has already been covered in this thread

So there you have it...Together they have now made it extremely difficult in order to make a fast buck and save costs on the people who have skipped paying Tax and Revenues in the past.

who?

Personally, my Gripe is with USPS, who charge a set postage up front to your address and then dump it in a HMRC they dont do anything. their handling stops at the border warehouse instead, where you then have to pay additional fees for postage and release fees. USPS fees should include ALL postage costs except HMRC.
But their upfront fee is instead misleading and incorrect.

Moral is, ensure your courier is paying all the costs including the Parcelforce/HMRC randsom fees, before using them!

your ramblings on couriers and HMRC make little sense