Advice needed, Customs import VAT too expensive

tonytaater

Eveything I need is on eBay and PayPal. so no need to worry

martindow

I really don't see why the buyer should have to pay and then attempt to claim back the overpayment. I think I would contact the seller to say it seems to have been mis-declared and ask them to correct this via the carrier they used.

If the seller is unhelpful or unconcerned you do have the option of not paying the customs charges. The parcel would then be returned to the seller possibly by sea and you could open an INR.

lovinituk

martindow wrote: »

I really don't see why the buyer should have to pay and then attempt to claim back the overpayment. I think I would contact the seller to say it seems to have been mis-declared and ask them to correct this via the carrier they used.

It could be the customs clearance team who misread the declaration or maybe didn't believe the value declared was true so adjusted it themselves. Either way that is not the sellers fault. The only way to find out for sure is to get the package and see what was written on the declaration.

martindow

lovinituk wrote: »

It could be the customs clearance team who misread the declaration or maybe didn't believe the value declared was true so adjusted it themselves. Either way that is not the sellers fault. The only way to find out for sure is to get the package and see what was written on the declaration.

It may not be the seller's fault but it is their responsibility. An item of this value was presumably sent with insurance and tracking so the seller should be able to contact the carrier to confirm the declared value and change the invoice.

Getting the package as things stand means the OP has to pay the 150 pounds odd fee being incorrectly charged and probably have real problems trying to get this corrected. You would expect to pay about 30 pounds for this shipment. I would not pay a total of 260 pounds when it should be 135 pounds.

Have you contacted the seller? If they will not sort this I think I would do as I suggested earlier and open an INR claim.

Brooker_Dave

martindow wrote: »

It may not be the seller's fault but it is their responsibility.

Local taxes or duty are never the seller's responsibility.

lovinituk

martindow wrote: »

It may not be the seller's fault but it is their responsibility. An item of this value was presumably sent with insurance and tracking so the seller should be able to contact the carrier to confirm the declared value and change the invoice.

Getting the package as things stand means the OP has to pay the 150 pounds odd fee being incorrectly charged and probably have real problems trying to get this corrected. You would expect to pay about 30 pounds for this shipment. I would not pay a total of 260 pounds when it should be 135 pounds.

Have you contacted the seller? If they will not sort this I think I would do as I suggested earlier and open an INR claim.

Its not the sellers responsibilty if someone in an office in another country misread the form! Its also got nothing to do with the carrier. UK customs are responsible for the charging, its nothing to do with the overseas shipping company or Parcelforce. Parcelforce will do nothing except wait for the money and if they don't get it then no parcel - its as cut and dry as that. I'm saying this from experience - its not a guess!

martindow

lovinituk wrote: »

Its not the sellers responsibilty if someone in an office in another country misread the form! Its also got nothing to do with the carrier. UK customs are responsible for the charging, its nothing to do with the overseas shipping company or Parcelforce. Parcelforce will do nothing except wait for the money and if they don't get it then no parcel - its as cut and dry as that. I'm saying this from experience - its not a guess!

The solution surely is for the declared value to be corrected by the seller via the carrier and for it to be re-presented for clearance.

Obviously the buyer is responsible for paying import charges but the seller is always responsible for getting the item to the buyer whether it is a domestic or international delivery. It is the seller with the tracking number who can sort the problem, and it is in his interest to do this or he will be out of pocket if the buyer does not pay the (incorrect) charges and the parcel is returned to America.

Are you suggesting that the OP should pay in total twice as much as he expected and then try to claim back the over payment? That's a big risk that I wouldn't take.

lovinituk

martindow wrote: »

The solution surely is for the declared value to be corrected by the seller via the carrier and for it to be re-presented for clearance.

Obviously the buyer is responsible for paying import charges but the seller is always responsible for getting the item to the buyer whether it is a domestic or international delivery. It is the seller with the tracking number who can sort the problem, and it is in his interest to do this or he will be out of pocket if the buyer does not pay the (incorrect) charges and the parcel is returned to America.

Perhaps I've not explained it clearly enough. The carrier cannot correct the value and the seller can have no influence whatsoever on having it changed. The only people that can amend the amount are UK Border Agency. Parcelforce couldn't give a damn that the amount is wrong and they will have nothing to do with it other than wanting paying. The package by now will be at the OPs local PF delivery office and they are not going to start sending parcels back to Coventry to be re-cleared! It might not be fair to the OP but that's how it works unfortunately.

martindow wrote: »

Are you suggesting that the OP should pay in total twice as much as he expected and then try to claim back the over payment? That's a big risk that I wouldn't take.

Well that's one of the two choices available. I've done it twice in the past because I had to have the items.

The other choice is to not pay PF and persumably the parcel will be returned.

Those are the only options available.