Warning: Cheap Prom/Bridesmaid/Wedding dresses from abroad aren't so cheap afterall!

baggervond

I just wanted to post a warning/advice to anyone considering purchasing prom/bridesmaid/wedding dresses (or any other goods for that matter) from outside the EU. Rather naively, I purchased a prom dress online for my daughter from an American company which offered 'free shipping'. The choice was amazing, the prices were affordable and the gowns were made-to-measure rather than off the peg. What I didn't realise was that 'free shipping' only covered the cost of carriage from their premises to the UK port. So I was totally taken by surprise to receive an invoice from the courier TNT, 6 weeks after taking delivery of the dress, for a further £25 for import duty, admin and handling charges. I have trawled the seller's website and nowhere does it warn overseas purchasers that they will incur additional charges once the goods arrived in the UK. In hindsight, I can see that I have been incredibly naive but I know other parents who have made the same silly mistake and I just wanted to alert other potential buyers to this pitfall. This was my first (and last!) experience of online shopping overseas - it would have been cheaper in the long-run, and certainly less stressful, if I had paid the high UK prices in the first place. The small chink of light at the end of this tunnel is that after querying the cost of the admin and handling charges with TNT they have agreed to see if they can make some reduction. I hope others may benefit from my experience.

zax47

If you import stuff you are liable to many fees - Duty, VAT, admin/handling fees, VAT on admin/handling fees. That's normal. No need to warn people about what's normal. TNT may reduce their admin/handling fee, maybe, but the Duty, VAT etc is fixed - and paid already by TNT to HMRC.

paddyrg

There is a lot to be said for buying on the high-street! The upfront costs may be slightly higher, but no import duty, VAT included, faster delivery and having UK consumer rights make up for it, for me at least!

Evilm

baggervond wrote: »

I have trawled the seller's website and nowhere does it warn overseas purchasers that they will incur additional charges once the goods arrived in the UK.

I'm not sure they have to. I'm not sure they even have to be aware of the import laws/charges of the country they are shipping to. That is the purchasers responsibility unfortunately.

angelil

Errr...I thought everyone knew about import duty? You risk this ANY TIME you order from outside the EU and I really thought this was common knowledge. I have personally ordered from outside the EU on several occasions (admittedly only small items...nothing like a prom dress that would attract attention) and have never incurred import duty charges yet but do accept that it could happen one day.

paddyrg: I too would never buy from outside the EU if I didn't want/have to but sometimes I want products that aren't available in the EU and so if I have to order them from e.g. America and that is the only way to get what I want then I am happy to do it I would never buy something like a prom dress from outside the EU that you can get so easily (and cheaply, from places like Monsoon) in the UK. OP needs to just chalk this one up to experience - but not necessarily let it put her off from purchasing from outside the EU in future.

DCFC79

angelil wrote: »

Errr...I thought everyone knew about import duty? You risk this ANY TIME you order from outside the EU and I really thought this was common knowledge.

i was thinking the same but clearly not, not sure where i came across about import duty but i know it wasnt on mse

baggervond

Thank you all.

zax47 - it is only 'normal' if you already know what 'normal' is! I imagine there are a lot of things that I know that you dont, but I would like to think that I might be able to enhance your knowledge and experience by sharing mine, rather than criticise you for not knowing in the first place.

paddyrg - I completely agree with you.

Evilm - you are quite right of course - I checked with HMRC and they kindly explained to me that the onus was on the purchaser to enquire about additional 'hidden' costs.

I am not particularly streetwise admittedly but as I said before, I know I am not the only naive soul out there. For those out there reading this who have no previous knowledge of overseas shopping: I hope my experience will make you a little more aware that you may incur greater costs than you might at first think and that although UK prices may initially seem high, you could save yourself money in the long-run by purchasing in the UK. Thank you.

babyfruitella

I would have thought it common sense to realise there was a high chance you'd have to pay import tax.

Techhead_2

baggervond, its good that you want to stop people making the same mistake you did.

However, I think some of the posters reacted as they did because your OP seemingly wants to put the 'blame' on someone else.

So perhaps another piece of general advice, if you find yourself in an unexpected situation. Don't automatically assume its someone else's fault (or something that has been done to you). Always investigate.

fluffnutter

Import tax is perhaps one of those taxes that you don't really think about until it's relevant to you for some reason. Hence why people can be caught out. I don't agree with the suggestion that sites should include warnings to overseas buyers - it's not their responsibility and other countries laws differ and change outside of your control as to render any information you include potentially out of date or misleading.

And it's a bit like rightmove.com having to include the disclaimer 'Please note, when you die, any beneficiaries of your will may have to pay inheritance tax on your estate' when you're buying a house!

Evilm

fluffnutter wrote: »

And it's a bit like rightmove.com having to include the disclaimer 'Please note, when you die, any beneficiaries of your will may have to pay inheritance tax on your estate' when you're buying a house!

On that idea it would be to the level of Rightmove having to warn you of the stamp duty that you would incur should you buy this house. Not their job.

baggervond - I appreciate that you aren't trying to blame anyone but it did sound like you felt it was the sites fault for not warning you. I appreciate thats not what you meant to do.